Peacemaker

Interview with Maria aka LaarStudio

During this incredibly busy months of festivities what better way to recharge than to browse through some elegantly made, high quality Custom Content made by one of the prolific, old-time CC maker Peacemaker, whose designs decorated many simmers’ worlds and homes. Now we have the pleasure of talking to him and finding out more about the person behind the creations.

Welcome! Please tell us a little about you as a person. What is your name? Where are you from? How old are you? What is your favourite meal? Your biggest pet peeves?

Are you a cat or a dog person? And anything else you’d like to share with us?

Thank you for having me. I am one of those people that Interview usually keeps my online and offline lives separate, but I have been in the community so long that I have gotten comfortable enough to share some information with friends and fans. Other times people are just very observant.

My name is Ivan and I have yet to meet another person with my name, it’s always a friend of a friend or “Hey I just met and Ivan at *insert random place here*.” I live in Western

Australia (WA), and whenever I tell people that I get a lot of simmers coming out saying that it’s great to hear I am from WA since all the famous Aussie simmers all come from the other side of the country.

I am 33... But as they say you are only as old as you feel any given day, so that could range from a boisterous kid to a cranky 90 year old with back problems. I have been playing

The Sims since 2009, so it has been with me a third of my life at this point.

I love cooking, and my mum believed that unlike her experience growing up, that we would learn to cook as soon as possible. This resulted in me being one of very few friends who knew how to cook themselves after finishing high school. Really important skill to have, and one that often gets ignored. Since I enjoy cooking, I really don’t have a favourite food, it’s more about a new dish I have learned to make that tastes amazing, then I will find another good one and fall in love with that. Currently loving using Miso in non-traditional ways as it’s a real flavour bomb. My family used to have cats, but haven’t for many years now, after the devastating loss of our last cat. He was a cuddle buddy and used to curl up on my lap while I played The Sims 3 despite there being no room, so typical cat behaviour. I sometimes think of adopting another, but my worklife schedule can be hectic and that just wouldn’t be fair on them or anything having to take care of them if I am away for an extended period of time. Maybe one day. Lastly, I am an introvert but I enjoy hanging out with people I know. But my friends know I am a hermit and sometimes I just like being alone, and they respect that. Being alone doesn’t mean you are alone, and not everyone understands that. Also gives me more time for video games and my hobbies.

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Thank you for that Ivan, now what is your most favourite activity, who are you out there in the real world?

What are your hobbies?

I would say I am just your average person out in the world, I don’t really stand out and I am happy with that

My parents raised me to be kind and comfort those around me, but also not be taken advantage of. If you cross the line the nonchalant attitude is not what you will encounter. I do make it a point to “practice what I preach” as my biggest pet peeve is hypocrites that criticise others for exactly the same thing they do. Sure, we all make mistakes, but I try to learn from them and not become what I hate. If people haven’t guessed from my builds and custom content, I love plants, so when I am not playing there is a good chance I am gardening or buying more plants. I am not an indoor plant person though since I have no room, so they need to be able to survive outside. Luckily WA has relatively mild weather, but can get quite hot in the summer which can be a problem. If my friends have gardening questions, they usually come to me. I have been collecting plants for a lot longer than I have had any other hobby, and it will probably be the one that outlasts all the others. My favourite activity is definitely going to Bunnings, a hardware store here in Australia and that any Aussie reading this will instantly recognise. I jokingly say that you can’t go there without leaving with something. Usually in my case it’s plants. Besides gardening, I have a lot of hobbies and enjoy making things (although I learn as I go), I try and go fishing when I can, and love going for walks around a nearby lake. Other activities I enjoy are visiting farmers markets and looking at all the cute dogs people bring along, going to nurseries to buy yet more plants, and spending time with my family. Nothing really interesting, but all things I love doing.

You are an extremely talented CC maker in the Sims, do you have any other talents or skills that you are proud of?

It’s often easier telling other people what their best abilities and attributes are then picking out ones about yourself. We are often our worst critics. However, I would say I have the ability to pick up new skills quickly when the need arises. I often procrastinate trying these new skills however, and realise it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. I have a keen eye for what goes together and people often

think I am an interior designer out in the world, and that couldn’t be further from the truth. I have been told I can draw, but I just consider it scribbling, but nice enough I have framed some of the drawings I have done to hang in my bedroom. I am also an incredibly patient person. It takes a lot to rock my calm demeanour and that is very handy to have when helping out people with custom content issues. When most people don’t elaborate on what an issue is, you really need the patience of a saint to help out and solve their issues. Sometimes I come off as aloof or apathetic though, so it can have its downsides if people are just meeting me. I have also been told I am a good teacher, although I often disagree. I help quite a few people in the community with CC-related issues and often walk them through the solution. I also tutored a friend in advanced algebra when they were at school. So I have the skill to teach, but not something I would ever pursue. My best friend also says I have the skills necessary to tell pyrite, also known as fool’s gold, apart from real gold. Still have no idea why people confuse them, they look nothing alike...tried to settle issues between friends, so I thought it fitted. I honestly can’t even remember what the anime was about, I haven’t watched it since, but the name stuck. The IC at the end are my initials since without them was taken. I just stuck with it as I couldn’t think of something I liked better.

