For me its: 1.Plan 2. Let me imagine it 3. Spend hours/days building 4. Watch RUclips videos 5. Gets new theme ideas 6. Makes a mess 7. Spends thousands of bells 8. Repeat Lol
My mom started playing seriously a few weeks ago and I try to sort of "learn" from her, even if I'm the experienced player. She's having so much fun with it, while I've sort of fallen into the "I'm not happy with anything, I better flatten everything again"-mood. She made a cute little park and let me tell you, it's far from Instagram worthy, but it makes her happy! She changed it up a little, still not Instagram worthy in any way, but she's happy with it! She was so proud when she showed me and I just couldn't help but to love it. So, I'd say it really is super important to have fun with it and just not care about the finished product as long as it makes you happy. If your builds end up like something you want to put on social media, that's great! But don't feel as though your island is worth less because it doesn't look like that one perfect picture you found months ago. As Leif says: you have to do what makes you happy.
I deleted for second time cause I was frustrated from being overwhelmed trying to attempt a bamboo japanesw theme and failing cause I'm not an exterior decorator 😭
I can never understand how people do this honestly props to them I despise planning so much personally it destroys all of my creativity. Which means I spend like 10million constantly moving things around but ykno It just be like that sometimes :")
My island has no planning to it at all . It's not 💯 bad but it not 💯 the best island either . My island is clean , however I just don't know how to build on top of area. And design So like for instance u see island where people will have like a ramp that goes to 2 level and then it be all nice and pretty and decorative . Well let's just say its going but not that well. Either lol . My island needs help. My island is shaped well but it needs more .
@@kirbaby6665 I actually just restarted today because I didn’t like the layout of my island! I do regret it a bit after losing a lot of rare things but I feel a lot happier with a fresh start!
@@filmaphobic your comment helps thank you ! i think i’ll feel better with a layout i’m actually happy with too and especially as we have the new update coming will be fun to restart :))
Something I do, which I think everyone should do is looking at a deciding a style not a theme. Like how I'm going to terraform, what codes/flowers I want to use, villagers I want, etc, and then seeing what theme most closely represents that style
I can’t tell you how much I need videos like this. I’m so late to be part of the animal crossing community that I feel like my beginner island feels so mediocre compared to everyone else. And I’m so clueless on nice looking island layouts. Like I genuinely feel like I’m playing the game wrong.
The fun part of animal crossing is their is. There is no right or wrong way to build a island i really feel my island is just a idea of what I think life would be like if I could how I actually want to.
aa me too! i just started playing since mid December, im at a 4 star but nothing is how i want it to be, it's so difficult to find helpful videos... AAAAAAAAA
I’ve personally had issues any times I have tried to draw out a map. It does help me stay inspired but the issue for me is that when I have everything drawn out in a whole map, I usually have a hard time getting a good flow on my island and the scale can also be an issue.
I think theres online island planners for public use I believe theres a 2d map version and a 3d one. You could also try the bullet point journals that just have little dots on the pages?
I just flattened my island, and hadn't considered terraforming everything all at once. That's a good idea to get the full landscape figured out before you start placing houses or decorating. Thanks for the tip!
Okay, so I never thought about terraforming first and THEN moving buildings. That's seriously a game-changer for me! I'm excited to see what you do with Zinnia because I'm pretty sure I have the exact same map as you do right now, and I'm struggling big time!
Something I’m really struggling with is terraforming 😓 I’ve flattened my island and now I’m kind of regretting my choice. I should’ve terraformed the existing cliffs and rivers.
