Unleash Your Inner Designer: A Deep Dive into Customization in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
So, you’ve arrived at your deserted island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. You’re ready to shape your paradise. But first, ensure your digital character represents you. Don’t worry, customization is key. We’ll explore every detail, from your character’s nose to your island’s rivers.
I. Crafting Your Digital Self: Character Appearance Customization
First impressions matter, even in a world filled with talking animals. Animal Crossing: New Horizons offers many options for personalizing your character. You can create a reflection of yourself or adopt a quirky persona. Let’s investigate how to customize your avatar.
A. Laying the Foundation: Initial Character Customization
Your adventure starts with a fresh save file. Forget perfect island layouts for now. Your first action is to breathe life into your character. Start Animal Crossing: New Horizons without any save data. The game will guide you to create a new resident. It’s straightforward. Launch the game and follow the prompts. This is your digital birth certificate.
Character creation is extensive. You’re not just choosing a generic avatar; you’re sculpting an identity. Begin with the formalities: your name. Choose wisely, as this name will stay with you throughout your island adventures. Then, pick a birthday. Choose your actual birthday, or even a random Tuesday. The villagers will celebrate you. The fun begins with aesthetic choices. Select facial features, hairstyles, skin tones, and an initial clothing style. Think of this as your first digital fashion statement.
B. The Ever-Evolving Look: Changing Appearance Post-Start
You’ve made your initial choices, but what if you decide that your hairstyle isn’t working anymore? Or perhaps your skin tone clashes with your new outfit? Thankfully, in Animal Crossing, change is welcome. Your initial appearance is not permanent.
As you journey through the game, unlock mirrors and vanity desks. These items are essential tools for self-renovation. Look for DIY recipes to create them. Once you own a mirror or vanity, you can change your look anytime. Want to swap eye color? Go for it. Need a tan in winter? Digital mirrors judge nothing. They are your personal stylists, ready whenever you are.
C. Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow: Mastering Hair Customization
Let’s discuss hair. Hair can define your visual identity in Animal Crossing. Whether you want a sleek bob, wild curls, or something unique, the game allows for extensive hair experimentation.
The mirror connects you to hair transformation. Acquiring a mirror is the first step to explore hairstyles. Place it in your house or outside if you’re feeling bold. Interact with it to view numerous hairstyles and colors. Your options may seem limited initially, but don’t worry; persistence is rewarded in Animal Crossing.
Enter Nook Miles, the currency for island achievements. You can spend these miles on hairstyle packs. These packs unlock many new styles and crucially, colors. Want bright pink or blue hair? Nook Miles enable that choice. Consider it an investment in self-expression with vibrant hair shades.
The hair customization journey continues with Harriet, the fashion-forward poodle at Harv’s Island. Once you unlock this location, she offers unique hairstyling services. Visit her daily for a free unique hairstyle. Harriet’s styles are often bold and striking. She has seven styles, so visit consistently to collect them. What happens when you’ve acquired them all? Her shop continues to operate, possibly offering advice or simply enjoying island vibes.
If Harriet gives you a style that doesn’t suit you, remember she only offers one style per day. If unhappy, utilize the “save and quit” strategy. Close the game without saving and restart to see a new hairstyle option from Harriet. This process can feel like gambling, but sometimes it’s necessary for hair perfection.
D. Skin Deep: Exploring Skin Tone Customization
Now, let’s move to skin tones. In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, your skin tone is customizable too, both at the beginning and throughout your gameplay. Thankfully, adjusting your digital complexion is simple with a mirror.
Interestingly, this edition departs from past games as it eliminates tanning mechanics. Gone are the days of accidental sunburns from fishing too long in the sun! Now, your skin tone results from conscious choices at the mirror, not unpredictable weather or activities. It simplifies your journey, allowing consistent skin tones without tanning concerns.
But there’s an exciting twist! The Halloween update expanded skin tone options with “Body-Paint Costume Tips,” purchasable through Nook Miles. These aren’t typical shades; they’re Halloween-themed. Think spooky greens, ghostly whites, or pumpkin orange. These additions inject fun and a seasonal element into skin tone customization, perfect for embodying the Halloween spirit.
