Hats, layers, patterns and prints at skin size
What survives at 64 x 64 pixels: hats on the outer layer, stripes that line up with the pixel rows, checks, prints and small details, with examples.
Whether you make a skin from photos or paint one by hand, the same limits apply. The texture of a player skin is 64 by 64 pixels, and the body's front is 8 by 12 of them. Designing for that size is closer to making a mosaic than a drawing: every pixel has to earn its place. Here is what we learned drawing hats, layers and patterns for Scan2Skin 3D.
Think in pixel rows
A pattern on a skin is drawn in whole pixels, so its size relative to the pixel grid decides whether it survives. The picture below shows four made-up fabrics, each first as cloth and then reduced to the 8 by 12 pixels of a torso's front:
- Stripes narrower than a pixel row disappear into one in-between color. On a skin, a fine pinstripe is a plain shirt.
- Stripes about one pixel tall come out uneven unless each stripe falls exactly on a row. Draw them as alternating rows instead of copying the cloth.
- Stripes two or more pixels tall read clearly. Wide horizontal bands (a rugby shirt, a striped sweater) are among the best patterns for a skin.
- Checks and plaids need squares of at least 2 by 2 pixels. A large check reads; a small gingham turns into a speckle.
- Vertical stripes work the same way across the columns: the body is only 8 columns wide, so four stripes is about the most it can hold.
Prints, logos and small details
A print smaller than about a quarter of the chest becomes one patch of color, which can still look good: a dark patch on a light shirt says "there is a print here". Text and fine logos cannot be read at this size, and copying someone else's logo onto a skin is best avoided anyway. Small floral prints read as a speckle of their two or three main colors; that is usually better than trying to draw each flower.
Seams, pockets, buttons and zippers are details of one pixel. Use them sparingly: one row of slightly darker pixels for a waistband, a single-pixel line for a zipper or the edge of an open jacket, a darker pixel at the bottom of a sleeve for a cuff. A darker shade on the lower rows of the trousers and the underside of the arms gives the model some depth.
Hats and head coverings
The head is a cube of 8 by 8 pixels on every side, with a second, slightly larger cube around it: the hat layer. Anything that should stick out from the head (a cap's crown, a hat, a hood, big hair) belongs on the hat layer; anything that lies flat (a headband, a scarf wrapped close, hair at the temples) can go on the head itself.
- A cap or beanie: the crown on the hat layer's top and sides, with a darker row where it meets the forehead.
- A brim cannot stick out beyond the hat layer's half pixel. Show it as a band of the brim's color across the front of the hat layer, and a row of shadow on the forehead under it.
- Tall hats and wraps are only one half pixel taller than the head. Use color for height: lighter rows on top suggest a crown that rises.
- Headphones and glasses work well on the hat layer, because a player can turn the layer off.
Two layers: jackets and sleeves
The outer layer covers the whole body, not just the head: there is a jacket over the torso, a sleeve over each arm and a leg over each pants leg. A jacket on the outer layer can be taken off in the game's settings, which shows the shirt underneath. The trick is to paint the shirt on the body layer and only the jacket on the outer layer, leaving the outer layer transparent where the jacket is open. See the outer layer guide for where each part sits on the texture.
Color
- Keep colors a little more saturated than they look in photos: at small size, colors look duller.
- Two shades of each color are enough: the color and a darker shade for edges and the lower rows.
- Make sure neighboring parts differ: a navy shirt and black trousers merge into one dark shape on a skin. Lighten one of them slightly, or add a belt row between them.
- Skin tone matters most on the face. If the face looks too pale or too dark, fix the tone before anything else; Scan2Skin 3D has free skin tone and hair tone fixes for this, and a Vibrancy slider above the 3D preview for the clothes.
Next: clothing from around the world on a skin, or try these ideas on a free example skin.
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