- Six years for skin tones.
So you're telling me the aliens could have a skin tone,
the purple skins, the vampires could have a skin tones,
but I couldn't even be black.
(jazz music instrumental)
- Hi, I'm Emani.
- Hey, I'm Naddia.
- Hi, I'm Taylor-Simone and I've been playing Sims
for around, I say like four years, Sims four for four years.
- I've been playing The Sims for
an embarrassingly long time, about 13, 14 years.
- I've been playing Sims since I was a kid.
So at this I'm really about that life.
(laughs) That Sims life.
- I usually don't make myself in The Sims just because
I find it difficult to make a Sim that looks like me.
- There's like not a lot of texture within the hair.
They don't have a lot of edges, you know?
They're starting to bring the baby hairs, but you know
it'd be nice to have some more options.
- I have to say, not just in The Sims, but in many games,
they tend to stick to two default styles
for darker skin tones, either braids or an afro.
- I like my Sims to be very diverse.
So that's why I went to get custom content
'cause for me I wanna see people of all sizes,
of all colors in my game.
Base game EA doesn't really let you do that.
- I just use custom content because a lot
of the black content creators, they know like what we like.
So if I wanna have my Sim where a bonnet,
she can go to bed wearing a bonnet and it's lit.
- So today we're gonna try to make ourselves in The Sims
without any custom content.
- And then we're gonna send it to a custom content creator
to see if they can hook it up (indistinct)
and make it look cute.
(upbeat music)
- All right, let's get started.
- I would say it's kind of hard for me.
Like just matching my skin tone.
They're coming in clutch with all the varieties,
which is very nice
- This is my first time actually seeing the skin tone pack,
and I'm so glad that they have undertones.
I wish I knew what undertone I actually had.
(laughs)
No, no.
We'll get there.
- Thicker, bushy eyebrows.
I'm just trying to find eyebrows that look like my eyebrows
right now.
- I don't wanna be that person.
But the eyebrows in this game kind of makes me sad.
I feel like we need more options.
It's kind of hard finding my brow shape.
- Ooh, she got good brows.
She cute.
- Yeah, when I use custom content, I usually have a lot
of nose presets that are for black people or for other
people just 'cause these noses, like
they're just not very diverse.
- Nowadays in the mods world
they have a lot of different sliders.
Usually there's certain like skin tones,
that kind of like customize the nose shape.
So I would use those.
- With the noses, I wish there were more presets available.
I feel like even now it's like slim or wide, but like,
it's kind of hard to make my slightly button ish nose.
- Usually when I have to make a nose from these presets,
it takes a very long time just because
I don't look like this.
- Let's give these lips some flavor.
- There's a size restriction.
You can only go, but so big or so wide?
They're just very small.
- Just finding my lip shape is like the hardest part.
- It's not going to have my lip shape, but we're gonna
get as close as we can.
(bright upbeat music)
- Now I'm going to work on the hair
- The hair, the hair is the (giggles),
this is the fun part.
- Let's see texture, there we go, afro textured.
Okay.
- I love seeing for Afro textured hair.
It's Afros, mostly Afros, that's comforting.
- They have the texture pretty down,
I guess like just adding like baby hairs
would be like an extra plus.
- Oh, look at the edges, oh no.
I mean, mm.
- Hairstyles for other races, they give a lot more variety.
You can have it short, long, layered.
- Also I feel like their color range
for like the hairstyle aren't very diverse.
- The hair color variety is absolute trash.
Like my hair is technically dark brown, but it's
either this weird brassy brown.
How do you make brown brassy?
Or my skin tone or black?
- Why are the eyebrows blue, black?
And then the hairs are straight black.
Like that blue, black thing ,whose hair is like that?
(drumming)
- These eyeshadows are kind of a mess.
- Why is that so light?
Oh God.
- I've noticed that they added into the game
is that you can customize your makeup.
Which is also another cool feature.
- I'm using it right now and I'm not seeing nothing.
I don't think it makes a difference, I think they tried.
Did they succeed?
(laughs)
I mean, let's ask the audience.
- The makeup is a bit ashy on my skin tone.
- Oh God, y'all just need to hire a content creator.
Like CC people at this point.
- Blush on brown skin always gets on my nerves.
- Where are the berry shades?
Like, even though you don't always have to do that,
but even like the corals, the oranges, the purples, like
all I see is pinks here.
And like, that's okay we could still use pinks,
but we still need the option.
- The pinks, like in the game, they just don't...
I just don't like them.
It just looks, I don't know.
It looks flat and just ashy to me.
So (laughs) that's why I usually use custom content.
'Cause they be having the popping lip gloss.
Like I'm trying to be popping out here
in these Sims streets.
- I think I'm all set.
- All right and that is (smooch).
- I tried, it's somebody, is the somebody me?
No.
(bright upbeat music)
- Hi everyone, my name is Danielle.
I also go by Ebonix or EbonixSims online.
What I do and what I have been doing for the last five,
going on six years is enabling players to be able
to see themselves in the game.
So I taught myself how to 3D model,
and now today I'm making hairstyles, which kind of
more accurately represent the black and the PSE backgrounds.
What inspired me to become a CC creator was
essentially I literally wanted a dashiki one day,
and I realized that unfortunately there wasn't a dashiki
and then it clicked that there wasn't much of anything
that represented us.
