Sims 3 Architecture Career Help

I used Twinbrook for the architecture career in Sims 3, but you're welcome to use any other town.

I've compiled tips that worked for me playing:

Sims 3 base game + Sims 3 Ambitions + Sims 3 Generations

• 6 Tips
• Preferable Traits
• Links to more architecture advice

Tips

1. Take a photo of your client
You don't need the Photography skill (that comes with World Adventures).

Your client is rarely home when you do renovations. It doesn't matter how far along renovations you are, you could have put one chair down for the living room makeover, and still summon him/her home by exiting the house (click Live Mode) and clicking "Tell Client Renovation is complete".

When the client arrives on the lot (and before he/she reaches the front door) cancel the command.

It helps to engage in a compliment or some short conversation before taking the picture via:

Click your Sim / Cell Phone / Take Photo

Even if your client doesn't fit the full frame, and all you get is one eye, IT WORKS.

Your client will love you. Now click "Continue Renovation" to add that picture on the wall.
And turn it in.

Credit: Originally read the advice from JVENN at Sims 3 forums


2. Procrastination is good.

Don't try to complete a project/job last minute. Here's why:
Your client takes 30 minutes - 1.5 hours Sim time (depends on residence location) to return home.

Inspection takes another 15-20 Sim minutes, even more if your upgrade was on a second floor or anywhere that wasn't near the lobby. Factor in the time it takes for your client to shuffle around slowly, and you need 1-2 hours Sim time as a window/margin.

That means, even though you get off work at 6pm, it's best to call the client no later than 4pm.

If you're past that time, 3 things happen:

• Client comes back, but the job/project is bugged. You don't get any evaluation, nor experience.

• The game recognizes you've "completed" the job (on the checklist), so you can't even go back the next day to continue where you left off. It's finished, and there won't be a record of what you did even though you know it and your client knows it because he/she is lazing on the brand new chair you bought in front of their stupid pool... yeah

• You've just pissed yourself off again for wasting time on a no good bugger.
  There are many people who just try out things for fun, well, most people reading this are probably here because they actually like designing and enjoy expressing their artistic abilities.

3. Handcrafted works count even if your Sim didn't make them.
You could make a large family full of Artistic and Savvy Sculptor Sims, and their work will still count towards the "I love all the handcrafted finishes you did" in evaluation.

4. 'Tell Client Renovation is Complete' has higher priority over all other tasks.
This is in sync with tip #1, but this anecdote proves just how high that priority is:

I once had a pregnant Sim client go into labour RIGHT when she arrived home for the evaluation. I decided to test the evaluation option anyway. The pregnant Sim promptly marched over with me to the house and seemed to forget the incoming baby! Wonderful!

Immediately after she finished her review - which was overwhelmingly positive - I escorted her to the hospital.

If she had given a negative review, I would have left her crying on the spot... but not before detonating one of her pillows or better yet, the new crib installed.

(I've done that before)

Made possible with the Inventing skill.

5. Spouses' traits count too
Good example:
Eva Drudge is a bookworm, which means adding bookshelves scored a higher evaluation score than if I just focused on her husband ... the doctor, who has NO relevant traits for interior design.

Bad example:
Thomas Castor flew into a rage when I left $1 in the remaining budget.
He screamed that Beverly Castor was a snob and think they couldn't afford the renovation.
In the future, leave $0 if possible.

Credit: Originally read the advice from JVENN at Sims 3 forums

Unless your client is Frugal, by all means, burn through the money.

6. Rearrange items in your family inventory.
Budget problems: People advised deleting several things or an entire floor.
While this works well, I found something even more effective. Some might call it cheating.

I discovered it while I was deciding which art piece to place.

Taking things in and out of your FAMILY inventory adds to the funds:

It also works when you have TWO of the same item and they group up, for some reason, the game recognizes this two objects grouping as "selling" one item, and the money goes to client budget.
You can rearrange objects in your inventory as many times as you want, to get as much money as you want in the client's Budget Remaining.

This is great because you can always buy high quality objects even if your client is stingy like Phoenix Prudence.

However, it can cause some difficulty in getting it down to $0, because most Sim objects start at $3 or $9 or $10 Sim dollars.

So I'd advise putting in a few small objects that sell for $1 (I use a CC object for this one, haven't found a default item that works yet), $30-$50 (in-game roses from another sim), and $5000 (2 SimLife VR goggles) because it's the most lightweight thing that can add so much in a small space (everything else that costs around that price is big or requires like 30 grid squares... not possible in a swamp).

I realized that not everybody plays with cheats on like me.

If you're hesitant to use motherlode ($50 000 immediately), you could always use your art work. Even your paintings comes up as "sold" even though you are simply rearranging it in the inventory.

Sculptures are the fail-safe though, grouping two or more of the same type always count as sold.

Reference of how much you can sell for:

Brilliant painting: $800 - 2000
Great sculpture: $1500
Good architecture sketch: $350 - 500

I know the prices differ for everybody, but this should give you an idea of what's the maximum to expect. To cover your costs.

Traits
Few people mentioned Traits and Lifetime Rewards that the architect needs.

1. Perceptive 
REALLY KEY AND VALUABLE. If you can't choose the trait, buy the Observant Lifetime Reward as soon as possible. Just like in real life, sometimes it doesn't matter how amazing and artistic your Sim is, if you don't choose items according to the client's traits, you will get a bad evaluation.

Even though I play with cheats, I found this route much better than pausing game to load the client's household and find out traits. Besides, when I logged back into my house, the job/project mysteriously disappeared, as if the game KNEW I was cheating (shock).

Reading Sim wikia also helps if you are designing for a pre-made family, because the database has all their traits listed online. This thread is also incredibly helpful for Twinbrook residents.

Sometimes you just have clients who aren't in the database, because they're townies. It's much faster to get the Observant lifetime reward and pick traits up within a few Sim minutes of the first meeting.

2. Artistic/Savvy Sculptor
For all your art pieces that can be crafted and placed in the client's home. Even if the client hates art, you could sculpt a chair or a sink and it would still count towards "handcrafted touches."

Links

JVENN's 12 Tips were the most helpful, please give them a try!