What: The Odd Couple is a new couples competition with a twist: these aren't your average, run of the mill, "perfect match" couples. Your couples must have some sort of odd, opposites-attract sort of differences. Their differences can be physical (a nerd with a beauty queen) or mental (a complete slob with an OCD neat freak), it's entirely up to you! Make them as bizarre a pair as you like, the only trait it is important for them to share is a love for one another. Throughout the competition, you will be showcasing each individual Sim's personality, as well as the couple's relationship together.


Note: We may get a bit off-schedule with judging and extensions, but' we'll always try to get back to this schedule.

How: I'll be accepting entries until April 20th. I'm hoping to get 10 contestants to start out with- if we end up we more than 10, the judges and myself will narrow the pool down to 10. If we do not have 10 contestants by April 27th, we'll start with however many we do have. Remember, this is a couples competition, so you will be entering 2 Sims. To enter, simply fill out the following form:

Your name (or what you'd like to be called):
Couple's names:
Headshot of both Sims together on white background:
What makes them an odd couple?:
Short bio (if desired):

I'll be making a contestant wall once we get all of our contestants.

Judging:
Every week, your picture submissions will be judged on the following criteria:
Creativity 1-5
Did you think outside the box and do something unique for the assignment? Was your entry exciting? Did it go beyond the expected?
Relates to the Assignment 1-5
Does your picture relate to what was asked in the assignment and go along with the topic for this week's assignment?
Execution 1-5
This is the overall quality of the image itself. This is a rating of how well everything goes together, from the models' expressions, to the setting, the colors, etc. Your picture should convey a feeling.
Story 1-5
You should also be including a short story to go along with your image that ties the picture to the assignment topic of that week. Note that this score is not based on your writing abilities, but rather your ability to tell a story. You won't get points taken off for misspellings and the like.
Overall 1-10
This is the judges overall score of the assignment as a whole. This score reflects how well the judges feel that you did with the assignment.

Each judge will give each contestant a total score out of 30. The judges scores will be combined to give an overall score, and feedback will be given to contestant in order from highest to lowest scoring. Whichever contestant has the lowest score at the end of each week will be eliminated (we hate to see anyone go, but it has to happen)

I think that pretty much covers it! Feel free to ask me any questions if you've got 'em.





The last 3 couples in the com (first, second and third place) will be receiving a prize from me! Worth money. Actual money. But it's not actual money. Prize distribution is as follows:
3rd place: Any item or number of items from The Store totaling 100 SimPoints or less.
2nd place: Any item or number of items from The Store totaling 500 SimPoints or less.
1st place: Any item or number of items from The Store totaling 1000 SimPoints or less (a whole thousand? A whole thousand) AND your couple will replace Julie and Henry as The Odd Couple's "banner couple" if I do a season 2.


^me^
2) NeonRainbows8
3) Gleeky321
4) weerweer02

page 11

One Happy Family
----> Ah, it's been an adventure! Wedding and honeymoon festivities have long since passed, and your couple has settled into the groove of just living their lives together. They've even taken on a whole new adventure - they've started a family! Only time will tell what other exciting journeys your couple will embark on, but for now, they're content just enjoying time with their little (or big!) family.

In this round, you'll be submitting 1 picture showing us your Sims' family that they've started together. This picture can be taken in either a portrait style or as a candid action shot. The photo must take place at some point AFTER the wedding - how far into the future you'd like to take it is up to you. You can show your couple as anything from brand new parents to grandparents. Feel free to age your couple up as needed for the time frame of this assignment. Have fun, and remember, you will be judged on the following criteria: <----

Creativity /5
(How creative your idea is)
Relates to the assignment /5
(Whether you did what was asked for the assignment)
Execution /5
(Overall quality of the picture)
Story /5
(Please include a brief story to go along with your picture so that we know what is going on. We really want to get to know your couples!)
Overall /10
(Self explanatory)
For a total of 30 points per judge.





Entries so far:

Blair + Finn by Cookie - 57/60


Please Judge Full Size

Blair and Finn’s POV

Well, a lot of time has gone by and our lives have changed dramatically. For starters, we’re old! We also have a family and you may be asking why our family looks quite different from others.

Finn’s POV

Blair’s love for children really made her want a child, but unfortunately after several tries and even IVF treatment, we were unable to make her dream of having her very own child a reality. That period of our lives was very dark and Blair wasn’t herself. After a lot of thought, we decided to adopt a beautiful little freckled girl named Freyja.