perfect timing for a vid like this! i recently reset my island and ive been struggling to figure out how to plan things (esp. since i get distracted easily LOL) 🥺💚
I completely flattened my island as soon as I got terraforming unlocked, with zero idea on what exactly I was going to do to rebuild, and now I’m STUCK. I don’t want to reset, but holy cow, I underestimated the process 😅
Your self care check at the beginning was actually so nice, this is why I come back to animal crossing content on RUclips. Because overall its so wholesome and healthy and there are supportive creators like yourself that advocate for self care
I reset on a whim and I automatically knew it was a blessing when I got a Peach Tree island. I have been trying to acquire peaches on my last island for the longest time 😭 I am traumatized from the green pears. Lol
I genuinely thought that I was strange, but it turns out we island plan on a similar way 🤣 I've always planned and executed my layout/terraforming before moving and decorating areas! It's good to know I'm not alone in this methodology 😉👌🏼
Thank you for the video! You’re truly an inspiration to us all!! I really needed this today. You’re absolutely right, this game is meant to be fun, an “escape”, not a chore. I needed the reminder.💕
I quit acnh since it was just becoming so stressful because I had no idea how to design my island and I really wanted it to be good. I recently reset my island and am looking forward to starting over even if it's daunting. These videos really help me become inspired and excited to play again
Thank you so much I've been struggling a lot with my island. I was always fixated on one island theme but I never was a consistent person. So I felt kind of trapped. First I've wanted to to cottagecore, then farmcore, after that I thought city core would be really awesome and all of that. And I realized a theme don't really fit my playstyle. I agreed to only have a color pallete as a theme. I mostly use blue, black, purple and white on my island with a heavy focus on blue and it should be aestheticly pleasing in the night. Now I got a mix of elegantcore, city core, dark and farmcore and hearing my island is still valid makes me feel way better about my island :) I think I got the feeling I wanted to convey out. I wanted my island to feel like a nostalgic dream :)
these videos about meticulously designing an island are so foreign to me bc I just spontaneously move things around in a chaotic manner and hope it works out . but that’s why my island is no where near as aesthetic of these RUclips islands lmao
I just started a new island and these tips are sooooo helpful! I have only done one area so far for terraforming but I really need to get all the items I want to decorate so I can finish it up. ❤️ But sometimes I just like to go with the flow!
Oh my gosh, Peaches is darling. 😭❤️ I struggle with the mapping after I figure out where my buildings go. Even with a theme, I always seem to stare at my map and rack my brain with what I want to fill it with. I also tend to terraform an area at a time, since I don’t have a full plan right from the start.
My island theme is Lilly's house. Im not even kidding, I walked into her house when she moved to my island and saw it for the first time and just fell in love with the vibe, now my island is a beautiful forrest full of hydrangeas and decorated in cool blues and whites with a hint of purple
Lily's home is literally stunning, I fell in love with it when she moved onto my island🥺 I love the hydrangea wallpaper and the calm vibes of her home in general-
I actually decided to be crazy, and I dug holes across and down my island and counted how many spaces it was, calculated out exactly where my RS, airport, secret beach, and river mouths were, so that I have the base of what can't be moved. I found a pixel program that allowed me to create my own graph paper and marked off those things so now I can either draw over it on a new layer, or print it out and have an analog copy. It's not so much to plan everything down to the last pixel, but more because I tend to plan out an area and then discover that I waaayy over or under estimated the space I needed for something I knew I wanted to have and then I have all this stuff to redo in my terraforming. I find than using it to plan actual dimensions of my areas helps me to have less dead space to have to deal with later, but also to have realistic ideas for what I want to do.
I named my first island Juniper after my dog and it had no theme and I really struggled. I restarted and named it Strawberry so it will have a pink/red theme (I need to get merengue again 😩) but I found putting everything near or on the beaches, getting a map with the plaza a little farther away from the airport and starting from the back decorating and planning your way up has really helped. Thanks for the additional tips!!
My process is to start with a notepad of things I want to include, buy pretty much every piece of furniture Nook's Cranny offers, then kind of mush it all together until it sort of makes sense 😂 Not very efficient, but very funi think.
I’m so happy to see someone with almost the exact same starter map layout as me! I’m actually doing a challenge, I’m building out my island making very few changes to the terrain. I’m still obviously doing elevation and other terraforming, but where the main rivers are and hills are being kept.
Yes I do the same! Terraform and layout everything first! But I usually place the buildings as I’m doing it cause I know they’ll stay there. It’s so much easier to have it laid out before decorating!
