I have always wanted to learn to draw and paint, but was never really that good at finding references to help me practice, but just recently I came back to Sims 2 wanting to start a new neighborhood, and have been dabbling in some art journal type projects which was what is derailing me from Sims 2 right now, but I realized how they could be incorporated with each other, and why have I never thought of this ? I really do not know why . Sims 2 is a perfect resource for me since my interest is in learning landscape and fun town like drawings with quirky characters. Does anyone else use the sims games for inspiration in their own art ?

Yes. And I think it's one of the reasons artistically inclined people are drawn to the Sims games. Whenever I play TS3, my imagination starts going wild and I feel the strong urge to write, something I feel rarer and rarer as I get older. It's like a virtual dollhouse that never runs out of content as long as your imagination keeps feeding it with stories. Some RPG's as well make me feel a similar surge in creativity but it happens with just a few games and just for the few months it takes to finish that game. With TS3 on the other hand, 10 years and counting and it still keeps doing the same magic to my right brain.

Tbh I thought about creating some Pokemon trainer OC's - but since I'm like an anime amateur, I mainly did them in TS3. The problem is that you can't really achieve an anime look with the game unless you REALLY play around with CC and sliders. I'd say that Lance Andrade is the closest thing I've created to an anime character so far.

I'm writing a story around my random legacy, but I'm over thinking it. It's hard to use my brain in a different way, normally my creativity is geared towards fiber arts or cooking so trying to write has been a challenge. One way the game has been helpful is that my family keeps doing stuff and some of it doesn't match up to what I had planned... Writing about them helps contextualize some of the things that happen and I'm finding myself building a world around things I thought would be fun or the game's general weirdness. Like all the people that are searching the galaxy with their telescopes are part of a citizen science program that is trying to research where the aliens are coming from. It's kind of a huge problem that these creatures are coming, abducting people, and sending men back pregnant. The medical community is flummoxed and livid!

I did some math and realized that 10 generations would equal out to 150-350 years depending on how long they waited to have children. A lot can happen in that time frame from a geopolitical perspective and I should figure out a way to show the passage of time. So as the game goes on I'm going to dress them in different ways. How do changes in the geopolitical system effect people on a personal level? There's a lot of places I can go with this. The problem really is that I currently have writer's block about this current generation and finding a voice for my heir.

Yes! I love architecture and the Sims is just a nice sandpit to play around in without being too complicated. Plus you get to see "humans" interacting in the environment you've created

I would like to use some scenic pics from Sims 2 in some watercolor painting I am learning. Which neighborhoods do people thi k have great scener? Eventually I would like to create a neighborhood for just this reason, but I bee away for a bit and I need to catch up on nh deco cc that has come out in the past year.

I love you guys! I thought I was so strange. Young artist here, childhood artist. I enjoy drawing things that people consider strange and no artists would ever both trying. I use dreams, pictures of friends but strange pictures. I dream 10 times a day and never forget them! I love the sims because it is fun killing them and then making memorial art. I don't actually mourn them of course but it is funny and gives inspiration. I never painted that. I only tend to use graphite drawings. I save my paints, markers and other materials for other art. I am planning on making my most recently dead sim into a sculpture.

Edit: I was thinking of writing poetry and fanfictions. How do you guys think I should approach this? I do not write happy poetry only depressing. But, I can write some romantic fanfictions. Should I attempt it? I know I am way too young but I will get it to 18+ super fast if that is a good approach. Although, my tortured sims are too depressed for romance. Unless, I can ship Gina with the grim reaper.

I defiantly use this game as an creative outlet....

I like to draw sims, either my own or created by Maxis. I recently drew Kaylynn Langerak from The Sims 2

Many artists draw inspiration from video games, not just for the visual styles but also for the narratives and atmospheres they create. Video games are a form of digital storytelling that combines visual art, music, and interaction, making them rich sources of inspiration. Whether it's for practice or as part of a larger project, using The Sims or any other video game as a reference can be a fun and beneficial method to enhance your drawing skills and creative vision.

It can be fun

I've used more than a few born-in-game sims as characters in stories.

I have used the Sims for creative purposes for many years. I'm a published author, and I use the sims in various ways. For example, I created my main characters in Sims 2 many years ago so I could see how they interacted together. Not that Sims interactions are very realistic, but that did spark my imagination for many conversations. I love building where my characters live or their workplace, etc. I tend to write better descriptions when I do that. I often use the Sims to destress after a long writing period or as a way to heal writer's block. It's amazing how much this game has helped me over the years.

sometimes if i cant think of stuff or find any reference online it does help since I already enjoy playing the games!

I've been using Sims and SimCity games to create maps and illustrations for tabletop RPG gaming. I even created one of my villains as a Sim and moved him into a Sims3 house. I started doing this kind of thing with the original SimCity game.

And I just stole that to put in my custom paintings folder.