C.Syde's Recommendations for Maxis Face Template Pairings for Reproduction and Blending

Here is a list of all the Maxis face templates in Create a Sim, including the hidden Archalien template, and a list of all the facial features from other face templates that I would recommend for genetic production, and blending through Body Shop. Note that this page is still under construction and will change over time.

01 Archheart


The Archheart template is one of my top recommendations for creating ordinary looking faces, alongside the Archbase, Archeeng, and Archetge templates. In general it is a pretty good template both for blending and for genetic reproduction. It was my most used template from 2011 to 2013. Some time later I began to use this template less in favour of the Archbase template.

Trying to differentiate between certain customised face templates that use features from the Archheart template and ones that use features from the Archbase template was quite a challenge. Especially the eyebrows and eyes when used on adult males, and the nose when used on toddlers, children, and female teenagers. I enjoy blending the two templates together, and swapping various features of the templates for this reason.
 * Archbase template

Since I originally thought that various facial features of the Archeafr template were heavily stretched variations of the facial features of the Archheart template, particularly the nose, it is no surprise that I enjoy blending the Archheart and Archeafr templates together and using them for genetic reproduction. Though to get good results, the facial features of one of the two templates will usually require heavy customisations.
 * Archeafr template

Before I became experienced at distinguishing various facial features on various customised templates, there were times where I would erroneously label certain features such as the Archeasi nose on female teenagers as being from the Archheart template. And I did occasionally label certain customised features from the Archheart template as being from the Archeasi template. I enjoy blending the two templates together, and swapping various features of the templates for this reason.
 * Archeasi template

For a long time I found the Archbase template to be a perfect middle ground between the Archheart and Archeeng templates. And despite their differences, I find the Archheart and Archeeng templates to be a great combination if done properly. I enjoy blending the two templates together to create custom faces that were great substitutes for the Archbase template. Though the Archheart and Archeeng templates aren't always the best for genetic reproduction.
 * Archeeng template

02 Archbase


The Archbase template is self-explanatory. It is the "vanilla" Maxis face template. The template used on Create a Sim and Body Shop thumbnails. It was my second most used template from 2011 to 2013. Some time later as I began to blend face templates together with Body Shop, I found this template compatible with a wider range of templates than Archheart, so it eventually became more used than the Archheart template.

Trying to differentiate between certain customised face templates that use features from the Archbase template and ones that use features from the Archheart template was quite a challenge. Especially the eyebrows and eyes when used on adult males, and the nose when used on toddlers, children, and female teenagers. I enjoy blending the two templates together, and swapping various features of the templates for this reason.
 * Archheart template

Before I became experienced at distinguishing various facial features on various customised templates, there were times where I would erroneously label certain features such as the Archeasi nose on female teenagers as being from the Archbase template. And I did occasionally label certain customised features from the Archbase template as being from the Archeasi template. I enjoy blending the two templates together, and swapping various features of the templates for this reason.
 * Archeasi template


 * Archeeng template


 * Archcara


 * Archcmed


 * Archeelf template


 * Archetge template

03 Archerus



 * Archeeng


 * Archetge jaw

04 Archemed


The Archemed template isn't one of the Maxis face templates that I was initially fond of, due to the protruding ears. When I got Body Shop, the first thing I did with this template was replace the ears with ones from the Archheart template - or the Archbase template as of more recently. This template has nonetheless had its shining moments in my days of facial customising and blending, particularly with female Sims in 2014 onward.

It isn't very clear what the Archemed and Archeafr templates have in common, though the nose from the Archeafr template makes a surprisingly good replacement for the Archemed nose and vice-versa. I enjoy blending the noses of the two templates together, and swapping the noses of the templates for this reason. Though I tend to customise the Archeafr nose to blend in better with the facial features of the Archemed template.
 * Archeafr nose

These two templates may not look that similar, but they do have similar looking eyebrows and mouths on adult males. I enjoy blending the eyebrows and mouths of the two templates together, and swapping the eyebrows and mouths for this reason. Though I tend to make the Archecer jaw shorter to blend in better with the facial features of the Archemed template.
 * Archecer eyebrows and mouth


 * Archeeng template

It isn't very clear what the Archemed and Archcsla templates have in common aside from the protruding ears. But I enjoy blending the ears of the two templates together, and swapping the ears of the templates.
 * Archcsla ears


 * Archetge template

It isn't very clear what the Archemed and Archalien templates have in common, except the protruding ears which are identical on toddlers and male teenagers. I enjoy blending the ears of the two templates together, and swapping the ears of the templates for this reason.
 * Archalien ears

05 Archcban


The Archcban template isn't a template that I would strongly recommend for blending and genetic reproduction. It is also one of the Maxis templates that I remember using the least, which is mainly due to the rather plump features and large lips. Nonetheless there are a couple of templates that blend well with and are great for reproduction with the Archcban template.