Honestly I've tried this method 3 times and I'm flattening it all and starting from scratch again because it just doesn't work for me. I know what I want to do, but doing all of the terraforming first burns me out, I end up with a blank undecorated land for months on end and so I've lost that creative spark from doing nothing but terraforming. I've found that starting on one part of the island and putting all my focus on that and then gradually making my way across the rest of the island works best for me. So some days I'll be terraforming and then other days I'll be decorating etc. It's so much nicer.
I use Happy island designer to sort of plan out my terraforming. It helps me see if everything will fit. Then I do it like you. Terraform, move and decorate.
Lex you just saved my life😭tell me how I’m sitting here watching your videos as I edit my Island and you said “don’t forget to take your meds” and I was like :0 I NEEDED TO TAKE THEM 2 HOURS AGO
Interesting, I place my houses right away with a general layout in mind. I work with the landscape and houses I already have, because I couldn’t imagine terraforming everything flat and having a blank canvas. That’s too overwhelming for me. I found this really cute pathway design and connected all the houses with it in round paths only to make it look organic. Then I placed fences and decorations, then flowers and trees. I have a second path that is dirt and stones and one path with wood slates for the corn fields. The dirt path leads into a cherry tree forest with a heart shaped lake and a Picknick set up.
I have been playing this game for over a year now and I was honestly never able to complete a single island. I want to do something really ambitious though so that's kind of my own fault. A tip I have for all my fellow frustrated gamers: Planning ahead is nice, but it will only get you so far. Things are not going to turn out the way you wanted them to look in your head. You are going to be trying all the awesome things you planned and you will realize that half of them don't work. Use the island planner if you want to do bigger builds and want to make sure they fit on your island, but give yourself plenty of space to transition from one area to the next and walk around comfortably. Some things you just have to see in game to decide if they work or not.
You have no idea how helpful this is. I'm the sort of person who has to plan things out before I carry out the action, so there's only so much I can do when I 'go with the flow' lol
The way I do my Islands is usually I move all the buildings where I want them to be. Then I add paths then I add terraforming and the ultimate decoration. It’s rly fun
I needed this video! I just got animal crossing recently and unlocked terraforming and completed my neighborhood idea which or course Im not sure I even like anymore. But I do also have Henry as a villager and love him!
My process lately has litterally just been to vibe. I dont know how else to describe it. I've always had a general idea of what I wanted to build but was never sure where to start. So I decided to begin by following a build tutorial to create an island entrance and then adjusted and added to it with my own touches until I was happy with it and from there everything just sort of flowed together naturally.
✨So how I would go in decorating my Island and terraforming✨ 1. First I watch videos because I'm pretty bad at terraforming once I get a vision in my mind I kind of take some of the inspiration from that video and also use mine to make a vision a complete one 2. After I do that if I have a complete Vision I will just go along with it but if I have a kind of "I kind of know what it is but I don't" then I draw it or if I'm talking to my friend and I want to show her what I'm thinking I draw it 3. Usually I choose some areas for certain villagers like Joey he's my favorite so I made a little area for him and for Mallory and Molly I made Molly a little shop and I also made Mallory a little pumpkin farm but I put it together so Molly's store was on top and Mallory pumpkin farm was on the bottom 4. After I plan what villagers will go there and what I think they would put their I start terraforming usually that's a bit hard for me deciding if I want water here or not if I should make this more natural or not I also move around a lot so I may choose to say hey "I'm not going to place it but I'm going to make this DIY so the later I know I want to place it there" 5. Once I'm finished here for me and put all the inclines and bridges I decorate deciding if I should put a sign here or not if I should put this mushroom there or streetlamp what color mushroom all of that stuff 6. Once I'm finished I step back to look at the work seeing if I should put a different colored pumpkin if I should make this look a bit more natural basically putting all the finishing touch and cleaning up some stuff also along the way of decorating I put the houses usually I put the houses when I'm terraforming or when I'm decorating
Also in Step One about watching the video, I love the channel because I like watching her terraforming skills and help me put a vision in my mind like that time when she showed the Winterland and that little scenery behind those two houses 6:16 I don't think I'm going to use it but I can recommend my friend to and of course, she's going to put her own little Flair to it
I rlly want to do a fairy/cute island theme 💗🍄🧚🏻♀️ I got the game when it launched but took a 2 year break after unlocking terraforming since I was so overwhelmed. My island was left a mess but this spring break I got the motivation back! I probably won’t be able to play much because of school but summer vacation is coming up, so that’s a plus
You do such a FanTabUlous job of designing and explaining things. You make questions turn to fun and looking forward to the finished work.. that I am about to start 😊👏 Thank you again.
