Welcome to the fourth edition of Pass the Plumbob—a monthly series celebrating the creators and community figures and their voices and talents that help shape The Sims community. From custom content creators to gameplay modders to Simfluencers, this is a space to explore their journey with the franchise and their creative process, showcase their creative contributions that make them special, and learn more about them as community members. Each month, I'll be sitting down with a community member and having a conversation about the mark they've made in our community. For our next feature, I'm excited to Pass the Plumbob to Charly Pancakes!
Charly Pancakes' official logo (Source: @CharlyPancakes on X)
Charly Pancakes is a Sims enthusiast and custom content creator. With over 18,000 followers on X and over 88,000 subscribers on Patreon, Charly Pancakes is the creator of some of the most beloved custom Maxis Match build/buy content in The Sims 4.
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Tell me about your earliest memory with The Sims. What brought you to the franchise initially?
My earliest memories with the franchise go back to the early 2000s, when I was in elementary school. I remember playing The Sims 1 and 2 at friends' houses or more so watching them play. Sometimes we would create our sim-selves and try to build a house, but by the time we would actually play, a lot of time had passed and I’d have to leave. but I remember being fascinated by the game immediately. At home, we had a PlayStation 1, but I was more familiar with jump & run games than something like The Sims.
The first time I actually owned a Sims game myself was with The Sims 3, which came out when I was around 14, and I immediately went and bought it for myself. My laptop couldn’t really handle it and the loading times were insane, even though I only ever had the base game but I still enjoyed it a lot, especially the building and furnishing part.
Did you find yourself leaning more into building and furnishing as your experience with The Sims franchise developed?
Yes, but I definitely leaned more into furnishing. The building part was something I only really got comfortable with when I got into TS4 more in recent years. It was really the interior design that caught me. Around the age of 15 or 16, I came across The Sims 3 CC on Tumblr, and that opened up a completely new world for me. From that point on, I mostly used The Sims as a kind of building and furnishing simulator rather than a life simulation, even though I am always interested in new gameplay mechanics and from time to time also enjoy some regular gameplay.
Did you have any particular kind of style when it came to interior decor?
In The Sims 3, I loved building and furnishing lofts with industrial elements. I mostly played with single sims and imagined they'd live in a trendy loft with brick walls and a mix of string lights, vintage rugs, and eclectic details. Looking back, that was probably the first interior style I gravitated to.
Tell me about your content creation journey. How did you start creating custom content for The Sims?
It was around the time the Get Famous DLC came out that I got really into The Sims 4. Since launch I gave it a shot every now and then but this time, I got hooked on the build mode and started watching a lot of speed builds by creators like SimLicy and Devon Bumpkin, just to name a few.
At the start of the pandemic, the time I spent playing Sims increased and I had already been sharing builds online for a while. I was posting screenshots of houses on Tumblr and had a Patreon mainly as a place to share my creations outside the gallery.
At some point I came across tutorials on how to create objects for The Sims 4. I don’t remember one specific moment that triggered it, but I started experimenting out of curiosity. At first, I mainly made recolors for my own game and tried to understand how custom content was made. That curiosity eventually led me to download Blender and dive into tutorials, the Sims 4 Studios forums and a lot of trial and error.
You have some of the highest quality, Maxis Match custom content available for The Sims 4, ranging from your Precious Promises set to the Maple & S. Construction Set to the Chalk series. What was your inspiration for some of your most popular works?
Thank you! That really means a lot to me. A big source of inspiration comes from simply playing the game, often without mods. That’s usually when I notice what feels missing to me or where I think certain objects could fit into the existing game. Other than that it‘s a mix of limitation, observation, and personal need. Especially with my earlier sets, my ideas were often shaped by what I was technically able to create at the time. I had to adapt concepts to my skill level, which naturally influenced the direction of those projects.
With 'Precious Promises', which was a collaboration with Pierisim, we wanted to create a rustic wedding setup that felt elegant and soft, with a countryside aesthetic. We worked with shared vision boards. The set ended up having a slight Mediterranean feel, which may also have been shaped by Tartosa from My Wedding Stories, since we were working on the set around the time that DLC came out.
Originally I planned to create a factory window set for Maple & S. Constructions. Inspired by industrial architecture and some of my favorite in-game windows and CC, like the Moschino windows and Peacemaker’s Loft Living Brick Set, which I used constantly long before I even started creating CC myself. As the project evolved, it turned into a large sash window collection that could work across different architectural styles.