E. Beyond the Binary: Gender Customization and Expression
Inclusivity and self-expression are central themes in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, also concerning gender. The game embraces this concept.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons allows players to express themselves without strict gender categories. Players can customize their characters’ gender identity. You can present your character as you see fit. Traditional gender norms do not apply. Clothing, hairstyles, or activities are not restricted by gender, enabling a unique character creation.
This customization applies to gameplay too. No gender affects the game mechanics in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. All players have equal access to features like crafting, fishing, and island development. This promotes inclusivity and encourages authentic self-expression among players.
F. Face the Facts: The Unchanging Face Style
Some aspects of customization in Animal Crossing: New Horizons are fixed. Your character’s face shape is one such unchangeable element. Unlike hair or skin tone, your face shape cannot be altered after initial creation.
This differs from earlier games in the franchise. In previous versions, features like hairstyles were customizable at places like Shampoodle. In New Horizons, your face shape remains for the entirety of your island life. Make sure to choose carefully when creating your character. While face structure is fixed, hairstyles and accessories allow for significant expression and personality shifts.
G. Wigs and Whimsy: Accessorizing with Wigs
If you’re looking for a quick hair change, wigs are an excellent option. They provide an instant hair transformation in the game. Wigs come in various styles and colors, serving as fun costume pieces for your character.
You can acquire wigs through shops, villager gifts, or even find them randomly. Equipping a wig is simple; it changes your look instantly. Wigs are great for themed outfits or just adding flair to your character’s appearance.
Wigs do not permanently affect your hairstyle saved in the mirror. Wearing a wig overlays a new style on your character temporarily. Once removed, your original hairstyle reappears. This makes wigs ideal for experimenting with new looks without commitment.
H. Dressing the Part: The Power of Clothing Customization
Clothing serves as a versatile form of customization in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. It allows players to express their personalities and adapt to seasonal trends. The game offers extensive options, from casual tees to elegant dresses.
You can interact with mirrors to access your wardrobe for outfits at any time. Create combinations of tops, bottoms, and accessories to match your mood or occasion. Reflect your preferences through unique ensemble choices.
The “Custom Designs” app is a creative addition. This feature allows players to design their clothing patterns. You can apply your unique designs to different garments, showcasing your creativity.
Furthermore, the Able Sisters shop connects players to a wealth of player-created designs. Through the shop’s kiosk, access a vast library of custom designs from others. Wear unique shirts or dresses that stand out, enriching your island fashion experience.
II. Shaping Your Island Paradise: Island Customization (Terraforming)
Beyond character customization, your island undergoes significant personalization in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Terraforming enables you to reshape the landscape extensively and customize it to suit your vision.
A. Earning Your Architect’s License: Unlocking the Island Designer App
You cannot terraform immediately. It requires work and growth on your island. Achieving a 3-star rating unlocks this feature. It allows you to transition from resident to architect.
To attain this rating, increase your island’s development through various tasks. This includes boosting population and enhancing scenery with flowers and furniture. Isabelle can guide you by providing feedback on improvements needed.
Once you reach 3 stars, invite K.K. Slider for his performance on your island. Complete Tom Nook’s tasks first to make your island appealing for K.K.’s visit. His concert marks a pivotal moment in your island journey.
The day after K.K.’s performance, you receive the Island Designer app for your NookPhone from Tom Nook. This app allows you to terraform and create paths on your island. It transforms the way you interact with the landscape and opens a world of customization possibilities.
B. The Tools of Creation: Using the Island Designer App
With the Island Designer app on your phone, you can begin terraforming. The app presents user-friendly tools for shaping your landscape. It’s like having a complete virtual toolkit to manipulate your island as you wish.
Ready to reshape cliffs, carve rivers, and lay paths with taps of the screen. The Island Designer app has core functionalities in three categories: terraforming, waterscaping, and path creation. Terraforming creates and destroys cliffs. Build towering cliffs by the ocean. Carve a valley between hills. Add layers, remove ones, and mold the vertical landscape of your island.