Funny, your last step (Decorating) is kinda my first step, because that's the one with the most variables and I want to lock that down first. Once I know what items I want to have placed in a certain area (or what general selection of items) I start to form that region to fit the items, not the other way around. ^^ I do the same kinda planning with designs as you do as well for placing houses, though I use it to map out my terraforming as well. ^^ I also take my time with my island. Been playing since the game launched but my island is only 3/4 "done" and due to the update in Novmeber, I've already planned to erase about 1/4 of my island and reorganize it a bit to fit the new stuff. All of the old regions are getting a facelift as well. ^^
I just restarted and my island is going to be a mix between autumn and cottage core themes bescause my bday is in autumn and i love the cottage core theme
I like working one building at a time: I terraform the area where I want the building to be, mark its place with a pattern, decorate the outside, place the building and finish decorating, and move onto the next! Also I personally really enjoy terraforming :D
I want to start a new island so badly, it sounds so fun (especially for the upcoming update lol!) But I hate the thought of losing Eunice and Chèvre, two of my favorite villagers! Plus all the diy recipes I’ve learned.. Ah! it’s hard to decide lol!
Something I suggest if it's a town theme is to give some villagers a little fake builiding or area (or both) with a random job. Makes it more lively :)
I've been sloooooowly working on my island, one idea at a time, and am finally close to finishing it, yay! No planning, no theme, but it's not a pile of garbage anymore. Maybe I'll actually be able to upload a D.A. one of these days, woot!
Hey Lex, I don't know if you'll see this since it's been a year since you first aired this video, but, I wanted to let you know that I just found you and I loved this video! It was so helpful to me because I was struggling to decorate my island last year and finally got bored and stopped playing until now. I've been trying to redecorate my island and again was struggling but thanks to this video, I now have a clear way to go and I'm confident I will actually finish decorating this time. Thank you so much for this. And I don't even remember what my native flower is but I never got the specialty flowers either so maybe that will be my next task after decorating! ♥️😀
My plan is hilarious, I just terraform and move houses as I go. As of the moment, a lot of my houses are trapped in a small and claustrophobic space and the other buildings are just scattered randomly around. I terraformed a little bit of the back part of my island for it to be where the houses are, and what I do to save some bells is that I just try to fill in the terraformed space as much as possible with the claustrophobic houses (and the yards I want to make for them) and then when it's all placed up there, I have a lot of space for commerce buildings and decorations for it down below lol (So as of the moment, my island is a cluttered mess, but its a work in progress that Im pretty proud of xD)
I’m new to this game I never got it when it came out and I decided to hop on once the hype died down because now I have a bunch of helpful tips and tricks
Glad I saw this. I started working on my Southern Hemisphere island because I hate it. But now I’m struggling with changing it and I’m hearing what little I’ve done so far. Ugh…
This is literally SO helpful! I just treated myself to the ACNH Switch from my Switch Lite and restarted my island right before 2.0 came out, so The Lex Method is gonna be v helpful when I finally get to unlock terraforming!
