The Sims 3 The Sims 4 This article is/was a featured article.

W magnifying glass.png
Missing information
This article is missing information about The Sims 4.
You can help The Sims Wiki by adding it.

Sim painting .jpg
A Sim painting.

For the similar skill, see Creativity (skill).
For other uses, see Painting (disambiguation).

Painting is a skill in The Sims 3 and The Sims 4.

Sims can make small, medium, or large-sized paintings. A finished painting can be named, hung on the wall, or sold either from the easel, inventory, or consignment store. Sketches made from the drafting table or sketchbook cannot be consigned, however.

The Sims 3[edit | edit source]

Painting skill icon.png

The painting skill is augmented by the Artistic trait, and the Extra Creative lifetime reward. Sims can learn Painting skill by using the easel, drafting table[TS3:A], or sketchbook[TS3:UL]. They can also take a class at the school or college of art. With Ambitions, Sims can register as a self-employed Painter.

Statistics[edit | edit source]

  • Number of Paintings Created
  • Number of Brilliant Paintings Finished
  • Number of Masterpieces Painted
  • Worth of Most Valuable Painting Sold
  • Money Earned from Paintings
  • Number of Sketchbook Sketches Created[TS3:UL]

Challenges[edit | edit source]

Brushmasters have painted at least 30 paintings, and as a result, paint much faster than normal painters.
Proficient Painter
Proficient Painters have proven their worth by painting at least 6 brilliant paintings. They tend to paint far more brilliant paintings and masterpieces than less proficient Sims.
Master Painter
Master Painters have painted at least 5 masterpieces. Every painting they sell is worth oodles more than the work of normal artists.

Abilities[edit | edit source]

Level Abilities
4 "Practice Painting" interaction is changed to "Paint"
5 Paint a Still-Life painting
Sketch Still Life[TS3:UL]
Paintings begin to appreciate in value
6 Paint a Brilliant painting
Paint an Insane, Genius, or Somber Stylized Still-Life painting[1]
7 Paint Portrait of someone
8 Memorize scene from cellphone
Paint from memory
9 Paint a Somber Stylized Still-Life painting
Paint a Masterpiece

Painting value and quality[edit | edit source]

The value of the paintings varies, and it depends on many factors, including skill level, canvas size, painting quality, number of paintings Sims have made, and some other factors.

  • The base value of the painting depends on the canvas size and skill level. Below is the table of base painting value.
Canvas Size / Type Skill Level
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Small 1 3 8 12 21 30 55 100 145 200 280
Medium 10 15 25 40 75 110 150 225 310 400 525
Large 30 50 80 110 150 220 300 425 600 750 1,000
Drafting table[2] 2 5 8 12 21 30 55 100 145 200 280
Sketchbook 1 2 2 2 3 3 4 5 6 7 10

The following bonuses apply to the base value of the painting (multiplied)

Bonus Modifier
Random modifier x0.75 - 1.25
Random modifier (sketchbook) x0.75 - 1.75
Brilliant/Masterpiece x1.25 / x1.5
Master Painter challenge completed x1.3

The following bonus is added to the painting value (addition). n is the amount of works created in that specific category.

Canvas size Bonus value
Small n x 2
Medium n x 4
Large n x 6
Drafting table n x 2
Sketchbook n x 3 [3]

The total value of above is then multiplied with the following bonuses (if they apply)

Bonus Final Modifier
Portrait x1.4
Extra Creative lifetime reward x1.5
Completing Local Artists Gallery. Applied once after completion x2
Final painting value formula
(BaseValue x Modifiers + Bonus) x FinalModifiers

The painting value appreciates every day if the painting is made at level 5 skill or higher. The appreciation value is earned from the skill level (s) the painting was first started times the canvas size.

  • Small = s x 0.5
  • Medium = s x 0.75
  • Large = s x 1
  • Drafting table = n x 0.5
  • Sketchbook = n x 0.75

If the artist dies, the painting value is added by §930 and the rate of appreciation above is doubled. This bonus will not be given if the artist was already a ghost.

Brilliant paintings and masterpieces are unlocked at level 6 and 9 of Painting skill, respectively. There's a 20% chance Sims will paint a brilliant painting and 10% chance for masterpiece. The chance can be increased by having either of the following benefit:

  1. +40% (brilliant) and +35% (masterpiece) if the Sim has completed Proficient Painter challenge,
  2. +25% (brilliant) and +15% (masterpiece) if the Sim has Extra Creative lifetime reward, or
  3. +20% (brilliant) and +15% (masterpiece) if the Sim has the Perfectionist trait.

Keep in mind that the preceding benefits do not stack. The priority is sorted in descending order, so the benefits will supersede the following. This means that having completed the Proficient Painter challenge will void the Extra Creative reward and Perfectionist trait. In University Life, completing the Brilliance and Masterpiece opportunities allows Sims to paint brilliant paintings and masterpieces at will. See below.

Painting speed[edit | edit source]

Canvas size Time taken in minutes
Large 480
Draft 320
Medium 300
Small 180
Sketch 45

Below modifiers will affect the time needed to paint, but only applicable for easel paintings.

Modifier Time difference
Perfectionist trait +15 minutes[4]
Portrait +50% time[5]
Brushmaster challenge or efficient trait chip (Plumbots) -50% time[6]

Painting styles[edit | edit source]

See also: Painting/Gallery

As Sims advance in the Painting skill, the quality of the paintings also get better. There are 171 paintings available to paint (158 from the base game, 13 from The Sims 3: Into the Future). Each painting has minimum and maximum skill caps—Sims with low Painting skill cannot make a high-level painting, and vice versa. This means that once the Sim has advanced in the skill, they will no longer be able to paint unique low-level paintings.