Waterscaping is another tool within the Island Designer app. Modify water features like rivers, lakes, and waterfalls. Straighten rivers, create ponds, or construct waterfalls – the possibilities are vast. Water features enhance island aesthetics and functionality. Waterscaping gives control over their design. Picture a winding river through your village or a lake surrounded by greenery; waterscaping makes these dreams reality.
Path creation is the third key feature of the Island Designer app. Lay down paths across your island, define walkways, and add visual structure. You start with grass and dirt paths but can unlock more permits for expanded options. Paths are decorative and influence villager movement. They enhance both aesthetics and functionality.
To use the Island Designer app, activate it on your NookPhone, select a tool (terraforming, waterscaping, or path creation), and manipulate the landscape. The interface is easy to learn. You can quickly grasp the basics of reshaping. Experiment with tools and watch your island transform.
C. Expanding Your Toolkit: Additional Permits
The Island Designer app starts with basic tools. The customization journey continues. Acquire more permits from Nook Stop in Resident Services.
Permits include the Waterscaping permit and the Cliff Construction permit. These permits use Nook Miles to unlock full potential of the corresponding tools. Waterscaping grants finer control over water manipulation, enabling intricate river designs. The Cliff Construction permit expands terraforming options by unlocking new cliff shapes.
Another valuable permit is the Custom Design path permit. This permits use of your custom designs as paths. Adorn paths with patterns, logos, or pixel art. It unlocks creative path customization and blurs lines between landscape design and personal expression.
Investing in these permits is wise for aspiring island architects. They expand your toolkit, granting greater control and creative possibilities in shaping your island paradise.
D. Reshaping the Land: The Limitless Landscape
The Island Designer app and permits empower you to reshape your Animal Crossing: New Horizons island. Control towering cliffs and meandering rivers. Create tranquil lakes and custom paths. Terraforming is about crafting an environment that reflects personal vision and aspirations.
Create a multi-tiered island with zones for different activities. Build elevated areas for homes and scenic viewpoints connected by slopes. Dream of a river system powering mills and creating waterfronts? Waterscaping allows that. Need functional paths that are also art? Custom Design paths provide solutions.
Island customization in Animal Crossing: New Horizons offers open-endedness and freedom. No rigid rules exist. You’re the architect, landscaper, and artist. Whether desiring a wild or urbanized aesthetic, the Island Designer app provides tools to realize your vision. Terraforming is a journey of experimentation and creativity, transforming your randomized island into a unique haven.
III. Personalizing Your Possessions: Item Customization
Beyond character and island customization, Animal Crossing: New Horizons offers personalization of items you collect and use. Item customization allows altering color, pattern, and style of furniture and objects, adding personal touches to your home and island décor. Let’s explore item customization mechanics and necessary resources.
A. The Tools of Transformation: Customization Kits
The Customization Kit is the cornerstone of item customization. These kits are essential resources for altering the appearance of eligible items. Think of them as digital crafting supplies for personalization.
Your introduction to Customization Kits comes from Tom Nook. After early game progress, he conducts a workshop on customization, guiding you through basics, gifting a starter set of Customization Kits. This workshop is your initiation into item transformation.
Once Tom Nook’s workshop is complete, Customization Kits become purchasable at Nook’s Cranny, the island’s store. They cost 600 Bells each, a reasonable price for regular customization. Kits stack in your inventory up to 50, so stock up for your next decorating inspiration. If you have excess kits, sell them back to Nook’s Cranny for 150 Bells each; their real value lies in customization potential.
B. Cyrus: The Customization Guru
Customization Kits are versatile but limited. They can customize many items, but color palettes might be restricted. For extensive item customization, seek Cyrus, the laid-back alpaca passionate about personalization.
Cyrus and his wife Reese run shop at Harv’s Island’s Photopia after certain game progress, specifically after unlocking Harv’s Island and inviting villagers for photoshoots. Cyrus provides premium customization beyond standard kits. He customizes almost any item, including those bought with Nook Miles, unlocking more colors and styles.
