A Guide to Making SimToons
Back to SimToons Main Page

STEP 1:

Come up with a SimToon idea, set up in The Sims, then use Camera Mode (F4) to take a
screenshot of the area you want to be your SimToon.  Please use the highest quality setting and the smallest picture area as possible, remember, you can use CTRL + Arrow keys to make custom sized screenshot areas.  After you take the screenshot, it will be put in that family's Photo Album.  Open the Photo Album and count from the first screenshot made up to the screenshot that will be your SimToon starting from zero (0, 1, 2, 3...).  Take a note of this number that you counted up to and the last name of the sim family you were playing when the screenshot was taken.  Save your game and exit The Sims.

Step 2:

Now you want to find the picture file for the screenshot.  Use the search feature on your computer (For Windows, go to Start, Find, Files or Folders...), and search for the last name of the sim family.  A list of files with that name should appear, find a file that has a name in this format: LastNameOfSimFamily_##_####.  I believe the two digit number in the middle are the lot number of the family's house, but that is unimportant.  Find the file with the last name of your sim family and with the last number being the number you took a note of.  For example, if you took your SimToon screenshot while playing a sim family called Nelson and your SimToon was the 8th screenshot taken in that family, then you would want to get the file labeled something like Nelson_##_0008.  If you would rather just find the file by going to where it is on your hard drive, it should be somewhere like C:\Program Files\Maxis\The Sims\UserData\PhotoAlbum.  If you have any troubles finding the file, just Email me and I can help you.

Step 3:

Now you want to open the SimToon in a image editing program such as Paint, which comes with Windows, or, I suggest Paint Shop Pro (Download Trial Here) because it has the really useful feature to add talk, think, and action bubbles onto images.  Use the program to add any effects or text you want and use Save As to save the completed SimToon to a place where it is easy to find.

Step 4:

After your done making your SimToon(s), you need to submit them to this site, but there are a few things you need to know before you do, so go to the Submit page to learn more.

Resources:

All these resources are external links with a lot of good information and downloads.

Back to SimToons Main Page