i made a picrew in 24 hours

LavenderTowne
19 Aug 202213:42

TLDRIn this engaging narrative, Lavender Town shares the journey of creating a Picrew in 24 hours. The challenge involved navigating a Japanese website, translating, and designing a character maker with various customization options. Despite initial struggles with uploads and layering, the creator successfully offers a wide array of features, from skin tones and elf ears to hairstyles and accessories, culminating in a fun and versatile character customization tool.

Takeaways

  • 🎨 Lavender Town created a character maker on a Japanese website called Picrew in 24 hours.
  • 🌐 The website was in Japanese, which required translation and navigation despite some language knowledge.
  • 📝 It was suggested to name the character maker in Japanese to fit the website's primary audience.
  • 🎭 Lavender Town chose to make a headshot with shoulder for the character base, suitable for their cartoony art style.
  • 🖌️ The process involved creating separate layers for different parts of the character to allow customization.
  • 🌈 Multiple skin tones and colors were added, including fantasy colors and elf ears options.
  • 👀 Lavender Town initially planned various eye shapes but settled on a default style with customizable irises.
  • 💄 The character maker includes different mouth and nose shapes, with a focus on Lavender Town's recognizable style.
  • 👗 Basic outfit shapes were included, though the creator had to simplify due to time constraints.
  • 📐 The creator learned to use batch uploading to streamline the process of adding character parts.
  • 🎉 The final character maker allows for a wide range of combinations, with the potential for further additions.

Q & A

  • What is the main topic of the video transcript?

    -The main topic of the video transcript is the creator's experience of making a Picrew within 24 hours, including the challenges and process involved.

  • What is Picrew and why did Lavender Town decide to make one?

    -Picrew is a Japanese website where users can create icons or characters. Lavender Town decided to make one after suggestions from the audience.

  • What language challenges did Lavender Town face while using the Picrew website?

    -Lavender Town faced language challenges due to the website being in Japanese. Although they have some understanding of Japanese, they had to do a lot of translating to navigate the site.

  • Why did Lavender Town choose to create a character maker with mainly a head shot and shoulders up?

    -Lavender Town chose to create a character maker with a head shot and shoulders up because they wanted to make a simple base that people could use to create a lot of characters.

  • What was the process like for uploading different parts and color options to the Picrew website?

    -The process involved saving all the different parts and colors, then individually uploading them into the uploader. Lavender Town later learned to use a batch upload feature to make the process more efficient.

  • How did Lavender Town handle the issue of skin color and ear color not matching up in the character maker?

    -Lavender Town used the palette tool to bind the skin color of the face and shoulders with the ears, ensuring they matched.

  • What were some of the character customization options Lavender Town included in their Picrew?

    -Lavender Town included options such as different eye shapes, irises, hair colors, bangs, mouth and nose shapes, outfits, and accessories like head wings, cat ears, and jewelry.

  • What was the most time-consuming part of creating the Picrew according to Lavender Town?

    -The most time-consuming part was uploading all the different color options and iterations of every item, especially the hair colors and styles.

  • How did Lavender Town handle the creation of backgrounds for the Picrew?

    -Lavender Town created quick, simple backgrounds to add fun and allow users to place their characters in different environments.

  • What were some of the technical difficulties Lavender Town encountered while making the Picrew?

    -Some technical difficulties included issues with layering items properly, files not uploading due to incorrect naming, and the tediousness of the exporting process.

  • How did Lavender Town ensure that the character customization options were easy to navigate in the Picrew?

    -Lavender Town added icons and thumbnails for each section, which helped users to easily understand and navigate the different customization options.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 Creating a Character Maker in Japanese

The speaker discusses their experience of creating a character maker on a Japanese website, which they initially thought would be a quick task but turned out to be quite challenging. They had to navigate the site in Japanese, translate, and create a character maker from scratch. They decided on a simple base design with big head and round features, and made sure to separate each element on different layers for customization. They also added various skin tones and options like elf ears, and learned to use a batch upload feature to streamline the process.

05:01

👾 Developing and Customizing the Character Creator

The speaker continues detailing the development of their character creator, focusing on the customization options. They added different eye shapes with various iris colors, and experimented with nose and mouth shapes. They also included a range of hair colors and styles, allowing users to mix and match bangs and back hair. The process was time-consuming, especially with the uploading and layering of each element. They added accessories, face details, and outfits, and eventually learned to use a palette tool for easier color adjustments across elements.