Henry is also birthday twins with my late grandfather, who was absolutely obsessed with frogs. I wept for a day when he moved in, I’ll never let him leave
I think it is really cool that people can make their island look super pretty. Mine is not exactly pretty. lol I am trying to slowly build it to be how I like it. I've had the game for around 6 months and still not even close to being done. It's very plain. The items I love on others videos I have not come across those in my game yet. Just patiently waiting. lol
It's ok if it's not crazy. It doesn't have to be. For some your island might be a relief precisely _because_ it's not overcrowded or overdesigned--which usually leads to lag and bad pop in even offline if there's way, way too many things clogging the space. _There's beauty in simplicity._ _Start small._ _Little touches can go a long way._ I'm not a fan of the mums, but I did like having a green mum in the center of three or four red cosmos (top, bottom, left [or] right side) and used that combo for the "entrance" to the other side of my island during the winter. It was a kind of reverse mistletoe and the combination looked so good when there was snow on the ground; made the red cosmos really pop and the few months of the green mum doesn't look so boring.
I loved this vid!! It’s so interesting seeing how people plan their maps. I also just reset my switch lite and have the same map as you. I loved the layout so much :)
I’ve been struggling to come up with something I’m happy with since I first started messing with my island (over a year ago!!!!!) and nothing seems to help :( my villagers have been living on the beaches for months now… I’ll keep this video in mind while I give it another go, hopefully I’ll at least have some terraforming done in time for the new update ^^”
When i first started my first game sylvia was actually in my village but it looks bad so i reseted and also one of my villagers kit kat left the island.. where ever u are kit kat have a good life man..
This helped me a lot! Gonna follow these steps once i get home. I started terraforming and placing custom paths before measuring space and etc and now i have uneven cliffs and etc. 😭
Hi besties what’s your native flower on your current island?
Roses! I always end up with roses and oranges, lol
i think it’s lillie’s i’m not sure cuz it’s been a while since i started
Mums!
Roses. Even my little one got roses.
Pansies
For me it’s
1. Plan
2.Terraform
3. Get rid of everything you just terraformed
4. Cry
for me it’s
1. think about doing it
2. start removing literally everything
3. get distracted
4. give up
5. repeat in a couple days
For me its
1. Get an idea
2. Look at the area i have to clean
3. Get overwhelmed and give up
Me: Plan, Terraform, complete.....
ALRIGHT LETS REDO EVERYTHING! Add more flowers and trees!
Is it a brag I love cleaning and terraforming and moving houses
For me its:
1.Plan
2. Let me imagine it
3. Spend hours/days building
4. Watch RUclips videos
5. Gets new theme ideas
6. Makes a mess
7. Spends thousands of bells
8. Repeat
Lol
Completing an island is honestly rly impressive to me I am forever changing mine
Same. It's so hard sticking to one
Ditto
I never complete mine I just get burnt out slap down some items and go good enough and restart lmao
Same I can NEVER get a bit of the island to stay the same and I can never pick
Same, I am always changing my island
"So make sure you have a plan in your haed before starting"
*Me who just started putting random things on my island*
This is so funny to me because SAME 😭😂😂
If you were going to copy my process, at least credit me 😭😭😭
Same...
Tbh
yeah,, how the hell does one fill an island neatly
"This game is meant to be fun, not a stressful chore." SAY IT AGAIN FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK
IM IN A CONSTANT STATE OF STRESS WHEN I PLAY
@@livly9555 stop playing if it's stressing you out
Well some people wanna have a rlly cute island. U can do what ever u whant on animal crossing!
I'm in stress because this is my first island and I don't wanna start over bc my happy home paradise might be deleted?
@@Kimmy_Kim_ the progress will, the actual thing wont
My mom started playing seriously a few weeks ago and I try to sort of "learn" from her, even if I'm the experienced player. She's having so much fun with it, while I've sort of fallen into the "I'm not happy with anything, I better flatten everything again"-mood. She made a cute little park and let me tell you, it's far from Instagram worthy, but it makes her happy! She changed it up a little, still not Instagram worthy in any way, but she's happy with it! She was so proud when she showed me and I just couldn't help but to love it. So, I'd say it really is super important to have fun with it and just not care about the finished product as long as it makes you happy. If your builds end up like something you want to put on social media, that's great! But don't feel as though your island is worth less because it doesn't look like that one perfect picture you found months ago. As Leif says: you have to do what makes you happy.
