A Guide to Minecraft Skins
Getting a skin in plays a pivotal part of making your character feel truly alive. There are several ways to go about doing this which we will go over on this page. Feel free to scroll ahead if you are looking for a particular method.
Free to Use (F2U) Skins
The easiest and most common method of getting a skin for a new character is to find a free to use, or F2U, skin online. All that's needed is a search engine and some patience to sift through the large volume of skins. Some recommended sites are Planetminecraft or the Minecraft Skindex. Some creativity with search terms may be needed to find something fitting, but with the wide range of skins out there, it's likely you'll get something fitting. Just be sure to check if the skin has any restrictions or requirements from the artist and be careful when visiting unfamiliar websites!
The skins you find here can also be the perfect base for our next method....
Editing Skins
Many newer artists will see this as quite the big step, but it's not all that scary and editing existing skins is a great way to learn the basics of skin making. The first thing you will want to do is choose a program to edit in. There are many to choose from with my favourite being MCSkin3D, which has a downloadable .exe as well as a browser version. If this isn't to your liking then Novaskin is an alternative and while capable, it isn't as user friendly for simple editing. It is my recommendation for splicing but we'll get to that later. For now, this guide will be using MCSkin3D as the basis unless stated otherwise.
Understanding MCSkin3D
Once you have successfully installed the application, you can open it and will be met with this workspace:
Of course yours will look a little different, with a Steve model and no folders on the side. The feature of folders is on of the main reasons I recommend this program. It is a lifesaver when organising 1000+ skins!
Let's take a look at the tool bar at the very top.
From left to right:
SaveSave often! This button will become your new best friend. With a shortcut of Ctrl+ S, this function will save whatever skin you're working on. Be aware, this is only local! This won't export the PNG to your files.
Save AllSimilar to the save button, this will save all of your unsaved skins within the program which is fantastic for when you can't quire remember which folder you left it in. As with save, it only saves locally and not to your files.
UndoUndo will, well, undo your last action. You can press it as many times as you want. A good shortcut to learn is Ctrl+Z. Note that your history is erased if you close the application.
RedoIf you undo too many times or didn't mean to, then use the redo button. It works similarly to the undo button.
Camera This is your default selected tool and is only used for panning and zooming. These functions can still be done while using other tools however panning is reassigned to right mouse button.
PencilThe main way of putting down colour! With this tool selected, you can paint directly onto the skin using whichever view you find easiest. You can also change the size and shape. A tip is to keep a small palette in the negatives of a skin's texture.
EraserWorks the exact same as the Pencil, but in reverse! It is also sensitive to a brush's opacity.
Ink DropThe ink drop tool is used to sample colours from an existing skin. It takes opacity into account so be careful if trying to sample through the armour layers.
Dodge/BurnDodge and Burn allow you to shade and highlight respectively by increasing the saturation along with changing the brightness. This is a quick and effective way to shade a skin.
Lighten/DarkenThis tool is used the same as the Dodge/Burn tool however the outcome is different. The saturation isn't changed so while you can get more intense shading, it's at the cost of murky colours.
FillThe Fill bucket colours a large area at once. The sensitivity of this can be adjusted as needed depending on what it is you need to fill.
Noise BrushNoise is texture distortion. You don't need much to be effective. This is a great way to add texture to any large area of flat colour. When paired with shading, it can be particularly effective on hair or fur.
StampI admit I have no idea what this is or how it works. Sorry. If you figure it out, let me know and I'll update this page =)
PerspectiveThis is the default view as shown in the image above.
TextureConsidered a traditional view, this tab shows you the skin file in it's pure, flat state. Each body part is conveniently labelled.
HybridA nice mix of the previous two views. With this it is easier to see how certain parts of the Texture relate to the model with live updates as you work.
Reset CameraReturns the camera to it's default position.
ScreenshotTakes a screenshot and places it on your clipboard. You can hold the button to save it to your files.
Skin Layer TogglesWhen you need to get into all those little cracks and crevasses, or just want to focus on a single body part, use the toggles to remove unnecessary parts.
Model SelectorSteve is the default model but here you can select Alex... Or a boat. This program isn't limited to the player! You can make custom textures for any entity here.
Save
Save often! This button will become your new best friend. With a shortcut of Ctrl+ S, this function will save whatever skin you're working on. Be aware, this is only local! This won't export the PNG to your files.
Save All
Similar to the save button, this will save all of your unsaved skins within the program which is fantastic for when you can't quire remember which folder you left it in. As with save, it only saves locally and not to your files.
Undo
Undo will, well, undo your last action. You can press it as many times as you want. A good shortcut to learn is Ctrl+Z. Note that your history is erased if you close the application.
Redo
If you undo too many times or didn't mean to, then use the redo button. It works similarly to the undo button.
Camera
This is your default selected tool and is only used for panning and zooming. These functions can still be done while using other tools however panning is reassigned to right mouse button.
Pencil
The main way of putting down colour! With this tool selected, you can paint directly onto the skin using whichever view you find easiest. You can also change the size and shape. A tip is to keep a small palette in the negatives of a skin's texture.
Eraser
Works the exact same as the Pencil, but in reverse! It is also sensitive to a brush's opacity.
Ink Drop
The ink drop tool is used to sample colours from an existing skin. It takes opacity into account so be careful if trying to sample through the armour layers.
Dodge/Burn
Dodge and Burn allow you to shade and highlight respectively by increasing the saturation along with changing the brightness. This is a quick and effective way to shade a skin.
Lighten/Darken
This tool is used the same as the Dodge/Burn tool however the outcome is different. The saturation isn't changed so while you can get more intense shading, it's at the cost of murky colours.
Fill
The Fill bucket colours a large area at once. The sensitivity of this can be adjusted as needed depending on what it is you need to fill.
Noise Brush
Noise is texture distortion. You don't need much to be effective. This is a great way to add texture to any large area of flat colour. When paired with shading, it can be particularly effective on hair or fur.
Stamp
I admit I have no idea what this is or how it works. Sorry. If you figure it out, let me know and I'll update this page =)
Perspective
This is the default view as shown in the image above.
Texture
Considered a traditional view, this tab shows you the skin file in it's pure, flat state. Each body part is conveniently labelled.
Hybrid
A nice mix of the previous two views. With this it is easier to see how certain parts of the Texture relate to the model with live updates as you work.
Reset Camera
Returns the camera to it's default position.
Screenshot
Takes a screenshot and places it on your clipboard. You can hold the button to save it to your files.
Skin Layer Toggles
When you need to get into all those little cracks and crevasses, or just want to focus on a single body part, use the toggles to remove unnecessary parts.
Model Selector
Steve is the default model but here you can select Alex... Or a boat. This program isn't limited to the player! You can make custom textures for any entity here.