You know, I looked around
and I found some tutorials on how to recolor custom content.
And I thought, "Okay, if I can do this, what else can I do?"
So the fast lovely lady is Emani.
Okay, so I think, you know, this is a hair that
I think it came with Island living.
So this is an example of a hairstyle
that I think would have been great to be patched in
and something that would be good to have as the base game,
so that you don't necessarily need to buy a pack for
but you can still see that there's a kink and a curl
and it's quite big and bold
and I love this kind of hair style.
If we're talking custom content though,
I think a hair style that would look really great on her
is by creates a code XxBlackSims.
She's also very dedicated to, you know
bringing about more kinks, curls, Afros, braids, all of it.
You know, I love the diversity within the community
and how no hairstylist the same.
And I'm gonna add some makeup actually.
So there's a really lovely lipstick
by a creator called ORANGESIMOSAS,
and they have pretty much matched Xmiramira skin tones
in order to,
I guess bring out the beauty of kind of black lips
and full lips.
And I mean, of course, I'm gonna shout out
like our Xmiramira who's melanin pack I'm about to use.
So I mean definitely The Sims have added a whole bunch
of stuff.
You know, there's over a hundred skin tones, but you know
I feel like Mira did essentially start to
like get the conversation going because we didn't have
a hundred skin tones to start with.
And it was very hard, The Sims were very ashy
and it was really difficult to make a Sim
of your complexion.
So I've got some really nice eyelashes by Brandysims.
So I'm going to add those on and Brandysims
is another black custom content creator in the community.
Again, someone who's been working really hard
to fill the gap to ensure that we are being seen,
especially more on like the urban
and like instabody style of things as well.
Like they've, you know,
they've definitely got our side covered.
And I've got a really lovely blush that goes actually
perfectly with Emani skin tone.
I don't know if I can add an overlay on her.
Okay, so Emani this is you, gorgeous.
Now going to move onto Taylor.
All right, so this is a hassle that I've made.
And I think it goes really well with Taylor-Simone's
current look, and it would be I guess, an update
if she wants to have one.
Seems she likes like a natural glass.
If I'm looking correctly,
it seems she's looking like more a natural gloss.
That's a little bright.
And when you put an EA blush on let's say,
like a darker skin toned Sim, it doesn't look right
or it doesn't come up at all.
I think the Mac blushes that they added in,
like I've got them on, I'm trying them on Taylor right now.
And the Mac blushes, you can barely see them.
And so, you know, the makeup definitely needs an overhaul.
Riri, my good sis, if you're listening (laughs)
The Sims need your help (laughs).
And so my hair, I guess a face mask by Estrojans,
and a really nice skin overlay by THISISTHEM,
and it's completely changed the dynamic
of Taylor's Sims now.
Nails are a very, very, very much a popping piece
of accessory that I am so glad has come about
for The Sims.
Feeling a little bit bougie today.
So we're gonna put on some Louis Vuitton nails that I made.
So finally we have Naddia.
You know, I've always loved playing with hair
and changing it up and making it look different and fun.
And so I wanted to also bring that to The Sim,
just being able to change up your hair
and give us a little judge, a little va, va, voom.
Not everyday Afro and brain's going back.
You know, I'm tired of those being our only options.
So this Hair is by creator called SheSpeaksSimlish.
So what I'm gonna do is I'm also gonna add an overlay,
as we've been doing.
(bright upbeat music)
Ah, she looks so lovely.
And I'm gonna slap my good sis, Xmiramira's skin tone
on there as well.
So we are going back to the melanin pack because I see
that Naddia has got a very warm undertone.
So that is something that Mira's melanin pack,
can definitely help bring out more of.
I'm gonna throw on a Estrojans face mask as well.
And Naddia I think we good, I think we are good to go.
All three of you ladies are exceptionally beautiful.
It's even an honor to recreate you in The Sims.
So thank you for giving me the opportunity to do so.
(jazz music instrumental)
- Wow.
- Okay, period!
Okay, this is a baddie okay?
She is a bad (bloop).
I'm sorry, you gone bleep that out but yes.
- Like, wow.
I've never tried to make myself in The Sims before
'cause that's just not my thing, but this is cute.
The hair's cute, oh.
- I also like the hair.
It's like a textured updo, it's not really falling
into the two standard hairstyles of braid or Afro.
- [Woman] How do you feel about the hair?
- Hello, it's giving what it's supposed to gave.
(giggles) pretty much so.
Look at it, it looks exactly like me.
Not exactly like me, but it's giving, it's giving Emani.
- And ooh, she gave me a lip gloss.
Yes, the nose has a little more dimension.
It's not just flat.
- Yeah, I really like how they have nails.
Like EA usually doesn't have any nails and especially
that the nails are long and they look really trendy
and cute.
- After seeing my new and improved Sim me,
it not only highlights what maters and creators of color
can do, but it also shows the shortcomings that EA has.
- If I could tell EA one thing,
do better, like we would never get this from The Sims.
We would never get a goddess, not list moment.
We would never do that.
And it's not because they can't, it's because they don't
want to or they don't know about it.
- Y'all, I am in love with this character.
I love what EA is doing so far, but maybe if they
implemented some of the things that these customs,
like mater are doing, then it would be great.
And we would have a great experience in The Sims community.
(upbeat music)