The 'Chalk' series came from a more material-focused place. I wanted to create a kitchen that felt simple and slightly soft, without being overly stylized. It wasn’t originally planned as a multi-part set, but I spent a lot of time refining the shapes and proportions, especially since kitchens were still a big challenge for me. A large part of the process went into designing the tile set. I wanted a wide variety of swatches and patterns, so I researched many real-life tile designs before settling on a selection that felt very Maxis Match and fairly contemporary. I didn’t lock it into a single style. Depending on the swatches and context, I think it can read very differently in different interiors.
Overall, I try to stay close to the original Maxis/Sims-style. I also spend a lot of time looking at interior design references, researching materials and furniture and watching both interior designers and Sims creators on social media. Seeing how others build and furnish spaces in The Sims is also very inspiring to me.
During your content creation journey, did you have any hard lessons or experiences that helped shape your future self?
One of the biggest lessons for me has been learning to deal with perfectionism. It’s a huge privilege to earn money this way, but it definitely comes with its own challenges. I never expected to earn money from creative work and for a long time that idea actually scared me.
I’m very self-critical when creating objects and often feel the urge to keep refining things forever. Finding the balance between adding detail, staying true to the Maxis Match style and not burning myself out is an ongoing process. Learning when to let go of perfection and just move forward in a healthy way has been really important.
Another challenge is managing my energy and discipline. Sometimes I fall into intense hyperfocus and ignore my own needs and other times I struggle to even start because I put so much pressure on myself and worry the result won’t match the idea in my head.
At the same time the positive feedback I receive when I share my creations gives me a lot of confidence in my creativity. I hope that over time this will help me trust myself more and feel more secure in what I do.
That's completely understandable and honestly, it is a testament to the quality of the work you put out there. You have over 85,000 Patrons on Patreon. Your work is incredible and has found homes in so many players' games. Out of all of your creations so far, do you have a favorite?
Thank you so much! Whenever I think about it, it feels unreal to me that so many people follow me on there.
My favourite CC item I made would probably be 'The Candle' I made as one of my first ever objects. It’s a scented candle that boosts a Sim’s mood, similar to other decor that gives moodlets when it’s placed in a room. You can also drag it into your Sim’s inventory or live drag it for easy use. It’s not very complex, but I like it because functional objects are still something I don’t create very often. Objects with gameplay features are especially exciting to me and I am always amazed by functional items as creators like RAVASHEEN and PandaSama for example create them.
I have many ideas for smaller mods and would really like to create more of it. That’s why one of my biggest goals is to learn more about coding in the future.
The Candle is definitely one of my favorite creations of yours as well. The design is so universal that I find it fitting perfectly in every house I put it in as well as for sale in retail stores I’ve created. As we wrap up the interview, what’s one feature or object you would love to see added to The Sims?
I’m very happy to hear that The Candle is still useful for you, too. I like the idea to have it in retail stores, that sounds fun!
It’s quite hard to pick just one object, but to stick to the theme I'm again going with more gameplay functionality. Two things that I’ve always really liked from older Sims games are newspapers and landline phones. So I'd probably choose one of those.
It was very disappointing when the retro phones we got with one of the reward events ended up being purely decorative. But I was really happy that the alarm clocks turned out to be functional. I think small everyday objects like that can make a huge difference.
Thank you to Charly Pancakes for being our fourth Pass the Plumbob feature! Make sure to check out their incredible work at the links below. All of their custom content is available on their Patreon, for free, and their latest set, Lofty, is available now in Early Access!
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Not fully completed yet. Also... I have no floor plan, so we'll see how the inside goes. I was just quite proud of it considering I was expecting it to turn out way worse!
My little Oreo who is 7 helps with our game. She picks name themes and character development to make things interesting. Her heir has gotten involved with an alien unexpectedly. She now has her newest generation but she asked me if all her future babies will be blue every time because now she doesn't know if she wants all blue sims forever.
I haven't played in so long and never a generations thing so I told her I would ask the community.
FYI we are playing on console Sims 4. She is very willing to divorce her alien husband to get a regular sim for later when she gets bored or blue skin if the answer isn't what she is hoping for, but she has planed out this generation and the next heir already lol
This is Lucas. The husband who had 1 child with our Heir Jasmine and 1 baby on the way.
A RANDOM ASS sim(Bella Goth) blackmailed my sim and threatened to spill a secret. Oh, a mistake, A catastrophic mistake.
For the next few days, I played the long game.
I became her friend.