 * Archcmas template


 * Archcaus template

06 Archcmas



 * Archcban template

Even though these two templates don't look very similar for most life stages, I did have some trouble identifying the template that Holly Andersen used, as her lips looked narrower than usual to me, therefore I did at one point label her as using the Archcino template. I enjoy blending the Archcmas and Archcino templates together for this reason.
 * Archcino template

07 Archeafr


The Archeafr template isn't a template that I remember using very much. And for quite some time I actually believed certain facial features such as the nose to be a heavily stretched variant of the Archheart template, only to realise much later when doing some heavy customisations that this wasn't the case.

Since I originally thought that various facial features of the Archeafr template were heavily stretched variations of the facial features of the Archheart template, particularly the nose, it is no surprise that I enjoy blending the Archeafr and Archheart templates together and using them for genetic reproduction. Though to get good results, the facial features of one of the two templates will usually require heavy customisations.
 * Archheart template

It isn't very clear what the Archeafr and Archemed templates have in common, though the nose from the Archemed template makes a surprisingly good replacement for the Archeafr nose and vice-versa. I enjoy blending the noses of the two templates together, and swapping the noses of the templates for this reason. Though I tend to customise the Archemed nose to blend in better with the facial features of the Archeafr template.
 * Archemed nose


 * Archeasi

08 Archeasi


The Archheasi template is one of my top recommendations for creating looking faces. But it is also a good choice for blending and genetic reproduction with non-Asian looking faces. In general, I find the Archeasi template to be a fairly flexible one, as it is good for mixing with a wide number of Maxis templates.

Before I became experienced at distinguishing various facial features on various customised templates, there were times where I would erroneously label certain features such as the Archeasi nose on female teenagers as being from the Archheart template. And I did occasionally label certain customised features from the Archheart template as being from the Archeasi template. I enjoy blending the two templates together, and swapping various features of the templates for this reason.
 * Archheart template

Before I became experienced at distinguishing various facial features on various customised templates, there were times where I would erroneously label certain features such as the Archeasi nose on female teenagers as being from the Archbase template. And I did occasionally label certain customised features from the Archbase template as being from the Archeasi template. I enjoy blending the two templates together, and swapping various features of the templates for this reason.
 * Archbase template


 * Archeafr

Even though I don't remember blending the Archeasi and Archcino templates together, or using them together for genetic reproduction very often, if at all, I do find them to be at least compatible. Both templates have somewhat plump cheeks and are adequate for creating Asian looking faces. Though some facial features from the Archcino template may require heavy customisations for more compatibility with the features from the Archeasi template.
 * Archcino template

As the two face templates that are arguably the best for creating Asian looking faces, it is no surprise that I find the Archeasi and Archeste templates to make a wonderful blend, and a great match for genetic reproduction. Some facial features may require certain tweaks for certain life stages for certain genders to ensure the best possible results, but overall you can count on these two templates to be great for reproduction.
 * Archeste template


 * Archeelf

The Archalien template is not an easy template for customising, blending, or genetic reproduction in general. But I find the Archeasi template to be the easiest template for it to blend with. I actually thought that the majority of the Archalien template was heavily customised from the Archeasi template for some time, instead of a template in its own right.
 * Archalien template

09 Archcino


Even though these two templates don't look very similar for most life stages, I did have some trouble identifying the template that Holly Andersen used, as her lips looked narrower than usual to me, therefore I did at one point label her as using the Archcino template. I enjoy blending the Archcino and Archcmas templates together for this reason.
 * Archcmas template

Even though I don't remember blending the Archcino and Archeasi templates together, or using them together for genetic reproduction very often, if at all, I do find them to be at least compatible. Both templates have somewhat plump cheeks and are adequate for creating looking faces. Though some facial features from the Archeasi template may require heavy customisations for more compatibility with the features from the Archcino template.
 * Archeasi template


 * Archcmay template

It isn't very clear what the Archcino and Archcteu templates have in common, though the nose from the Archcino template makes a surprisingly good replacement for the Archcteu nose on female Sims and vice-versa. I enjoy blending the noses of the two templates together, and swapping the noses of the templates for this reason.
 * Archcteu nose


 * Archcpla template

10 Archeste


The Archheste template is one of my top recommendations for creating looking faces, alongside the Archeasi, and to a lesser extent the Archcino, Archcmay, Archecer, Archcpla, Archcpol, and Archalien templates. Other than that, I don't actually remember much instances where I have used this template.

As the two face templates that are arguably the best for creating Asian looking faces, it is no surprise that I find the Archeste and Archeasi templates to make a wonderful blend, and a great match for genetic reproduction. Some facial features may require certain tweaks for certain life stages for certain genders to ensure the best possible results, but overall you can count on these two templates to be great for reproduction.
 * Archeasi template


 * Archecer

11 Archcmay



 * Archcino template


 * Archcara

When I was less experienced at distinguishing the individual Maxis face templates, I had a hard time separating the female townies and NPCs that used the Archcmay template from the ones that used the Archcpla template. So what else can I say? These two templates are an excellent match for blending and for genetic reproduction.
 * Archcpla template


 * Archcpol template

12 Archeeas


It isn't very clear what the Archeeas and Archcteu templates have in common, except the mouths which look very similar on adult males. I enjoy blending the mouths of the two templates together, and swapping the mouths of the templates for this reason.
 * Archcteu mouth

13 Archecer


These two templates may not look that similar, but they do have similar looking eyebrows and mouths on adult males. I enjoy blending the eyebrows and mouths of the two templates together, and swapping the eyebrows and mouths for this reason. Though I tend to make the Archemed jaw shorter to blend in better with the facial features of the Archecer template.
 * Archemed eyebrows and mouth


 * Archeste


 * Archcpla


 * Archeelf template

14 Archcteu


It isn't very clear what the Archcteu and Archcino templates have in common, though the nose from the Archcteu template makes a surprisingly good replacement for the Archcino nose on female Sims and vice-versa. I enjoy blending the noses of the two templates together, and swapping the noses of the templates for this reason.
 * Archcino nose

It isn't very clear what the Archcteu and Archeeas templates have in common, except the mouths which look very similar on adult males. I enjoy blending the mouths of the two templates together, and swapping the mouths of the templates for this reason.
 * Archeeas mouth


 * Archeelf template

15 Archceth


When I was less experienced at distinguishing the individual Maxis face templates, I had a tough time separating the female townies and NPCs that used the Archceth template from the ones that used the Archcind template. So what else can I say? These two templates are an excellent match for blending and for genetic reproduction.
 * Archcind template

16 Archeeng


For a long time I found the Archbase template to be a perfect middle ground between the Archeeng and Archheart templates. And despite their differences, I find the Archeeng and Archheart templates to be a great combination if done properly. I enjoy blending the two templates together to create custom faces that were great substitutes for the Archbase template. Though the Archeeng and Archheart templates aren't always the best for genetic reproduction.
 * Archheart template


 * Archbase template


 * Archerus


 * Archemed template

It isn't very clear what the Archeeng and Archcmed templates have in common, though the eyes do look similar on adult males. I enjoy blending the eyes of the two templates together, and swapping the eyes of the templates for this reason.
 * Archcmed eyes

17 Archcara



 * Archbase


 * Archcmay


 * Archcmed template

18 Archcaus



 * Archcban template


 * Archcpol template

19 Archccel



 * Archcsla template

20 Archcind


When I was less experienced at distinguishing the individual Maxis face templates, I had a tough time separating the female townies and NPCs that used the Archcind template from the ones that used the Archceth template. So what else can I say? These two templates are an excellent match for blending and for genetic reproduction.
 * Archceth template

Without a doubt, one of the templates that I would recommend the most to blend with the Archcind template would be the Archcper template. Before I downloaded the mod that fixes the broken templates for all ages, I would even try and replicate the Archcper template with the Archcind template as the main component. But as I didn't have Body Shop at the time, my results were never quite satisfactory.
 * Archcper template

21 Archcper


The Archcper template is one of the easiest Maxis face templates to overlook, as it is one of the two broken templates, and therefore only appears in Create a Sim for adults, unless a fix is used. I wasn't very fond of this template prior to discovering that it was a broken template, and then it suddenly grew on me. The Archcper template is a pretty good template for creating faces with wide cheekbones and hooked noses.

