Diversity in BG Deco Portraits

This is an excellent idea for a thread, @Tiarella . Lack of representation in portraits and photographs has been a problem in the series for a very long time. All the photos/artwork are mainly of one type of Sim.

The game has been making strides to include different cultures in the free packs and in the hair category. I applaud them for that. However, it would be nice to see representation in the deco/clutter area as well. Not only in historic portraits, but in any artwork that uses Sims as the subject.

I don't quite understand what this thread is about....what historical portraits are you talking about?

@Sigzy05 -- when you go into the decorative catalog and look at paintings, there are portraits of sims that appear to be from bygone eras--from sim-history, if you will.

All of them are sims of European descent. Every single one of them. As if the only sims of historical importance to anyone in the world come with pale skin and European features.

I want similar portraits for my non-European sims! :smile:

edited to correct the tag. :wink:

"Tiarella;c-16814575" wrote:
@Sigzy05 -- when you go into the decorative catalog and look at paintings, there are portraits of sims that appear to be from bygone eras--from sim-history, if you will.

All of them are sims of European descent. Every single one of them. As if the only sims of historical importance to anyone in the world come with pale skin and European features.

I want similar portraits for my non-European sims! :smile:

edited to correct the tag. :wink:

Like the one with a guy with freckles? Didn't know they were "historical". Well I don't mind having different sims in different portraits, caucasian or not. I don't really care, it's not a big deal to me.

It helps that they are already open to change, as we see with the various hairstyles and such that were practically unheard of in previous games, so that I can appreciate. But I'd like to see this too, even better if your sims could replicate it while painting. As well as Egyptian Queens and Kings, perhaps even Native American chiefs? But it's probably a stretch, I'm not sure if there would be any backlash regarding the Native American paintings. Heck, I rarely if ever see this in RL, so who knows if it can be included. It would simply be nice to see my heritage on a sim's wall one day, however it's nothing I will cry over if not included. Either way, it would certainly bring a cultural change to the mix as would the others mentioned.

I think this is an excellent suggestion!

For me, it's not only about historical portraits. It's about any artwork with a Sim in it. Very rarely is there a Sim of color included in those paintings/photos or collages.

For example, sometimes, when I decorate a lot, I need a painting of a particular size or shape (especially long, narrow ones). At times, I'll find something with the right shape, however, the subject matter doesn't fit the Sim or the story. It's odd having pictures that don't reflect the inhabitants of the lot in any way. In my mind, everything on a lot tells something about a Sim and their story. Most of the pictures in-game don't allow for that.

Thank goodness for some great custom content creators. If not for them, representation in the artwork is scant to none.

"Tiarella;c-16817306" wrote:
@Cynna - that's a great explanation. I too try to have the right town/neighborhood/lot/house/furniture/deco for every household I play. The furniture selection has grown, but the art selection still doesn't have paintings, photographs, or statues of sims who (or whose ancestors) originated in a continent other than Europe. That's quite an oversight on Maxis/EA's part, one that most corporations would want fixed before their product or service reached the market. This one's lasted 4 years. Time to fix it!

I found a list of SimGurus who are on Twitter (I'm not, or I'd ask SimGuruKimmi if she could do anything about this) -- do any of them visit or post at the forum? I'll tag SimGuruKate if no one knows of anyone more appropriate. :smile:

Thanks, @Tiarella. I tried. As for Twitter, I don't post there. I have a persistent aversion to it.

I don't know about super specific cultural portraits but non-white ones of the different cultures we have in the Sims world would certainly be nice. like we have Al Simhara, Shang Simla, Selvadorada. portraits, especially historical ones, from those parts would be super nice. I don't recall us getting anything like that in JA which is a shame. I'd even appreciate some baroque paintings of like aliens or something.

"littlemissgogo;c-16817608" wrote:
I don't know about super specific cultural portraits but non-white ones of the different cultures we have in the Sims world would certainly be nice. like we have Al Simhara, Shang Simla, Selvadorada. portraits, especially historical ones, from those parts would be super nice. I don't recall us getting anything like that in JA which is a shame. I'd even appreciate some baroque paintings of like aliens or something.

Exactly. :)