Clothing from around the world on a pixel skin
How saris, kimonos, hijabs, turbans, kilts and other garments and head coverings can be shown on a 64 x 64 skin, respectfully, with the person choosing what they wear.
People wear many kinds of clothes, and a skin should be able to show any of them. Some garments fit the blocky player model easily; others, like a sari's drape or a kimono's wide sleeves, need a few tricks. This page explains how we approached them in Scan2Skin 3D, and how you can draw them yourself.
The person chooses
Clothing, head coverings and jewelry can carry meaning: religious, cultural or personal. That is why Scan2Skin 3D never guesses them from photos. A skin is made from what the camera sees, and then the person can pick a head covering or a garment from a list, choose its colors and options, or leave it out. Nothing is assumed from how someone looks.
In the apps and on this website, a new skin shows "Add clothes or a head covering" right under the 3D preview; the choices are also further down, in "Clothes and head covering (free)": "Head covering", "What are you wearing?" and "Shoes". Each starts in colors taken from the photos and can be changed with a color picker. Jewelry and skin decoration, such as a bindi, earrings, bangles or henna, are stamps in the pixel editor (Pro in the apps, free on this website).
What is included
| Kind | Examples |
|---|---|
| Head coverings | Hijab, turban, patka, kippah, kufi, gele, keffiyeh, a wide-brimmed sun hat, a non la |
| Garments | Sari, salwar kameez with dupatta, sash, kimono, dhoti, sarong, hanbok, ao dai, qipao, thobe, agbada, djellaba, poncho, kilt, dirndl, lederhosen, dashiki, huipil, ankara print, anarkali |
| Shoes | Geta, mojari, moccasins |
| Editor stamps | Bindi, tilak, kohl, maang tikka, nose stud, nose ring, nath, earrings, kara, bangles, anklets, necklaces, sunglasses, henna, thanaka, Holi colors, skull face paint |
How garments fit the model
The player model is six boxes with a thin outer layer, so a garment's shape has to be suggested rather than built. A few conventions do most of the work:
- Drapes on the outer layer. A sari's pallu or a dupatta crosses the body in one-pixel steps on the outer layer, so it sits slightly above the clothes beneath it, just as cloth does.
- Width shown by color. A kimono's or an agbada's wide sleeves cannot be wider than the arm, so their corners and lower edge are drawn as shading: the eye reads the shape from the edges.
- Height shown by light. A gele or a tall wrap is lighter on its top rows, so it reads as rising above the head even though the hat layer adds only half a pixel.
- Panels and slits as gaps. An ao dai's side slits and a qipao's slits are transparent pixels in the outer layer, so the trousers or skin show through.
- Shine with a pattern. Gold borders and metallic thread get a lighter pixel every few pixels and a darker edge, the way pixel art shows shine.
Respectful defaults
We kept to generic, everyday forms and left out what should not be a costume:
- No sacred regalia, such as feather headdresses, and no invented tribal or clan designs.
- No sect-specific marks: the tilak is offered only as a plain vertical line or a line with a dot.
- A kimono always crosses left over right, because right over left is how it is dressed for a funeral.
- A dirndl's bow starts at the front center, a neutral place; where it is tied can carry a meaning, so the side is the person's choice.
- Colors that depend on the skin tone are drawn as they are: henna on deep skin and thanaka on light skin are not lightened or darkened to stand out.
Drawing them yourself
If you paint skins by hand, the same tricks apply. Start from the body in the clothes worn beneath, put anything that hangs or drapes on the outer layer, use one-pixel steps for diagonals, and test the skin with the outer layer on and off. A head covering usually covers the hair: paint the fabric over the hair on the head's sides, back and top, and keep the face clear. Look at the free example skins for ideas; every one of them was made this way on a made-up figure.
Something missing or not quite right? We would like to hear about it: write to z.farm.technologies@gmail.com.
Make a skin now, in your browser: five guided photos with the camera, or photos already taken. Nothing is uploaded. The Scan2Skin 3D app for iPhone and Android adds scan yourself, HD skins and Pro.
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