10:04

🌐 Finalizing the Character Maker and User Testing

In the final part of the script, the speaker talks about the finishing touches on their character maker, including adding backgrounds and descriptions in both English and Japanese. They mention the challenges they faced with layering and uploading, and how they resolved them. The speaker also shares their favorite elements from the character creator and provides a link for users to try it out. They reflect on the process, noting the complexity and the learning curve but also the satisfaction of creating a versatile character maker.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Picro

Picro, or Picrew in Japanese, is a platform where users can create custom avatars or characters using pre-made templates provided by artists. In the video, the creator discusses their experience of making a Picrew in 24 hours, which is a significant achievement considering the complexity and customization options involved.

💡Unfamiliar

Unfamiliar is the name of the creator's webcomic. The video transcript mentions the physical release of this webcomic being available for pre-order, indicating that the creator is not only involved in creating Picrew but also has other artistic projects like a webcomic.

💡Character Maker

A character maker refers to a tool or software that allows users to create and customize characters, often used in the context of avatar creation or game design. In this video, the creator shares their process of making a character maker on a Japanese website, highlighting the challenges and steps involved.

💡Japanese Website

The video discusses the creator's experience navigating a Japanese website to make a Picrew. This is significant as it introduces the cultural and language barrier the creator had to overcome to complete their project, adding an extra layer of difficulty to the task.

💡Cartoony Art Style

The creator mentions their cartoony art style, which is characterized by exaggerated features and a playful, non-realistic aesthetic. This style is integral to the character maker they created, as it defines the look and feel of the characters that users can generate.

💡Chibi Design

Chibi is a Japanese art style that features cute, small, and often exaggerated characters with large heads and eyes. The creator uses this design in their character maker, which is evident in the descriptions of the character's proportions and features.

💡Layering

Layering in digital art refers to the process of separating different parts of an image into individual layers, allowing for independent editing and customization. The creator emphasizes the importance of layering in the Picrew creation process to enable users to mix and match different character elements.

💡Batch Upload

Batch uploading is a feature that allows multiple files to be uploaded at once, which the creator discovered to streamline the process of adding character elements to the Picrew. This term is relevant as it shows the creator's learning curve and the efficiency improvements they made during the project.

💡Customization Options

Customization options refer to the various elements and features that users can choose to create unique characters. The video transcript details the wide range of options the creator included, such as different skin tones, hair colors, and accessories, which are central to the Picrew experience.

💡Outfits

Outfits in the context of the video refer to the clothing options available for character customization in the Picrew. The creator discusses their decision to include basic shapes and colors for the outfits, which contributes to the diversity of character designs that can be created.

💡Accessories

Accessories are additional elements that can be added to characters to further customize their appearance. The creator mentions creating various accessories such as head wings, cat ears, and jewelry for the Picrew, enhancing the level of detail and personalization available to users.

Highlights

Creator Lavender Town shares the experience of making a Picrew in 24 hours.

Webcomic 'Unfamiliar' is available for pre-order.

Picrew is a Japanese website for creating character makers or icon creators.

The challenge of navigating a Japanese website with limited language proficiency.

Importance of naming the character maker in Japanese for authenticity.

Choosing between a cropped or full-body character design.

Adopting a cartoony art style with a 'chibi' design for the character maker.

The necessity of separating elements on different layers for customization.

Adding skin color options, including fantasy colors for elf ears.

The time-consuming process of uploading individual elements to the Picrew platform.

Deciding on a default eye shape with various iris options.

Implementing a batch upload method to streamline the process.

Creating different mouths and noses with batch upload efficiency.

Addressing the issue of skin and ear color mismatching.

Designing various hair options including bangs and back hair.

Adding blushes and other facial details for character customization.

Creating basic outfits with color options for the character maker.

The tedious process of exporting and uploading each character part.

Adding accessories like head wings, cat ears, and halos for customization.

Incorporating jewelry and face details for further personalization.

Creating thumbnails for each section to aid navigation in the character maker.

Testing and ensuring proper layering and functionality of the character maker.

Adding simple backgrounds to enhance the character maker experience.

Final touches include descriptions in English and Japanese, and a character showcase.