Now let’s talk about the Sims, if you were to be your Simself in real life, which character traits do you think you would have? And which aspiration(s) would you pick?

I couldn’t limit myself to just the three we get in TS4. My avatar is currently using Creative, Cheerful, and Good, but I would add Perfectionist, Green Fiend, and Loner to that list. Any combination of those is me on any given day. I think they sum me up pretty well, especially looking back at some of my preview answers to these interview questions. As for an aspiration? It would be a toss-up between the knowledge branches Nerd Brain, and Nature’s Freelance Botanist. I definitely strive to improve my skills and research new 93

and interesting topics to broaden my knowledge base, but also make sure it is practical knowledge. As much fun as trivia is, most of those facts are just aren’t usable dayto-day. Hence why the description “book smart and handy” really speaks to me. Freelance Botanist and the idea of becoming an expert gardener really speaks to my love of plants. I am always trying to learn more as I try growing different varieties so i feel I will never master my hobby, but I like the idea of always learning.

How and when did you first get into CC making for the Sims, what was the one thing missing in the game that made you start off your CC making journey?

I started back when I played TS3. Back then (and even now to some extent, although it’s far better), there was a severe lack of male clothing. Statistically, the Sims community is slightly biased towards women so there was always more demand for clothing for the feminine frame. Being a guy who predominantly plays with male sims, that really limited the styles I could use. Instead of complaining about it, I decided to learn how to make recolours, then frankenmeshes and edits to create new items. So I started because of necessity, but enjoyed the process and just continued going. With the knowledge I picked up from making clothing for TS3 and TS4, I transitioned to making objects. There was very little that was my style (which I describe as Detailed Maxis, somewhere in that grey zone between the opposing factions of Maxis Match and Alpha) so I had to make it. It was like learning to make CC all over again because they are different beasts entirely. There is some overlap in knowledge, but the process is completely different. That is when I really found my niche and I haven’t stopped since. Then I branched out into Maxis addons, which are some of my most popular and requested items. There was a definite need for more choices when it came to build and buy mode content from certain packs, and given my experience at this point, it was a no-brainer to make that content as well. I was in desperate need of it, and other people benefited from it. Addons for windows have become on of the most requested items from me ever since.

What inspired you to start making CC How long did it take you to master it? Do you

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have any tutorial recommendations that you think were really helpful? What would be the best place to start as a fresher?

Initially, it was out of necessity, but what keeps me going is just how creative the entire process is. You can create a room’s entire theme with just a few key pieces, and you can inspire people to make the most wonderful interiors with a mixture of cc and game content. I am still learning though. I recently transitioned to blender 2.9 and it is light years away from what i was using before. It has so many more tools and I am working through tutorials I have found to speed up the creation process and make it more enjoyable. I doubt I will ever stop learning new things to help me create content, and I think I would get bored if I knew everything. When people ask for the best tutorials to learn how to make objects, I tell them the same thing: look outside the sims community. Meshing is not unique to this community, and a lot of the tutorials outside of it are far more helpful as it is really only the porting that is unique to the game. Master the basics, and you have the knowledge to do the rest. I always recommend the Sims 4 Studio forums for Sims-Specific tutorials like recolouring, importing, clothing, bones etc, but if people are looking into getting into object meshing, I always recommend Blender Guru on YouTube. They go in depth into each stage of meshing, from making, unwrapping, and texturing. Although not all the do can be applied to The Sims, the fundamentals and easy to follow tutorials are really helpful to watch.

What do you think of Maxis using Kits as an alternative to CC? Do you think the Sims team should collaborate more with CC creators to improve gameplay for both PC and Console players alike?

Despite what the community thinks, people that use CC are the minority. Some people are unable to use CC (hardware limits, knowledge required to use it, or platform choice) and kits are aimed at these people. I really don’t see these Kits being aimed at people that use CC, and that’s OK. There seems to be a common misconception that a simmer has to buy everything that Maxis puts out otherwise they suffer a severe case of FOMO. People have a choice, just like using CC, and Kits are the same. I only recommend them 95

What is your opinion on the recent news about the Sims team removing Max 20’s CC pack in order to promote their own, nearly identical Kit? Where do you think such behaviour of the Sims team will lead the franchise?