Without a doubt, the template that I would recommend the most to blend with the Archcper template would be the Archcind template. Before I downloaded the mod that fixes the broken templates for all ages, I would even try and replicate the Archcper template with the Archcind template as the main component. But as I didn't have Body Shop at the time, my results were never quite satisfactory.
 * Archcind template

22 Archcmed



 * Archbase

It isn't very clear what the Archcmed and Archeeng templates have in common, though the eyes do look similar on adult males. I enjoy blending the eyes of the two templates together, and swapping the eyes of the templates for this reason.
 * Archeeng eyes


 * Archcara template

23 Archcpla



 * Archcino template

When I was less experienced at distinguishing the individual Maxis face templates, I had a hard time separating the female townies and NPCs that used the Archcpla template from the ones that used the Archcmay template. So what else can I say? These two templates are an excellent match for blending and for genetic reproduction.
 * Archcmay template


 * Archecer


 * Archcsla template

While the Archcpla and Archetge templates don't look very similar overall, I nonetheless had a hard time pinning down the template that Antonio Monty's jaw came from. For this reason, I enjoy blending the jaws of the two templates together, and swapping the jaws of the templates.
 * Archetge jaw

24 Archcpol



 * Archcmay template


 * Archcaus template

25 Archcsla


The Archcsla template is another Maxis face template that many players may tend to overlook, as it is the second of the two broken templates, and therefore only appears in Create a Sim for adults, unless a fix is used. I was never terribly fond of this template, mainly due to the large protruding ears which can't be obscured by most male hairstyles. Also there aren't a lot of other templates that are easily compatible with this one.

It isn't very clear what the Archcsla and Archemed templates have in common aside from the protruding ears. But I enjoy blending the ears of the two templates together, and swapping the ears of the templates.
 * Archemed ears


 * Archccel template


 * Archcpla template

It isn't very clear what the Archcsla and Archalien templates have in common, except the protruding ears if used on toddlers and male teenagers. I enjoy blending the ears of the two templates together, and swapping the ears of the templates for this reason.
 * Archalien ears

26 Archeelf


The Archeelf template is one of the most distinctive Maxis face templates, and the only one to have elf ears. However it is one of the most obscure templates, due to being the only template aside from the hidden Archalien template that doesn't get used by townies and NPCs unless the package files are edited, or a mod is used.

Until the end of 2011 I wasn't even aware that there was a default template with elf ears in Create a Sim that was unhidden, though that was partly due to me paying less attention to the templates near the end of the panel early in gameplay.


 * Archbase template


 * Archeasi


 * Archecer template


 * Archcteu template

Even though these two face templates don't have very much in common, when it comes to blending and genetic reproduction, if there were any templates containing eyes that were most compatible with the Archalien template, the eyes from the Archeelf template would definitely be one of the first to come to my mind.
 * Archalien eyes

27 Archetge



 * Archbase template


 * Archerus jaw


 * Archemed template

While the Archetge and Archcpla templates don't look very similar overall, I nonetheless had a hard time pinning down the template that Antonio Monty's jaw came from. For this reason, I enjoy blending the jaws of the two templates together, and swapping the jaws of the templates.
 * Archcpla jaw

28 Archalien


The Archalien template is the only official Maxis face template that is hidden in normal gameplay. Although there is a mod which unlocks the template, making it appear in-game, and a mod which makes it available for use on townies and NPCs. As a result, it was a long time before I realised that it was a template in its own write. I initially thought it was a heavily modified version of other face templates, namely Archeasi.

It isn't very clear what the Archalien and Archemed templates have in common, except the protruding ears which are identical on toddlers and male teenagers. I enjoy blending the ears of the two templates together, and swapping the ears of the templates for this reason.
 * Archemed ears

The Archalien template is not an easy template for customising, blending, or genetic reproduction in general. But I find the Archeasi template to be the easiest template for it to blend with. I actually thought that the majority of the Archalien template was heavily customised from the Archeasi template for some time, instead of a template in its own right.
 * Archeasi template

It isn't very clear what the Archalien and Archcsla templates have in common, except the protruding ears if used on toddlers and male teenagers. I enjoy blending the ears of the two templates together, and swapping the ears of the templates for this reason.
 * Archcsla ears

Even though these two face templates don't have very much in common, when it comes to blending and genetic reproduction, if there were any templates containing eyes that were most compatible with the Archalien template, the eyes from the Archeelf template would definitely be one of the first to come to my mind.
 * Archeelf eyes

