THINGS TO DO WHILE IN QUARANTINE: THE SIMS 4 Dream House Project

Hey guys! I'm back again for another post, yes it's for real~lols! Taking advantage of the mood while it lasts. Ten more days before the quarantine ends (crossing my fingers crossed) but there is still a possibility that the Government won't lift it just yet if the number of new cases increase in the coming days (hope not). So, please guys, let us all stay at home for now and be more patient. And while staying at home, here let me share another thing I do aside from reading and doing fashion illustrations. I play The Sims 4. If you guys are not familiar with this game, it is a series of life simulation video games developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. Here, players create virtual people called "Sims," places them in houses and helps direct their moods and satisfy their desires. Players can either place their Sims in pre-constructed homes or build them themselves. Sims are available on various platforms such as consoles, mobiles and computers. Sounds fun right? It is guys, it's really fun and easy. Another thing is, you can actually play it for free. Yes, that's right, yey! You can download THE SIMS 4: DELUXE EDITION – V1.58.63.1010 + ALL DLCS & ADD-ONS here and voila, you can start creating your sims and build and design your house. You can also watch this VIDEO on how to play The Sims 4 for beginners. 

Let me show you mine. Every game of The Sims has to start with of course character creation. First you have to give your sim's a name. Second, decide the gender and age and lastly, customize your sim's physical appearance, aspirations and traits.  

Introducing, my Sim, Myrtle Mags.

As soon as you're done creating your sim, you can place him/her into a Household. You can place your sim in an existing house in one of the towns or you can buy an empty lot and build your own house. You'll need money but worry not, you can use some money cheats  that you can find here ->The Sims 4 Cheats, Codes & Unlockables. You can also use some of the cheats there to unlock and move items. 

I decided to design an existing house when I first played the game because to be honest I'm not really good with exterior, I enjoy interior design more. But then later on, I tried building my own house. I am not done with it yet but I can show you some parts of it. Here you go. 

Front yard.

 Hallway

Living Room

Dining Room

Kitchen

Bathroom

Laundry Room

Bed Room

Walk-In Closet

Home Office/ Crafts Room

Pool Area

Backyard

There you have it guys, my THE SIMS 4 Dream House Project. It looks cool and entertaining right? This is my dream house and since I don't have the cash to build my real house just yet, I'm building it here. And just like what I have mentioned above, It is not done yet. Still a work in progress, I'm redesigning the bedroom, walk-in closet and home office. You can check my vlog for the house tour I made a year ago down below to see more of it.

Oh, by the way you can also install Custom Content and Mods to make your Sims and household appliances and other items better and realistic. You can watch how HERE. So what are you waiting for? Download the game and start creating your dream house while waiting for the quarantine to end. It will surely help you to pass the time and forget about the pandemic, not to mention it will definitely inspire you to look forward and be hopeful. That's all for now, thank you for reading and I hope you'll enjoy this game as much as I do! Stay at home and keep safe everyone!

xoxo

Mai

THINGS TO DO WHILE IN QUARANTINE: FASHION ILLUSTRATION

Hello there, just checking if you guys are all doing fine..I hope you do cause I am. I'm trying the best I can to stay sane and be optimistic. Keeping myself busy with things I love and enjoy doing to pass the time and ease my worries. I hope you do too. I know that for most of you, quarantine has been really challenging, but like what I have mentioned from my previous blog, there are so many things that we can do to make it easier. Easier said than done, I know, but we can at least try. So, aside from reading I want to share to you guys another thing I do to entertain myself and keep me preoccupied so I don't  think and worry about the pandemic that much. Fashion illustrations. Here, I'll show you some of my illustrations and a how I do it.

some illustrations I made while in quarantine

What is Fashion Illustration you may ask, well~ it is the art of communicating fashion ideas in a visual form that originates with illustration, drawing and painting. It plays a major role in designing to preview and visualize designs before sewing actual clothing. They are also used for ads and sales for fashion houses.

