Hey anon! First of all – welcome to the world of TS2! We’re still a very active and vibrant community, so it’s lovely to have new players joining our ranks. 😀
As for obtaining an aesthetic you’re happy with it, hmmm. There’s really no concrete advice I can give other than trying out a bunch of different styles and seeing what works best for your game! My downloads folder has pretty much run the gamut of styles over the decade I’ve been playing. There was a time I used tons of realistic content – realistic skins, pookleted hairs, photoskinned clothing. Actually, my early days were pretty much a mishmash of everything – if I saw something I liked (no matter what style), I put it in my game. 😛 (I guess I’m still guilty of doing this, to a degree!)
I blame tumblr for my obsession with Maxis-match. I’d never really been exposed to much Maxis-match content until I created this blog (although this could also be due to the fact that I took a few years’ hiatus while I was in college). I love the clean lines, cartoony/animated feel, and the way it blends in seamlessly with the default game design. I’m very big on playing the game (as opposed to people who prefer building, decorating, or staging photoshoots), and to me, it’s important for the neighborhood to be immersive. I like things to match – I don’t like having super realistic Sims walking around amidst a bright, cartoony neighborhood. Also, Sims themselves are cartoony and animated, and a lot of the interactions are silly and exaggerated. To me, personally, these animations look weird on super realistic-looking Sims (no matter how gorgeous and well-made they are!). But of course, this is all personal preference. (Ack, that was a bit of a tangent, but I get asked a lot about why I prefer Maxis-match, so – here are some reasons!)
As for building a mods folder, there’s no denying that it’s a daunting task. For most of us, it’s an ongoing ordeal. 🙂 But there are always easy places to start – for one thing, default replacements! Replace all the Maxis stuff you don’t like with content you do like. 🙂 Check out Garden of Shadows (check all the monthly themes, Advent events, Christmas in July threads, etc.) and Trapping Crushes (no longer updated but still an excellent resource) – both have a wide variety of content to suit all gameplay styles and aesthetics, so you’re sure to find something you like. Visit some of your favorite blogs and see if they have a resource page or WCIF tag (I’ve found so much cool stuff by browsing people’s WCIF tags!). And of course, there are plenty of “finds” blogs on tumblr (like mine, for example, although I only updated sporadically :X). And not to keep plugging my own blog, but I made a pretty comprehensive mod list – feel free to look through it and see if anything there would be useful for your own gameplay needs!
The most important thing is not to worry about fitting into a certain aesthetic or trying to box yourself into one style. It’s your game, you can play however you’d like! I follow tons of blogs that mix and match styles – it doesn’t make them any less appealing (quite the opposite!). I wouldn’t even consider my blog very Maxis-match – I make a lot of exceptions, mostly where build/buy mode is concerned. It really just involves a lot of experimenting and playing around to see what you like. 🙂
And don’t get too caught up in trying to perfect your mods folder before you start playing – sometimes it helps to just dive into the game, and then you’ll come up with ideas for mods to add. Like, “oh, I should’ve downloaded a terrain replacement!” or “I’m feeling especially sadistic, I’m going to install the Triplets and Quads mod”. 🙂 My game is constantly changing and evolving, so I don’t think there’s ever going to be a time where I’m completely happy with my mods folder. I’m constantly adding things and cleaning stuff out (although admittedly there’s more adding than deleting going on… *guilty look*). But I haven’t felt the need to completely scrap my downloads folder since 2012 or 2013, so I guess I’m on the right track! 😀
Aaaaand don’t be afraid to get involved with the community. Most Simmers are WCIF-/question-friendly and would be happy to point you in the right direction if you see anything you’d like. And above all – don’t over-stress it!! It’s ultimately a game, after all, and it’s supposed to be fun. So play it in a way that’s fun for you, and not for the enjoyment of anyone else. 😉
HAVE FUN and also I’m sorry if this didn’t really answer your question, I have a bad habit of answering asks late at night after I’ve worked and my brain is essentially mush but you’re always welcome to send a follow-up message if you have more questions or want to chat 😀
simper fi 