awww this made me really motivated to keep working on my island even tho it’s far from perfect 💗
I deleted for second time cause I was frustrated from being overwhelmed trying to attempt a bamboo japanesw theme and failing cause I'm not an exterior decorator 😭
this is a no planning household, we wing it and see what happens for better and definitely for worse 😔🤘
Lmao
😔
yes
same. I have several different experiment builds on hhp.every since i did my first 50 i havent put much into doing what the client wants
and then we don't play for month because the island is half ready xD
I can never understand how people do this honestly props to them I despise planning so much personally it destroys all of my creativity. Which means I spend like 10million constantly moving things around but ykno
It just be like that sometimes :")
My island has no planning to it at all . It's not 💯 bad but it not 💯 the best island either .
My island is clean , however I just don't know how to build on top of area. And design
So like for instance u see island where people will have like a ramp that goes to 2 level and then it be all nice and pretty and decorative . Well let's just say its going but not that well. Either lol . My island needs help. My island is shaped well but it needs more .
I wish I had researched the game before I started playing. I want to reset mine for a different layout but don’t want to lose all my recipes
sameeee, my town hall is in such an awkward place it sucks :((
i just said eff it and reset mine LOL i regret it sometimes but overall i’ve been a lot happier with my fresh start
@@kirbaby6665 I actually just restarted today because I didn’t like the layout of my island! I do regret it a bit after losing a lot of rare things but I feel a lot happier with a fresh start!
@@filmaphobic your comment helps thank you ! i think i’ll feel better with a layout i’m actually happy with too and especially as we have the new update coming will be fun to restart :))
@@kirbaby6665 I just restarted an hour ago 🥲 I’m scared
Something I do, which I think everyone should do is looking at a deciding a style not a theme. Like how I'm going to terraform, what codes/flowers I want to use, villagers I want, etc, and then seeing what theme most closely represents that style
True
great idea!
what a good idea :)
could you help me figure out which theme i am if i list my style? :)
@@miaduff5445 of course
I can’t tell you how much I need videos like this. I’m so late to be part of the animal crossing community that I feel like my beginner island feels so mediocre compared to everyone else. And I’m so clueless on nice looking island layouts. Like I genuinely feel like I’m playing the game wrong.
The fun part of animal crossing is their is. There is no right or wrong way to build a island i really feel my island is just a idea of what I think life would be like if I could how I actually want to.
Especially with crafting furniture and designing the island to how I see my type of paradise which is like a forest camping vibe.
aa me too! i just started playing since mid December, im at a 4 star but nothing is how i want it to be, it's so difficult to find helpful videos... AAAAAAAAA
I’ve personally had issues any times I have tried to draw out a map. It does help me stay inspired but the issue for me is that when I have everything drawn out in a whole map, I usually have a hard time getting a good flow on my island and the scale can also be an issue.
Grids usually help me with scale, but they can be tedious since the map is so large
I think theres online island planners for public use I believe theres a 2d map version and a 3d one. You could also try the bullet point journals that just have little dots on the pages?
@@flatgoddess5629 whats the app called I need to use it pllssss
@@flatgoddess5629 yes please, what design app is it?
I just flattened my island, and hadn't considered terraforming everything all at once. That's a good idea to get the full landscape figured out before you start placing houses or decorating. Thanks for the tip!
Okay, so I never thought about terraforming first and THEN moving buildings. That's seriously a game-changer for me! I'm excited to see what you do with Zinnia because I'm pretty sure I have the exact same map as you do right now, and I'm struggling big time!
Something I’m really struggling with is terraforming 😓 I’ve flattened my island and now I’m kind of regretting my choice. I should’ve terraformed the existing cliffs and rivers.
You can always add little spaces back 😊
perfect timing for a vid like this! i recently reset my island and ive been struggling to figure out how to plan things (esp. since i get distracted easily LOL) 🥺💚
I completely flattened my island as soon as I got terraforming unlocked, with zero idea on what exactly I was going to do to rebuild, and now I’m STUCK. I don’t want to reset, but holy cow, I underestimated the process 😅
Your self care check at the beginning was actually so nice, this is why I come back to animal crossing content on RUclips. