One of the most beloved and lucrative skills in the Sims 4 is the painting skill. Paintings can be sold for thousands of simoleons or hung up and framed around your Sims’ homes. All of this is possible with only the base game which is free for everyone!
What is the Painting skill in the Sims 4?
Painting Skill Levels (What You Unlock At Each Level)
By levelling up in the painting skill, sims will unlock new paintings and are more likely to create higher quality paintings (these will sell for more money!).
| Skill Level | Unlocked Perks |
|---|---|
| 1 | Can create paintings on the canvas. |
| 2 | New Social Interaction: Discuss Colour Theory |
| 3 | Low skill: Pop Art |
| 4 | Low skill: Realism |
| Low skill: Abstract | |
| Medium skill: Classic | |
| 5 | Medium skill: Pop Art |
| Low skill: Surrealism | |
| Low skill: Impressionistic | |
| 6 | High skill: Classic |
| Medium skill: Realism | |
| Medium skill: Abstract | |
| 7 | High skill: Pop Art |
| Medium skill: Surrealism | |
| Medium skill: Impressionistic | |
| 8 | High skill: Realism |
| High skill: Abstract | |
| New Social Interaction: Describe Aesthetics | |
| 9 | High skill: Surrealism |
| High skill: Impressionistic | |
| 10 | New Social Interaction: Mentor other Sims in Painting skill |
How to Gain Painting Skill in the Sims 4
1. Use an Easel or Digital Sketchpad
Buy an easel or a digital sketchpad from build/buy mode. The base game easel costs 350 simoleons compared to 1,000 simoleons for the digital sketchpad.
2. Read Painting Skill Books
Purchase a Painting Skill Book from any bookcase or computer and select the “Buy a Book” option. To easily find the book that you want, use the dropdown menu to filter for Skill books only.
Purchase the volume appropriate for the level of painting skill that your Sim currently has.
- Vol. 1: The Fundamentals of Painting (Beginner) for levels 1 to 3 (75 simoleons)
- Vol. 2: The History of Painting (Intermediate) for levels 4 to 6 (150 simoleons)
- Vol. 3: The Painting of Painting (Advanced) for levels 7 to 9 (250 simoleons)
Little touches like the names of skill books or descriptions of some items in build/buy mode makes it feel like players have a friendship with the creators of the game, so keep an eye out for the puns and silliness sprinkled throughout the Sims 4!
3. Sit in on Skill Class (requires Discover University)
Use the phone to “Sit in on Skill Class” for 250 simoleons. This option can be found under the Business category on your sim’s phone if you have the Sims 4 Discover University installed. Your sim will disappear into a rabbit hole for a few hours and increase their painting skill.
How to Gain the Painting Skill Faster and Create Higher Quality Paintings
- Be Inspired!
- Like Painting: Modify your Sim’s likes and dislikes in CAS (use this cheat!)
- Live in a Tier 1 or 2 sized tiny house (requires The Sims 4 Tiny Living): Gain all skills faster on this lot type!
- Purchase the “Painting Boost” Club Perk (requires The Sims 4 Get Together): Join or create a club and then with 400 club points you can purchase the Painting Boost club perk which will increase the speed your sim gains the painting skill during club gatherings.
- Wear jewellery made with charged Orange Topaz (requires The Sims 4 Crystal Creations). Orange Topaz is common to find or can be purchased via the crystal workstation. When charged it causes sims to gain creative skills faster and increases their chances of creating masterpieces.
How to Become Inspired
Sim’s can become inspired by taking a thoughtful shower or using moulding clay (purchase in the toy section of build mode) or doing any creative activity such as playing an instrument. For immediate inspiration you can purchase the Inspired potion from the rewards store for 200 satisfaction points. With The Sims 4 Outdoor Retreat, Sim’s can gain inspiration from cloud or star gazing. Additionally, sims who complete brain-boosting yoga will become inspired (requires The Sims 4 Spa Day). Lastly, Having inspiring decor in your sim’s presence will make them inspired. For example, the easel that comes as part of the Sims 4 Artist Studio kit can have an emotional aura causing inspiration.
Helpful Traits
- Art Lover (are more emotionally affected by paintings than others)
- Creative (become inspired more frequently)
- Overachiever (increase skills quicker)
- Perfectionist (have positive moodlets after crafting something of good quality)
Helpful Reward Potions and Reward Traits
Access the rewards store via the aspiration panel and use satisfaction points to purchase reward potions and traits. If your Sim doesn’t have enough points, then you need to complete more of their wants and aspiration milestones to earn them. Another option is to use the satisfaction points cheat to instantly fix your problem. I recommend the following reward potions and traits to help increase your Sim’s painting skill:
- Inspired Potion (200 satisfaction points)
- Creative Visionary (2,000 satisfaction points)
- Morning Sim (1,000 satisfaction points)
- Night Owl (1,000 satisfaction points)
- Savant (4,000 satisfaction points)
The Marketable reward trait (1,500 satisfaction points) allows your Sim to sell crafted items for more simoleons, so you can make even more simoleons from painting!
Helpful Lot Traits
Home Studio (good for painting, writing and woodworking)
Sunny Aspects (increases chance of being inspired)
Peace and Quiet (learn skills faster from reading)
Helpful Neighbourhood Action Plan (Eco Lifestyle)
Promote Creative Arts
Emotional Paintings
When your sim is playful, focussed, sad, or confident they will have an option to create an emotional painting appropriate to their mood.
Painting Skill Cheat
Follow these steps to instantly alter your Sim’s painting skill level:
- Open the cheat bar by pressing:
- Command + Shift + C on PC.
- CTRL + Shift + C on Mac.
- All four triggers on console (i.e., PS4 or Xbox one).
- Activate cheats by typing in “testingcheats true” and then press enter.
- Type into the bar stats.set_skill_level Major_Painting X. Replace X with the number of the level that you want your Sim to have (10 is the maximum!).
Press enter and the level of the painting skill your Sim has will change!
What is the Painting Skill Useful for in the Sims 4?
Careers that Require the Painting Skill
Painter
Stylist (only in higher ranks of the career)
Aspirations that Require the Painting Skill
Painter Extraordinaire
Helpful Degrees (Discover University)
The painting skill will increase during your sim’s studies in Fine Arts and Art History. However, having some of the skill already before applying will increase their chances of getting accepted into either of the distinguished degree programs.
Can You Make Money With The Painting Skill in the Sims 4?
Boy can you! Painting is one of the very best skills to earn money within the Sims 4. It’s perfect for rags and riches players! Here are ways to sell your paintings:
- Sell from you sim’s inventory
- Sell to Art Gallery or Collector (option when clicking on a completed painting)
- List on plopsy (requires the Sims 4 Nifty Knitting stuff pack)
Final Remarks
The painting skill is a classic and well used tool to earn money quickly in the Sims 4. I love all the different paintings that sims can make. Remember that even if you are bored of the painting designs you can always paint from reference.
Let me know in the comments below if you have any questions!
Have a lovely day and happy simming!