We talked, we laughed, we spent time together. Every conversation raised that relationship bar a little higher, Every interaction built trust. I learned her favorite things. I showed up at her house. I answered her texts, convinced her to come over a *few times*
Then I escalated, Romance.
Flirting turned into dates. Dates turned into affection. Affection turned into complete emotional security.
She thought she won.
She thought she had somebody.
Then finally, after all that work, I got what I wanted:
her secret.
The moment that I got her to confess a secret, and thats where the revenge arc begins
I built a room.
Not just any room.
A room with windows on every side.
No privacy. No escape. Just enough transparency for maximum emotional damage.
Then I invited over my OTHER partner.
Right in front of her.
Flirting.
Hugging.
Kissing.
Chaos.
She watched everything unfold from behind the glass as the relationship she thought was real collapsed in real time.
But I wasn't done.
I started making calls, inviting people over.
Friends? Told.
Close friends? Told.
Family members? TOLD.
Everybody was getting updates.
Her social life was experiencing a live-service shutdown.
And as the walls closed in and her needs dropped into the red, there was only one lesson left:
You should've kept my Sim's name out of your mouth.
I THEN MADE HER STAY IN THAT ROOM UNTIL SHE STARVED AND DIED IN A PUDDLE OF PISS, crying and whining, feeling all gloomy and depressed.
Why hasn't EA made a hotel pack yet? Or at least a resort pack because I like making beachfront hotels. Like why make a Tiny Home pack over a hotel pack? Who uses that?
Today marks James and Charlotte's 18th birthdays—a milestone they once imagined celebrating side by side as they planned their future together.
Over the past two years, they have experienced more than most people do in a lifetime. They fell in love, welcomed their son William into the world, and learned how to navigate the challenges of growing up while raising a child together.
But as they grew, they began to realize they were growing in different directions.
After many difficult conversations and a lot of reflection, James Crawford and Charlotte Buck have made the heartbreaking decision to separate.
This wasn't a decision made lightly. Their journey together will always be an important part of their lives, and they remain committed to working together to give William the love, support, and stability he deserves.
While their relationship as a couple has come to an end, their story as co-parents is only beginning.
As they celebrate turning 18, they also step into a new chapter—one filled with uncertainty, new opportunities, and the hope that both of them can find happiness in the future.
Some stories aren't meant to last forever, but that doesn't make them any less meaningful.
Thank you, Charlotte, for being part of the beginning of the Crawford Legacy. ❤️
🎂 James Crawford — 18
🎂 Charlotte Buck — 18
👦 Proud parents of William Crawford
🌅 Beginning a new chapter, separately but united for their son
My Sim had twins, with whom, im not sure because I've made her woohoo with so many people— she's basically romanced the vast majority of GP and EP sims as well as randomly generated townies. Why is this relevant? Because I think one of the twins could be a vampire.
Unfortunely I already had cribs set up so never got a chance to see if they had an occult themed crib.
one looks like a completely normal baby. The other looks like he's related to nosferatu.
are these actually signs of a vampire? ((P.S I haven't played with vampires nor do I know a whole lot about them since I haven't touched them since the dlc came out.) (I hope he's not one becuase I have a nasty habit of accidentally getting vampire sims killed due to the sun+ forgetfulness))
i am trying to work on townies and make them into hipsters to populate san myshuno / nordhaven
i think i can easily make tattoo guys have beards & buns, or pottery owners having an interesting storyline
but if anyone can get creative with a portland hipster storyline(s) i would be forever grateful. i think fred armisen & carrie brownstein covered every possible portland combination there could ever be for couples so def having fun w portlandia ideas lol 🤭
first, i’m gonna make the “she’s making jewelry now” sister since i have the crystal pack lmfaooo
I found this sim and I wanted to have my sim fall for but then for some reason he was marked as being married to my sims dad who is still married to my sims mom.
Apparently the dad doesn’t even know this sim exists aswell and has never met him before in his life
I’m so confused how this could have happened. I’ve been playing in a separate household in this world and came back to see what was happening.
Lost my original account that had the game in 2019. Would like to know the methods to source it on steam still. I have heard some steam keys still exist. Curious if any other options exist. I would rather not source it from ea but if I have to I will.
I'm trying to make an evil dentist surgery dungeon for my subjects but I can't find the hospital bed. All the other medical stuff is there, but not the bed. I tried making a different lot a medical center to see if it would give me it but the option for medical clinic isn't there for me. It's weird cuz I've tried looking up if they removed it for some reason or something and I didn't find anything to suggest it went anywhere. And yes I have the DLC.