The Sims 4: Complete Create-A-Sim (CAS) Guide to Building a Sim

Twelve years after its initial release in September 2014, The Sims 4 remains the most-played life simulator in the world, and that owes a great deal to its Create a Sim mode — the famous CAS. It's the virtual workshop where you sculpt the face, body, wardrobe and identity of your characters before letting them loose in the world. Whether you want to create your own alter ego, a French celebrity, or an entire family of fantastical characters, this guide walks you step by step through The Sims 4's Create a Sim mode.

Opening CAS: where to start

Create a Sim mode can be accessed in two ways. From the main menu, click "New Game," then choose "Create a New Household": CAS opens immediately with a blank Sim standing in front of their mirror. The second entry point goes through Manage Households, also accessible from the menu — there you can edit, duplicate or delete existing families, and you can reopen CAS to add, remove or edit a household member.

The Sims 4's CAS was completely redesigned in 2014 to do away with the side sliders inherited from The Sims 3 and introduce direct manipulation: you click, drag and mold. A bit like playing with digital clay.

Note: since the June 2016 update, the barrier between masculine and feminine creations has been removed. You can switch between clothing and hairstyle categories at will, regardless of your character's displayed gender.

Body shape: sculpting the body

To the left of your Sim, two vertical sliders control body build: the first adjusts weight (from very slim to heavyset), the second muscle tone (from slight to athletic). Beyond these two settings, everything is done through direct manipulation. Click on a shoulder, an arm, a hip, a calf, and drag the mouse: the area stretches, shrinks, or rounds out in real time.

The game offers roughly a hundred body-shaping settings: 18 body modifiers at the general level, 35 for the face and 44 for detail editing. This granularity makes it possible to faithfully reproduce a real-life silhouette or, conversely, to invent a completely unique physique. Right-clicking on a body part often brings up presets, which are very handy for working quickly.

The face: features, complexion and details

The face is the richest area of CAS. Double-clicking on an area (eyes, nose, mouth, ears, jaw, forehead) unlocks advanced editing mode and reveals additional manipulation handles. You can bring the eyes closer together, raise the cheekbones, refine the bridge of the nose, or plump up the lower lip — each gesture reshapes the 3D sculpt in real time.

The right-hand side menu then brings together the cosmetic elements: skin tone with a wide range of shades (including a dedicated shade slider), hairstyles sorted by length, hair color (roots included), makeup by area (foundation, blush, eyeliner, mascara, lipstick), eyebrows, tattoos and scars. Each element can be given a color palette or a specific pattern, with additional variations unlocked through expansion packs and kits.

Clothing and style: the eight categories

Once your Sim has been shaped, it's time for the wardrobe. The Sims 4 splits the closet into eight distinct categories, each corresponding to a situation your character might experience:

• Everyday: the default outfit, worn during the day;
• Formal: wedding, gala, ceremony;
• Athletic: gym, jogging, yoga sessions;
• Sleep: pajamas, nightgown;
• Party: clubbing, get-togethers with friends;
• Swimwear: pool, beach, sauna;
• Hot: fall, winter, snowy expeditions;
• Cold: summer, desert climate.

Each category allows up to five outfits, which the game rotates randomly. A "Style" tab lets you quickly filter by vibe (boho, goth, trendy, casual), and the "Apply to All" button propagates a piece of clothing or an accessory across every outfit — a considerable time-saver if you want a Sim to always wear the same pair of glasses or the same necklace.

Voice and walk: the living touch

A Sim isn't just a static silhouette. Three voice tones (warm, melodic, clear) are available for each gender, with a pitch slider to fine-tune the range. The walk, meanwhile, offers eight styles: standard, perky, snooty, confident, feminine, goofy, swagger, and slow. The choice genuinely changes how a Sim carries themselves around town: a snooty character walks with their chin held high, while a "goofy" Sim struts about with exuberance.

Try out several voice + walk combinations before confirming: two physically identical Sims can end up feeling completely different once you play them, just by changing these two settings.

Identity: name, age, and gender

The identity panel gathers the first name, last name, and biography (a short blurb shown on the selection screen). Seven age groups can be selected: baby, toddler, child, teen, young adult, adult, and elder — each stage unlocks or locks certain CAS options (children, for example, don't have access to gender customization).

Since the June 2, 2016 update, CAS offers extremely flexible gender customization: masculine or feminine frame, choice of restroom used, the ability to become pregnant or get someone pregnant, and the ability to wear any clothing regardless of the displayed sex. These options appear via the gear icon next to the gender symbol. The game also covers sexual preferences and romantic attraction through more recent updates.

Three traits, one aspiration: personality

On the right side of the screen, two buttons open the Aspiration and Traits windows. A young adult or adult chooses an aspiration (which grants a bonus trait) and up to three personality traits; a teen chooses two, a child chooses one, and a toddler selects a separate "toddler trait." These choices shape your Sim's reactions, wants, and social interactions throughout their life.

We cover each option in detail in our dedicated guides: check out our personality traits guide and our aspirations guide to find out which combinations to prioritize.

Creating a family and setting relationships

The “Add a Sim” button (the “+” icon at the bottom of the screen) lets you expand the household to up to eight members, human or pet. A contextual menu then defines the family relationships: spouse, partner, parent, child, sibling, or unrelated roommate. This way you can build a classic household (married couple + children), a group of friends sharing a home, a single-parent family, or a lone Sim.

Editing an existing Sim: mirror and cheat code

Once the game has started, it's still possible to tweak a Sim. The “clean” method is to click on a mirror or a dresser and choose “Change Appearance” — this reopens a restricted version of CAS (clothing, hairstyle, makeup).

To go further (traits, age, full body shape, or even editing a ghost Sim), you need to enable cheat codes with testingcheats true, then type cas.fulleditmode. Shift + clicking on the Sim then offers the “Modify in CAS” option. We cover this process in detail in our cheat codes guide.

Always save your game before using cas.fulleditmode: some changes (age, gender) can have cascading effects on relationships and ongoing pregnancies.

The EA Gallery: downloading community creations

If CAS feels intimidating or you're short on inspiration, the EA Gallery — accessible from the main menu or the dedicated in-game button — provides millions of Sims and households created by the community. A search engine filters by name, tag, popularity, or official Maxis creations. A single click is enough to download a Sim and place it directly into your CAS or your world.

The Gallery is also the place to share your own creations: give them a title, a description, a few tags, and make them public. In doing so, you feed the creative loop that has kept the Create a Sim mode alive for twelve years.

Going further

CAS is just a gateway. Once your Sims are created, dive into our other Playnews guides dedicated to the game: personality traits guide, aspirations guide, occults guide (vampires, mermaids, spellcasters), cheat codes guide, money guide, building guide, and skills guide. Happy creating, and above all: don't forget to save your household in the library before letting it loose in the open world of Willow Creek or Oasis Springs.