This can be overcome in The Sims 3: University Life. Sims who have reached level 6 in Art Appraiser career at either branch can receive the Advanced Art Training opportunity chain from the abandoned warehouse. Once Sims complete the opportunity chain, they are given the ability to paint paintings at any skill level on the easel, which also unlocks Brilliance opportunity, which unlocks Masterpiece. Completing the respective opportunities will enable Sims to paint brilliant paintings and masterpieces at will.

Trait-based paintings[edit | edit source]

Each painting has 9 variations that depends on the Sim's traits. All variations of the painting are equally weighed if the Sim has one or more traits on the list. The variations of the painting generally use Photoshop filters to create the effect.

Trait Description Example
None Basic painting. Painting brilliant small 1.png
Artistic Gives the painting watercolor effect, making it blurry (Paint Daubs filter). Painting brilliant small 1 Artistic.png
Can't Stand Art Strokes become thicker and darker (Dark Strokes filter). Painting brilliant small 1 Can't Stand Art.png
Computer Whiz Gives the painting pixelated effect (Patchwork filter). Painting brilliant small 1 Computer Whiz.png
Evil The painting is tinted with red. Painting brilliant small 1 Evil.png
Genius Turns the painting into single-colored polygons (Stained Glass filter). Painting brilliant small 1 Genius.png
Grumpy The painting is tinted with blue. Painting brilliant small 1 Grumpy.png
Insane The painting loses a lot of details (Cutout filter). Painting brilliant small 1 Insane.png
Neurotic Turns the painting into bright neon effect (Glowing Edges filter). Painting brilliant small 1 Neurotic.png
Virtuoso Gives a slight glow to the painting (Diffuse Glow filter). Painting brilliant small 1 Virtuoso.png

Still-life paintings[edit | edit source]

At level 5, Sims can paint a still-life painting and sketch[TS3:UL]. When choosing this painting type, the screen will display a camera interface. The players can position the camera to capture the still-life snapshot for the Sim to paint. The still-life painting has 2 basic effects. Either effect will be applied to the painting randomly.

At level 7, Sims can paint portrait of other Sims or pets[TS3:P]. The players can take the snapshot of the other Sim or pet. They will pose while the Sim paints. Portraits take 50% longer to complete, but the value is worth 40% more than regular paintings.

At level 8, Sims can memorize scene using the cellphone. The camera interface will be displayed for the players to capture a snapshot. Sims can later paint from memory on the easel, based on the snapshot taken from the memorize scene interaction.

Stylized still-life paintings[edit | edit source]

Upon reaching level 6 Painting skill, Sims can unlock additional stylized still-life paintings, providing they have the required traits. There are three types of stylized paintings, i.e. Genius, Insane, and Somber. Genius style requires Genius trait, Insane style requires Insane trait, and Somber style requires Grumpy trait. Having the Artistic trait will unlock all the styles.

There's a chance that Sims will apply a style when painting the basic still-life painting if they have certain traits or moodlets. This only happens randomly, and cannot be done on command.

  • Somber: Grumpy and Can't Stand Art traits; Lonely, Desolate, Disappointed, Lost A Friend, Rejected Proposal, Heartbroken, Mourning, Boring Conversation, Embarrassed, Humiliated, Upset, Feeling Unlucky, and Buzz Crashed moodlets
  • Genius: Genius trait; Buzzed, Divine Meal, Intrigued, Honor Student, Learning Quickly, and Tranquil moodlets
  • Insane: Insane, Over Emotional, Neurotic, and Never Nude traits.

Reaching level 9 of the skill will unlock the Somber style regardless of the trait, but not the other two.

Trivia[edit | edit source]

  • There's a 20% chance the painting will be displayed at the art gallery, but only if it's sold directly from the easel.
  • Crafted paintings cannot be stolen by Kleptomaniacs, but can still be robbed by burglars.
  • If the Sim has the Extra Creative lifetime reward or has completed any of the skill challenges, his/her right hand will sparkle while painting.
  • When renovating a house as a Sim who works in Architectural Designer profession, decorating the house with the portrait of the client or member of the client's household will add bonus scores.[TS3:A]

Allusions of real life paintings[edit | edit source]

Most brilliant paintings and masterpieces are allusions of real life paintings. The paintings below are some of the examples.

The Sims 4[edit | edit source]

Skill TS4 Painting.png

In the Sims 4, painting skill can be increased by painting on easels, drawing on placemats at restaurants, or spraypainting/airbrushing street murals[TS4:CL]. Painting skill can only be developed by teen and older Sims. Reaching Painting Level 10 is the requirement of the Refined Palette Achievement.

Different emotional states enable paintings to be created that have auras corresponding to the emotional state the Sim was in who painted it. The player can enable the emotional effect or disable the emotional effect.

Emotional states that affect painting:

  • Confident: Viewing a confident painting or being in the same room with one, can cause a Sim to become confident.
  • Flirty: Viewing a flirty painting will cause a Sim to become flirty. Being in the same room with a flirty painting increases the odds that a Sim will become flirty.
  • Angry
  • Sad
  • Playful
  • Inspired: Painting while inspired causes Sims to gain painting skill faster and earn more money from their paintings.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. Depends on the Sim's traits.
  2. Depends on the type of interaction the Sim uses: Stylist profession for research new fashion concepts, Architectural Designer profession for research architectural design, and Painting skill for all three interactions. The highest level of either skill or profession is preferred.
  3. While this number is in the code the game forces n to always be 0.
  4. applied before, and is affected by the following
  5. does not apply to sketchbook nor drafting table
  6. does not apply to sketchbook nor drafting table

External links[edit | edit source]

TS4 star trophy icon.png
Featured Article

Dates featured: October 2014.
