kossai: masculine form of kossai (Default)
[personal profile] kossai
mood theme is very fun feature here ! with paid time on account , can even make custom one . some people use pictures from favourite media , others adapt free to use emoticon art , or just anything which strike fancy . of course , can also pixel art ! especially fun for sona characters , really bring personal flair .

but sometimes , not really sure where to start with that . well , here is kossai method . :P
this apply for specifically static base pictures . animations still use mix and match process to create base , but then bring into separate file for ease of animation .

bottom layer group - base
things that will never move or change . for kossai sona this is head shape , ears , and beard , as well as basic white outline layer for visibility on dark themes .

next up layer group - eyes
specifically , in 4 layers , from bottom to top : sclera colour , iris colour , pupils and highlights , and outlines .
some moods do call for iris and pupils to move . to prevent clip oddities , both these layers set on composite mode clip to backdrop . this is why eyes come in separate layer group - otherwise , iris movement would clip onto skin as well .

assortment layer groups - facial modifications
kossai sona do not have mouth or nose , so this come in 3 subcategories : eye mods , eyelids , and facial flushes .
eye mods cover any kind of eye which is not standard : blown pupils , closed eyes both upward and downward , wink , spiral eyes , squeeze shut , bill cipher reference , and blank slate . most of these also include background of skin colour to cover standard eyes , but could just as well choose to hide eye group .
eyelids cover tweaks to eye shapes : sad eyelids , angry eyelids , tired eyelids , cheeky eye smile , devious squint eyelids , and twitchy eyelids in 2 forms .
facial flushes include blue sickness , and yellow blush . for each kind of flush there is 1 full layer , which do not accomodate any eye shapes , and then duplicate and erase as necessary to conform with other shapes . not elegant , but functional .

last layer group - floaties
objects which help to clarify emotion . specifically , kossai floaties fall in categories of punctuation , and props .
punctuation include hearts , ellipsis , ellipsis and heart , exclamation marks , question marks , interrobang . these work for intensifiers - say want difference between angry and irate , but not sure how to make different . exclamation marks , or perhaps censor bar , could intensify expression , without need to make something fully new .
props include rainbow paint pour for artistic , dirt cover and leaf for dirty , stanford pines glasses for nerdy and geeky , frost cover and icicles for cold , and finally , out of order post-it note for exanimate .

finally , here is some example of how kossai put these in action : 

various pieces of kossai mood theme and how form

base face and blown pupils create curious .
rainbow paint pour and eye movement create artistic .
stanford pines glasses and hearts create geeky .
squeeze shut eyes , frost , and icicles create cold .

again , animations such as these :

kossai face with bill cipher possession crushed kossai face - crush by rock
belong to separate files .
devious , for example , use frames of standard face , standard face with bill cipher eyes , and then various eyelids to create blink cycle .
crushed meanwhile use sad eyelids , warp perspective to " flatten " sprite , then draw rock to fall into frame .

hopefully this is of some kind of use , or at least interest to others . :)

Wow!

Date: Oct. 14th, 2024 04:41 am (UTC)
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
From: [personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
This is so awesome. Even though I can't code, it makes the creation of moodtheme icons much more sensible now.

Might you consider crossposting this on [community profile] newcomers? Chosters are already excited about Dreamwidth's multiple user icon option, so this would probably appeal too.

Re: Wow!

Date: Oct. 14th, 2024 05:02 am (UTC)
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
From: [personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Sure, that works.

My sympathies on the copy and update issue. I often crosspost things, and it is indeed a bother if I have to update in 2-3 different places. 0_o

Date: Oct. 16th, 2024 03:32 pm (UTC)
deadfrog: lil guy sitting down wearing a frog hat (llo)
From: [personal profile] deadfrog
very cool!

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