Blair’s POV

She really lit up our lives and she brought us a lot of joy, especially mine. Freyja grew up and married, and she gave birth to a sweetie-pie named Phoenix! She always loved hanging out with other kids and she hasn't stopped - even at the ripe old age of sixteen! Poor Freyja then divorced and came to live with us. We were overjoyed to hear that she was pregnant again with Jasmine, a girl who can act quite odd to others, but she and I share the same mindset! Although my joints still don't work as well as they used to I can still play a pretty mean game of tag with her! It was not long before she found a little play-mate in her step-brother Arnold. He is so serious, especially in his studies, but still finds time to muck around with his sister.

Finn’s POV

Freyja really loves to fill the house with the pitter patter of little feet, because she gave birth to a gorgeous animal lover called Margaret. Because of all the children in our house, Freyja travelling the world and our horse no longer being with us - we substituted real animals with toy ones. Margaret doesn't mind and she can't wait until she can have a horse of her own! Finally we have Ai and Xavier. Freyja adopted them whilst on her travels. They are considered the 'twins' of the family since they happened to be born on the same day! Xavier is curious about everything - especially food. In fact, that was his first word! Ai is very energetic but needs really long naps in between. She is quite a handful but at least Blair is not alone in the unusual hair colour department!

Blair and Finn’s POV

Although our family may not be perfect and our lives are slowly coming to an end, we still enjoy our time together! And we are more in love than ever. We still share life’s joys from the small things such as spending time with our grandkids to the big things such as finding out that another grandkid is on the way!

Whatever life throws at us, I’m sure that we will take it in our stride.

Me
Creativity: 5/5
Relates to Assignment: 5/5
Execution: 5/5
Story: 5/5
Overall: 10/10

My Mom
Creativity: 3/5
Relates to Assignment: 5/5
Execution: 5/5
Story: 5/5
Overall: 9/10
You really have come super far in this comp. Your photos started out great and they've become truly awesome, and I think you've really started to tell entire stories in your pictures. They really are worth a thousand words. The settings in your photos just come alive now, and this one is certainly no exception. You've built not just a room in a house, but a room in a house that is distinctly Blair and Finn's. There are little touches of each of them here and yet at the same time, you can tell just by looking at their home that they've grown into a calmer lifestyle now that they're older - even with all those kids around! I also thought that the story you gave for them was really touching and beautiful, and I love that they got the daughter they always wanted in Freyja - and lots of grandkids to boot! My mom mentioned that she had a bit of a hard time following the story on it's own, and figuring out who was who in your photo, but once you have them side by side it flows a lot better. She didn't think your idea was super creative and thought that it was a sort of traditional family shot, but I disagree. I think that you get a sense of every new family members' individual personalities here, and that is a hard thing to do when you've got so many people in one picture. You've created a beautiful story and a beautiful family for Blair and Finn. You've grown so much throughout this competition. Congrats on an awesome job!


Arnie + Maggie by Pink - 54/60
Arnie's POV
Time flew by after we got married. With promotions and graduations, we didn't have much time to think about having kids. It did cross our minds a few times, but we never thought about it till it actually happened. Finding out Maggie was pregnant was the most nerve wracking and joyous moment of my life. I couldn't believe I was going be a father, but after seeing Maggie's smiling face I knew I could do it.

Now I'm living the life of a family man with two kids. Yes two! Two beautiful daughters at that and Maggie is pregnant again for a 3rd time! Anybody else head would be spinning, but after going through this twice, what's one more! I just hope it's a boy this time. Not that I don't love living in a world full of pink and unicorns, but a boy would be nice.

"Girls go to bed! This isn't a time to play!"

"No! You said we could paint your fingernails again."

*sigh* Ok ok,...but no glitter this time."



Maggie's POV
Haha, I love my family! Poor Arnie is such a pushover, but the kids just love him. He's the perfect dad.

When I found out I was pregnant with our first daughter, I ran around the house like a crazy woman trying to figure out what to do. I just couldn't imagine us being parents. I cried my eyes out telling Arnie the nerve wracking and joyous news. He was really shocked at first, but he took it really well. I think deep down in his heart, he really wanted to be a dad. Now I can't imagine us not being parents. Having another one was a no brainier and now I'm pregnant with the 3rd. It's kind of crazy how our lives have changed. They grow up so fast too. I just hope this one is a boy, so Arnie can have a son. He's such a push over with the girls.

"Ugh now can you go to bed?"

"No not yet Daddy!"

"Ugh.."

*sigh* "I love my family. Honey you need some help?"

[i]Me
Creativity: 5/5
Relates to Assignment: 5/5
Execution: 5/5
Story: 4/5
Overall: 9/10

My Mom
Creativity: 4/5
Relates to Assignment: 5/5
Execution: 5/5
Story: 4/5
Overall: 8/10
I love the life in this photo! Your pictures are always just so full of life. I can definitely tell Arnie's got his hands full with 2 little girls; can you imagine if Maggie has another one?! I love the setting you've created here as well, it's so so girly. Poor Arnie I love that I can see a little bit of Maggie and Arnie in their kids. You've done a consistently awesome job throughout the competition of setting a scene and telling a story The only thing about your story this time is that it wasn't quite as detailed as I would have like it to have been. My mom and myself both thought that while it was a good story, and well told, it was a bit too much like the story of every young couple. I do feel that I know these kids, though, just from the picture. These girls are full of energy and they love to play. And they are total daddy's girls! I love how you've portrayed that in the picture. I seeing your couple grow throughout the competition, thanks for sharing their story and congrats on doing an awesome job throughout the comp!


Runner Up:

ColorMePink

Congrats Pink! You did a great job in this competition, and thank you for sharing your Maggie and Arnie's story with me!

Winner:

CookieDough

Congratulations Cookie! You just got better and better throughout this competition. Thanks for sharing your lovely Sims and their story.




Total scores:
Blair and Finn - 60 + 86.5 + 57 = 203.5
Maggie and Arnie - 58 + 75 + 54 = 187
Kimi and Jaycen - 58

I absolutely adore this idea since my boyfriend and I can be looked at as an "odd couple" I think I'll submit our simselves for this. :3 Reserve me please?

I think I will be a judge:
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YAY FOR JUDGING!

MAy I judge?

You're reserved, cuddles! I'm excited to see your simselves! :3

NeonRainbows and Gleeky, I've got your e-mails written down, so you can go ahead and remove them if you'd like. Hooray for judges! I'll send you guys a test mail here in a second just to make sure I've got them right.

Could you reserve me too, please?

Please reserve me! As long as it's ok I use very little cc and don't have poseplayer.....

You're both reserved! Ray, that's perfectly okay with me. A few of the assignments I have planned may be a bit more challenging without the pose player, but they're definitely still doable. As long as you're up for the challenge, then that's totally fine!

Should I make a head shot for judging?

May i please judge?

Rayshizzie wrote:Please reserve me! As long as it's ok I use very little cc and don't have poseplayer.....

Awsome, I'm totally up for this...this contest is just way to cool to pass up. Honestly I have been considering installing the pose player mod, although I have never used any mods before. I figure since I'm just sarting to get into these contests it might be something worth getting. Is it easy to use and install? Also is there any certain poseplayer mod you might reccomend I use? Thanks!

Rayshizzie wrote:

Rayshizzie wrote:Please reserve me! As long as it's ok I use very little cc and don't have poseplayer.....

Awsome, I'm totally up for this...this contest is just way to cool to pass up. Honestly I have been considering installing the pose player mod, although I have never used any mods before. I figure since I'm just sarting to get into these contests it might be something worth getting. Is it easy to use and install? Also is there any certain poseplayer mod you might reccomend I use? Thanks!

Maybe this will help you: http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/425438.page

As for use, it's very simple. Download poses, install them, click on pose player and select the pose.

Off from work (finally), so time to address some questions

Gleeky321 wrote:Should I make a head shot for judging?

Ah, I was thinking about that last night. I originally wasn't planning to have you guys do that, but you certainly can if you'd like to. Rainbows, you can make a headshot if you'd like as well, and I'll make a judge's wall.

theabster123 wrote:May i please judge?

Unfortunately all the judges spots are filled, sorry There are still infinite spaces open for contestants, though, if you're interested.

Rayshizzie wrote:

Rayshizzie wrote:Please reserve me! As long as it's ok I use very little cc and don't have poseplayer.....

Awsome, I'm totally up for this...this contest is just way to cool to pass up. Honestly I have been considering installing the pose player mod, although I have never used any mods before. I figure since I'm just sarting to get into these contests it might be something worth getting. Is it easy to use and install? Also is there any certain poseplayer mod you might reccomend I use? Thanks!

I literally JUST installed Pose Player 2 days ago (I took a looong break from Sims when my old PC broke down- I didn't even know Pose Player existed until Monday). Installation is pretty simple- if you've ever downloaded any CC that's a .package file, Pose Player works the very same way. Once you have Pose Player installed, you can download any pose pack that you like and those poses will show up under the list in Pose Player. All you do to get it to work on your Sims is buy the Pose Player ($1 under misc decor) and have the sim you want to make a pose select it, then choose the pose you want them to make.