Design Shirts In Animal Crossing App

Animal Crossing New Horizons lets you add custom designs to furniture, clothing and even your character's face. It's all accessible from the NookPhone, though can be a bit fiddly at first. Worry not though! We've put together a guide explaining Custom Designs and Pro Designs, and how to apply them to furniture and clothing. Here's what you need to know:

On this page:

How to Make Custom Designs
How to Remove the Grid
How to Unlock Pro Designs
Pro Design Options
Custom Face Paint Designs
How to Apply Custom Designs to Furniture

How to Make Custom Designs

To make Custom Designs you'll need the app on your NookPhone. This will be given to you at the start of the game. Open the phone with 'ZL' and select the custom designs app. From here you can create your own designs. You can switch color with 'L' and 'R', and can increase the size of your pencil with 'Y'. You'll see a number of options available to the right of the screen. We recommend experimenting with these first, you can add stars, hearts and circles, for example.

How to Remove the Grid

You'll notice a pink grid located on the canvas when you start your design. This can be removed by painting over it in white. You can use the fill icon to do so, this will give you a blank slate to work with.

How to Unlock Pro Designs

To unlock Pro Designs in Animal Crossing New Horizons you'll need to buy the Pro Design upgrade from a Nook Stop. This will cost you 800 Nook Miles (more on Nook Miles here), though it's worth it if you're serious about designing your own patterns. The upgrade will automatically download to your phone.

Make your own custom designs | *Jake Green/USG*

Pro Design Options

If you access the Custom Designs app on your phone having bought the Pro upgrade you'll notice new options. You can cycle to the Pro Designs menu where you'll get new options. You can choose between Tops, Dresses and Hats. Custom Designs can be applied here. While using the Pro Design options, you will have more control over your designs. Simply put, there are more pixels that you can draw on, allowing for more complex designs.

Here are your options | *Jake Green/USG*

Custom Face Paint Designs

Custom Designs can be applied to face paint. We're not sure on how to do this yet, though you can see it in action in this Tweet from the Tom Nook Twitter account. Once we know exactly how this works, we'll add more info to this page.

Use Pro Designs to make awesome stuff | *Jake Green/USG*

How to Apply Custom Designs to Furniture

To add custom designs to furniture you will need to follow the steps for customizing items (more on that here). Make your design first using the app, and then you can apply designs while customizing.

To read USG's official verdict on Animal Crossing New Horizons, head here. For a look at how cloud saving works, head here.

Jake Green

Guides Editor

Jake is a former freelance writer who now heads up guides for USG. He spends his days dreaming of an X-Files dating-sim and will play literally any game with monkeys in it. He has an unhealthy obsession with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and would pretty much trade a kidney for Skate 4 at this point.