I’ve had people requesting certain characters from AinD since I started the series and although it’s been a while since it’s been over, here are four of the most requested characters.  All the characters are in base game underwear and in the hairstyles you see featured in the picture above with the exception of Emma who comes with that hairstyle but base game texture.  I am way too lazy to list all the custom content used on them which is why I’m posting them here rather than my Designs site.  Both Emma and Ellen have one of Oepu’s old skins but I had to erase the eyelid creases because they were all wonky.  I didn’t upload all of the main characters since Ryan, Elijah, Cecily and Randy were made by other people and they haven’t been requested by anyone.  Anyway, get them while you can.  I may take them down at a later time so I don’t have cc creators yelling at me for not listing their content.

You may download Emma, Eugene, Nate, and Ellen.  They are all in zip format.  My policy for using them is that you may do whatever you want with them.  Just don’t use them in your movies or stories as their AinD characters (e.g. make your own AinD versions with them- that’d be creepy and lame).  And if you want Emma’s hair used later in the series, it can be found at Raonsims but the I used SimScribbling’s texture for it.

EDIT:  The sims are no longer available for download.  If you really want them though, contact me and I’d be happy to send them.

So if you’ve been wondering what I’ve been up to, I’ve been working on a new hack with Adele called the Custom Prop Hack which is available on MTS2.  Please be aware that you must also download Adele’s half that she posted for the prop textures to show up since they are linked.  As you can see from the picture, the hack allows Sims to hold various props while you can command them to do anything else.  While I made the hack and did the accessory placement, Adele made all the meshes.  This is something that I’ve been wanting in my game for a very long time and I’m sure any machinima director or storyteller has had the same wish.  So with my new custom posing powers (and lack of meshing skills), I decided to approach Adele who is not only an amazing director but a fantastic mesher too and, I think, it was a great match.  We actually started talking about this project last fall/winter and we worked back and forth on it via email.  We are both glad to finally have it done although we may add more stuff to it in the future.  I also have another hack that’s partially finished that I’d like to work on but I’ve also had a music video idea in my head the past 2 months.  I’m not sure if I have the energy to work on either at this point or do I know which I want to do but I hope to be bringing you something else in the near (or possibly not so near) future. :P

I needed a couple of casual outfits for my series and ended up making 12 new outfits- 9 women’s and 3 men’s. Most of the women’s outfits are casuals with ballet flats with a few of them being high heeled. I had planned to make more men’s outfits but the mesh I was going to use is a pay item at TSR which is totally lame and I don’t want to use it. Anyway, it’s hard to make nice men’s outfits because there aren’t many decent male meshes around.

I should have all the fashions available on my site in the next couple of days. Taking screens of each of them, writing descriptions, etc. is a pain in the rear and so time consuming. I’m glad that I finally get to use my new poses from my pose hack. Yipee!

I really want to change the look of my Designs site- it’s been that same look at least for a year and I like to change it to reflect better the colors of my main movies site. Sheesh. I don’t know when I’ll have chance to get to that. Well anyway, I’ll be sending out an email if you’re on my mailing list once I get all the new clothes up on the fashion site.

EDIT: They are all finished. Yay!

Those of you on my mailing list got the email that I have a new hack out called the “Child Animation Hack” which you can find on my Decorgal Designs site. I haven’t worked with child sims since The Visitors but I know fellow directors and storytellers who do work with them and needed this. It’s mostly the standing animations and I will have to put together a sitting one sometime in the future. As I’ve mentioned, I don’t have Seasons or BV installed on my computer anymore since it’s too taxing on my AinD neighborhood so I installed it on my hubby’s new laptop to work on the hack. Well low and behold, the Securom issue has hit me and that drive is all messed up. As long as hubby doesn’t need to burn anything, which he shouldn’t because we’ve got my pc, I should be able to leave the games on there and then uninstall everything and the Securom thing when I finish the child hack. I also have been meaning to update my other hacks, especially the action hack but since Jaydee has put out animation boxes which I’m guessing has everything on them, I figured it wasn’t a big deal.

I’ve been working a lot on my custom modeling poses hack. I actually started some male poses a while back but never got around to working on them again. I found it hard to get in the mood. I wonder why? Because it’s tedious work and it’s endless tweeking and restarting of the game to get them looking right! I am exhausted. So far, I’ve added ten new male poses but definitely need more. I also reworked most of the female ones and added turning heads on all of them so it’s easier to get different angles for pictures. I’ve been posting pics of the progress on my flickr account if you want a sneak peek (there are mini versions of the pictures on the sidebar below). Some of the poses featured there still need adjusting but at least it gives you an idea.

I honestly don’t know if I have the energy to keep working on it. I didn’t realize it was August when I released the first version but sheesh, who knows when I’ll have it done next. I’m also getting back voices on AinD in the not so distant future and am working on decorating sets for the next episode and such so I might have to put the modeling hack on hold. I don’t know- it all depends on what I feel like working on but I’m very close to being burnt out on the modeling hack. All I know is that all this takes up way too much of my time. I’m sure that’s the case for many of you too! I think I need an intervention.

Yes, this has been a busy month of Simming for me. In fact, I’m trying to stay focused and in the Sims zone so that I can gear up to work on the next AinD episode. No promises though so don’t expect it to be out anytime soon. I have some site updates as well as some series recommendations to share.

I know my FAQ on the main site has been terribly out of date so I’ve been looking for months for the right script to install so maintaining the FAQ would be easier. I’ve finally found one that works for me so I’ve completely revamped the FAQ. I added a bunch of new questions as well as updated the answers to some older ones. It’s searchable too which I think is really cool. If you have my FAQ page linked directly on your site, please change it because the address has changed. Check out my new FAQ here.

I’ve completed production notes for Adventures in Dating episodes 8 and 9 and they are available on Backstage. I do know some of you read it so if you are one of those people, head over there. If you haven’t read them before, they are detailed notes on the episode, characters, meaning behind things, production comments, etc. You can also listen to the full song that was pivotal to the episode while reading.

While in production for AinD, I’ve amassed recordings of in-game sounds to use for the series (I record sound separately). I’ve ditched the video and rendered these files into mp3s for ease of use. I’ve decided to share them with directors who need in-game sounds for their movies and figured they, especially the ones making talkies, would find them useful. You can download the sound packs on my designs site here.

Lastly, most of you know that I have been out of the Sims movie loop other than the releases by my favorite directors. I am usually not in a movie watching mood but recently got into one and decided to play catch up. I have to say that there are a few talkie series that really stand out to me and I’d like to recommend them (watch, everyone else knows about them except me and it won’t be news to you).

Cupid’s Arrow by Serenity
Only the pilot is out thus far but this series is really entertaining and fun. What I like best about it are the characters, especially the lead female who says things like “Why am I wearing pink? I don’t do pink.” which had me in stitches. It’s something I would totally say. The storyline is really creative on this one and writing is fantastic.

Memories of Erika Kauffman by Lodelday
This is an usual series because it’s set during World War II. The cinematography and editing on this are of high caliber and the story is simply fascinating. The series pulls off a really dark underlying mood. Two parts are out so be sure watch both of them.

Open Door by Campsun
This one I’m not entirely sure if the series will be good but if the trailer is any indication, it promises to be a laugh riot. The trailer watches just like a professional, real life one. The production value on this series promises to be top notch. If you visit the link, scroll down and read the character profiles- they are pretty fleshed out. I laughed throughout the entire trailer and that narrating voice was just perfect for it.

Oh and one more thing! I put up a new poll on the main site. I’ve always been curious to know if you guys watch through the end credits of AinD. You can find the poll here. Please take it!