I have some mods that I've downloaded and I've noticed that they were able to input plates and vases that can't be moved or stolen. They are just fixed in place and even models of dragons and werewolves they would use to display as mounts to decorate certain places.
I also wondered how they get certain visual magic effects (like the effects you see when you scroll to the magic menu abilities and choose a magic ability). Yet they would have those same effects mounted on something for decoration.
How can I obtain these things to create a certain look in my houses or in Castle Volkihar? Can these things be console commanded or do I have to go to the Creation Kit to put them in the world?
Best Answer
As I mentioned in the comments, I think the particular effect you see in the menus does not have a mesh, so it can't be selected using the console, hence neither by mods, meaning the mod authors used the Creation Kit to place the effects.
That is, unless you mean the 'icons' of spells and active effects, like this one:
In that case, since they do have meshes, you can use the same mod to position them.
To spawn them, you can use the mod AddItemMenu: it allows you to pick any item referenced in your current game (i.e. including any loaded mods) through a convenient menu:
For most items, I suggest using a mod like Jaxonz Positioner or Placeable Statics*. Using it, you can manipulate (almost?) everything with a three-dimensional model (using a .nif file), including lights. As per the mod's description:
You can choose to have them be immovable after manipulation, or still be susceptible to the game's physics engine.
* Here is a comparison between multiple mods with the same functionality.
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/64905/?