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How to make custom eyebrows, freckles, and birthmarks in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Now your villager can look just like you

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An Animal Crossing character peering up with some eyebrows Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

Animal Crossing: New Horizons allows players to wear patterns as face paint, which introduces the world of eyebrows, freckles, and birthmarks to the Nintendo Switch game.

You can customize your villager to look eerily like you using this feature to give yourself specific eyebrows or maybe a special birthmark. Face paint does show up even when your character is wearing face accessories, but it won’t show up through an accessory, like a face mask.

An Animal Crossing pattern tool with somebody making eyebrows Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

To make yourself some custom face paint, follow these steps:

  1. Open your design tool and start designing on a pattern.
  2. Pick a palette that suits your skin or hair color. The palettes towards the bottom will best support this.
  3. Click in the right analog stick twice to make the example on the left show a mannequin head, so you can see what you’re doing as you work.
  4. Make the entire canvas transparent, by filling it in with the “color” with grey and white stripes.
  5. Hit ZR to make your design symmetrical, which is ideal for eyebrows. You don’t have to do this for other facial features.
  6. Save your pattern when you’re done.
  7. Select the pattern and choose to wear it as “face paint.”
  8. If you don’t like the placement, open up the pattern and make adjustments. You can use the drag tool on the right to move them around.

Keep in mind that anything below the middle x-axis on the pattern will go on your cheeks, whereas everything above it will go on your forehead.

If you’re worried about your artistic talent, you can always download somebody else’s pattern.


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