Stitching in Pixels
I can’t imagine 2020 without Animal Crossing. Sounds dramatic, I know, but bear with me. To understand how a game about harvesting fruit and talking to animals changed an entire year of my adult life, you’re going to need some context. In 2019, I completed a Masters Degree from Arts University Bournemouth on “Costume for Animation and Games”.
Through my studies I explored past and present digital costume designs and the growing collision between fashion and games. After visiting my family back home in Oregon for a few months, I returned to the UK at the start of 2020, eager to break into the industry.
By February I had a job lead, but by March it went on hold— and the world along with it. I dove into games as a creative distraction, skimming through the clothing catalogue in Red Dead Redemption 2 and hunting down rare outfits in Breath of the Wild.
“Back in New Leaf and an early New Horizons look”
As the days slipped by, I eagerly awaited the release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. I grew up playing every Animal Crossing game I could find, from the game cube to the 3DS.
I knew the relaxed pace, nostalgic characters, and creativity was much needed for the upcoming lockdown.
“My very first [ACNH] design”
Finally, March 20th arrived, and I was instantly hooked. Being stuck at home gave me no reason not to play New Horizons for 8 hours a day. I quickly focused on unlocking the Pro Design Tool— my character started with ugly bright blue shoes and I needed to design a dress to hide them. While I toiled away at DIYs and mystery island tours, I was always pulled back to working on custom designs.
Soon after the game’s launch I started a twitter account to bookmark and share ACNH designs. I knew the game was popular, but I had no idea how active the community would be in those early months. I shared as many designs as I could: a broken cyborg, trending cottagecore looks, rural smock designs for the MERL [Note: The Museum of English Rural Life – in the context of an Animal Crossing Smock Challenge]. I took design requests, collaborated with friends, and was constantly chatting to people from all around the world, connected through our enthusiasm for the game.
When sharing codes started to feel dull I decided to create a vintage magazine!
The community was always pushing the limits of the game, looking to use items in new ways or create illusions with custom patterns.
“Inspired by: The Last of Us, Westworld, Alien, Bioshock”
In addition to original designs, I tried to bring some of my favourite existing worlds to life in the cheery ACNH world for some entertaining juxtaposition.
In many ways ACNH became a social platform in itself.
When we learned my brother’s graduation had gone digital, I sent him a cap and gown in-game. When my dog passed away, I created a little in-game memorial for her. I sent messages to childhood friends and made new ones over trading items and villagers. Brands and fashion designers started to enter the ACNH space with trendy collections and custom designs.
By July I was starting to feel a bit burnt out. Game updates were slow, and after sharing over 150 designs in just a few months I was feeling creatively drained. I wouldn’t say I was bored of the game, but I needed a spark… and then I was approached with an incredible opportunity.
“Designs to highlight not hide each skin type! This project showed me first hand how much representation matters”
I was contacted by a team at Grey to design a collection for Gillette Venus to celebrate skin and body positivity. I was instantly drawn in by the chance to create something meaningful that challenged the limits of the design tool.
“The full lookbook, featuring vitiglio, psoriasis, scars, acne, and more!”
In total, we created 19 skin types across 250 different designs. Our “Skinclusive Summer Line” was released in August to a wave of positive responses.
While enthusiastic, heartfelt messages filled comment sections, even the most uplifting work is not immune to criticism.
I have followed the darker side of the gaming community for years, and although I was very aware of its existence, I never imagined it would reach me. A few days after the launch, my account was threatened. One of the designs, which depicted Mastectomy Scars, was reported anonymously. To this day I don’t know who reported the design, or why, but it resulted in an automatic two-week ban on my account (with threats of further suspension). I was terrified. Not only were all the Skinclusive designs in limbo, but also all of my personal creations from the past 4 months.
Luckily discussions with Nintendo eventually relieved the ban (they agreed it was undeserved) but I’ve never been able to share content with the same naive freedom I felt before the reports.
By September I was wrapped up in ACNH again. Autumn and Winter updates brought new life and characters into the game, and I was newly inspired to use digital design in more creative and meaningful ways. On the work front it finally felt like entering the industry was within reach. The success of the Skinclusive collection allowed me to speak at the Women in Games Global Conference as well as work with additional companies, including Netflix and Tommy Hilfiger.
Lately, my focus has shifted once more, to a more educational role. I’ve started to share my techniques and design process through pixel guides and videos, with the hope of inspiring others to try out the custom design tools in-game. In many ways, it’s my way of thanking the community that has entertained and supported me since last March. Not only did it inspire me throughout the year, but the game’s popularity motivated countless brands to engage in the gaming space, providing me with great projects.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons really did shape my 2020 year, and I’m excited to see where these experiences take me, both in the community and wider games industry.