paper doll I made while in quarantine

So what I do is, I draw and design fancy dresses and other stuff.  It's something that I really love doing since I was little. You girls remember playing paper dolls and dressing up? Oh my gosh! one of the best parts of our childhood. It really started back then, I couldn't get enough of my paper dolls that even made my own so I can make as many dresses as I want. HAHA! I started with cut out papers then eventually drew and added colors with my dresses. Made more for my friends and sisters so we could all play together. I really loved it. I still do anyways, lols! As I grow older it became a hobby, one of the things I love doing when I'm stressed out and whenever I want to keep my mind off something. Though, I don't really get to draw most of the time because I am lazy, yes, you know that. HAHA! Oh well, going back, here, I'm sharing you a little bit of my process, how I draw and what are the basic things you need to do a fashion illustration. Disclaimer! Don't judge my illustrations guys, this is just a hobby, I am not a professional, I have never been to a fashion school. I am self-taught and still learning, I just want to show you  how I do it and hopefully to inspire you to add this to your growing list of new found hobbies during the quarantine.

still practicing color and fabric rendering with my markers and gel pens :)

First, you must prepare basic sketching equipment that you need like,

*Paper. You can draw on regular printing paper but it's kinda difficult to render on it especially if you're using markers and water color. Best is to use bleed-proof marker pad cause special marker pad (thin, smooth, and has a coating on the back) insures that the ink will not bleed through the paper, it can extend markers life and colors look more vibrant. But for starters, anything will do as long as you can draw on it.

*Pencils.You can use any but for me I prefer to use FABER CASTELL mechanical pencil with a 0.5  nib for my sketches because it provides more consistent lines, it's more convenient to use and  more cost-effective because you only need to replace the lead once it has run out. You'll need eraser and sharpener too if you're using wooden pencils.

*Coloring materials like crayons, colored pencils, water colors and markers. You can use anything you have available at home then later on you can try which coloring material you're more comfortable using. As for me, I tried colored pencils before but I figured I am more comfortable using markers. I am currently using  PRO MARKERS  (available at National Bookstore) but it's kinda expensive so I'm also using TOUCH FIVE MARKERS which I bought from Lazada, the quality isn't as good as promarkers and copic but it's a good alternative.

*Fine-line pens. You need fine liners to outline a figure and to draw details so it is also a must have. I'm using FABER CASTELL FINE LINERS 0.1 for outline and 0.5 for details.

COMBYN Street style inspired sketches

Now that you have the equipment you need, it's time to create a CROQUIS.

CROQUIS. A croquis is the basic drawing of a model pose that you can use for drawing fashion illustrations. You can find different poses online, print them out or you can try to create your own and just trace them whenever you feel like doing an illustration.

Croquis photo from Google

After creating a good croquis it's time to get some ideas and inspiration. You can search online, follow  fashion illustrators and  fashion designers, visit their blog, instagram, twitter, youtube channel and pinterest. Watch fashion videos, documentaries, movies and tv series about fashion. Look for things that inspire and motivate you. Create a vision board, use images, quotes and words to inspire yourself and make your vision and ideas come to life.

Zimmermann ss20 

Lastly, keep drawing, keep creating and keep learning until you develop a style of your own. Nothing beats practice, it's the only way you can get better. I have been doing fashion illustrations for years now and I am still learning. As you can see I'm still far from perfect but I am improving, I get better and you will too. Just believe in yourself, put your visions on paper and have fun.

illustrations I made three years ago

I hope this helps and somehow inspires you to finally give fashion illustration a go. Another fun thing to do while in quarantine. Enjoy sketching and just stay home for now. I will try my best to update my blog as much as I can and share things you can do to keep yourself entertained while helping the government and our front liners to flatten the curve.

illustrations I made four years ago

P.S.

You may visit FASHION ILLUSTRATION BY MYRTLE and check more of my illustrations and progress through the years :) TIA!

Carrie Diaries illustrations I made seven years ago

xoxo

Mai