I really don’t like commenting on topics like this, but I see these sorts of things often as a CC creator so I went and looked it up. I think it is a bit presumptuous to say that the official plant kit, and the CC pack are nearly identical. The same theme? Yes. Identical? Definitely not. I remember when it was released and the items included definitely don’t mimic anything included in the new plant Kit or visa versa. It is easy to point fingers saying that Maxis copied a CC creator and trying to benefit from them, as they are a corporation stomping on the little guy. But it’s an issue often perpetuated by the community and gets old fast (people have even said that Maxis has copied my stuff on occasion too). People tend to forget that even kits probably have a lead time of over 6 months from conception of release. I would 96

if people like the theme. They are not necessary to enjoy the game, and should be seen that way. Skip it if you don’t like it, but that often falls on deaf ears. I like the idea of Kits as it opens up the possibility of more niche themes that don’t fit into a larger pack such as the Oasis Kit. Viewing them as an opportunity to provide a much more diverse range of content with less risk associated with being included in a large pack, they could do so much with the idea, and a lot of the ideas have been interesting. There have been some misses though. I do think Kits also open up the possibility for more collaboration with the community, and CC creators. They are trying to get the community more involved in the process, particularly helping build the worlds of the last few packs, I don’t see why they couldn’t do it with kits. But the creators would need to be open to compromise. We often don’t consider performance impacts as much as the developers have to, so there would need to be an understanding on both sides for that to work.

Hinterlands Living

think the reason why it was most likely taken down was the trend by some creators to purposely mimic the official rendering style of kits which in turn misleads the consumer. Personally, I hate this trend for a couple of reasons but that’s a different story, but I had a feeling at some point action would be taken. If an item is brought to their attention for causing confusion, they are probably going to take action. But people also forget that there have been instances that people unassociated with Maxis/EA have gone around tumblr and reported content in the past. You really only find out who applied for a DMCA take down once you object to it. It’s really a messy situation overall, and I hope that Max20 re-releases the pack as they mentioned on twitter. It is just a messy situation overall.

If you could only create CC for just one room, which room would you pick and why?

Anyone that knows me is well aware of my sofa addiction. If I could only make one type of cc it would be living rooms. There are so many possibilities when it comes to sofa designs that I will never run out of inspirational material. With the addition of sectionals and chaises, that is even more choice. I have barely scratched the surface when it comes to interior design. I could release a living room set every month for years and still have new ideas. The living room may not be the heart of the home, but unlike kitchens it’s much easier to design it in new and unique ways as you aren’t limited as much by functionality. Strangerville Buildmode What is the difference in making CC for TS3 Add-on & TS4, which process do you prefer? People that make CC for TS4 will never know the pain of making content for TS3. The only program you could use was one called Milkshape and it was horrendous. Archaic in design doesn’t even cover how primitive it was. The controls sucked as well. You even had to pay for the privilege of using it. You also had to use multiple programs to assign bones to clothing and and import meshes depending on what you were doing. Then came TSRW. Because of the nature of the game and the ability to style any item, it resulted in large package files and the program often crashed. TS4 creation is far more streamlined. You get a powerful free program to use for all meshing with blender, or a way to import from other programs, that can do the job of many others. We also have Sims 4 Studio and those guys deserve all the praise in the world for designing and maintaining such a wonderful program that is far superior to anything else we have had. Everything in one place, very stable, and most of all can handle the creation 97

of most types of CC. It really is a wonderful time to create, with far fewer headaches.

Where do you find your inspiration and design ideas for all the gorgeous items you make?

So many places. I mainly use pinterest as an image source, but I often take pictures of items when out and about that I use as inspiration. For instance, the modern wingback used in my Yanako Sofa set was actually an item used in the seating areas of a Shopping Centre I visited. Snapped a picture, referenced it, and made it (virtual) reality.

Pinterest is really a great source for inspiration, assuming you know what to Paranormal Add-on search for. I even use it for house inspiration. Just make sure you use ‘facade’ or ‘exterior’ when searching if you don’t want interior pictures. I use google images too, but having boards to save certain items to makes them far more convenient, and takes up less room on my PC.

Is there anyone you’d like to give a shout out to, someone who has helped you along your CC making career or anyone else in general?

There have been quite a few people that have helped me over the years, so i hope i don’t forget anyone. Firstly, Sandy from

Around the Sims was really helpful giving me guidelines for what is considered reasonable polycount for the game,

QuizicalGin who helped a lot with their tutorials when I was making clothing for TS3,

Baufive who helped me a lot with Milkshape, pocci (SereneBlueSims) also helped a lot with making walls in TS3.

All these people shared their knowledge which I have developed, and I wouldn’t be where I am without their help and kindness.

Because of that, I try to pay it forward and share my knowledge when able with those that ask. CC shouldn’t be gatekept, so I am happy to pass on my knowledge to those willing to learn.