While Customization Kits are available at Nook’s Cranny, Cyrus’s services cost Bells. Prices vary based on item, usually more than using Customization Kits. However, his options and ability to personalize Nook Miles items make him a resource for decorators. For example, kits might limit colors for an Acoustic Guitar, whereas Cyrus offers broader wood finishes.
In essence, Customization Kits are everyday tools for basic changes. Cyrus is your specialist for advanced customization options, broader palettes, and personalizing exclusive items. Using both Kits and Cyrus’s services enables full exploration of item personalization in Animal Crossing.
Crossing: New Horizons.
IV. Expressing Yourself Through Design: Custom Designs
Animal Crossing: New Horizons lets players express creativity. Custom Designs allow you to create pixel art patterns. You can apply these patterns to clothing, furniture, canvases, and the island landscape itself. This tool enhances your island life with your artistic style.
A. Your Digital Canvas: The Custom Designs App
The “Custom Designs” app on your NookPhone is the entry point. This app acts as your digital art studio. It offers a grid-based canvas and a color palette. You also have drawing tools to create pixel art.
To access the app, open your NookPhone and find the icon. After you open it, you see a grid for your canvas. You can choose a blank square to start fresh or select an existing design. The app offers simple tools: a pencil for drawing pixels, a fill tool for coloring, and an eraser for mistakes. The color palette broadens as you advance, achieving vivid designs.
Creating a Custom Design involves filling in grid squares. It’s like digital cross-stitch or mini mosaic art. You fill squares with colors to build patterns, images, or text. Achieving detail is surprisingly easy despite pixelation. From simple stripes to intricate portraits, your creativity defines limits.
After creating a design, save it in the Custom Designs app. You can store various designs for later use. This app allows island aesthetic personalization beyond clothing patterns.
B. Sharing and Discovering: Downloading and Sharing Designs
Custom Designs also foster sharing and collaboration. Players can share their designs with others. You can download designs from others while showcasing your own.
Once unlocked, the Able Sisters shop becomes key for sharing designs. At the back of the shop is the Custom Designs Portal. This kiosk connects you to an online database of player designs. To use it, interact with the portal and search designs with several criteria.
Search using Design IDs or Creator IDs. Design IDs represent specific designs, while Creator IDs identify players. If you have an ID, you can access a design easily. These IDs circulate online in communities, broadening design sharing.
Finding and downloading a design is straightforward. Select a desired design; the portal downloads it to your Custom Designs app. You can use the design as if you made it. A Nintendo Switch Online subscription is needed for this process due to online services.
Sharing designs is easy too. Use the Custom Designs Portal to upload your creations online. This invites other players to download and use your work, fostering community creativity.
For traditionalists, Custom Designs can also share through QR codes. Previous games like New Leaf allow QR conversion. Scan these codes with the Nintendo Switch Online app for easy design importing, linking past and present creativity.
The Custom Designs Portal is now integrated into the app itself via an update. You can access the online portal from your NookPhone without visiting the shop, enhancing convenience.
C. The Able Sisters Shop: A Hub for Fashion and Design
The Able Sisters shop is more than just a clothing store; it hosts fashion and design in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Unlocking this shop signals a major milestone, offering ready-made clothes, sharing designs, and influencing villager fashion.
Establishing it includes several steps. First, build the museum and Nook’s Cranny for island development. You must upgrade Resident Services from a tent to a building. Finally, spend at least 5,000 Bells during Mabel’s visits to earn her trust as a valuable customer base.
Once built, the Able Sisters shop becomes the go-to spot for fashion enthusiasts. The shop features rotating clothing options, from everyday wear to special occasion outfits. But it also holds the Custom Designs Portal, allowing online design sharing. The back kiosk is key for downloading and uploading designs.
The shop influences villager fashion too. Display any Custom Designs on mannequins or walls for villagers to notice. If they like a design, they might wear it around the island. This effectively turns them into walking advertisements for your creations, adding a fun aspect to island life.
