How to Make Sims 2 Clothes

Since its release in 2004, Maxis' The Sims 2 has become one of the best-selling computer games of all time. Allowing the user more freedom than even its predecessor, The Sims 2 is a game with no set goal or ending. You simply create and then look after the lives of your world of computerized people, or "Sims."Given the level of control such a game affords, it's only natural that you'd want to customize the lives of your Sims beyond what the game itself offers you. Using tools easily accessible on the Internet, you can tweak every last detail of the game, including designing clothes for your characters to wear.

Things You'll Need

• The Sims 2 Body Shop
• Graphics editing program

Instructions

1. Launch The Sims 2 Body Shop. If you don't already have the program, you can download and install it for free by visiting the official Sims 2 website. (Follow the link in Resources.)

2. Click on "Create Parts." Select "Start a New Project" when prompted, and finally "Create Clothes." From here, you can select the age, gender and size of the character for whom you want to design clothes. Think about it for a second before selecting : The clothes you design will look better on your Sims if you tailor the outfits to their specific body types.

3. Select the type of clothing you want to create. You'll be presented with options including pants, shirts and swimwear. When you've made your choice, select "Export Selected Textures" from the bottom of the screen. This will save your selection as a file you can edit in a graphics-editing program, like Adobe Photoshop. Save the file to a location you'll be able to find later on. Do not exit the Body Shop.

4. Open your exported clothing texture in your graphics-editing program. You'll be presented with the design as a template, which almost looks a bit like a clothing pattern. The clothes appear completely two-dimensional, the way the game reads them before wrapping them around the 3-D model of your Sim. You can now use color and drawing tools to design the clothes any way you want. When you're finished, save the file.

5. Go back to The Sims 2 Body Shop and refresh the texture you have selected. If you didn't change the file name or format when you saved it from your graphics-editing program, you should now see your new clothing design in the Body Shop. From here, all you have to do is click the "Import" button toward the bottom of the screen to send your design to the game itself. It is now available for all of your digital Sims to wear and enjoy.

Resources

• The Sims 2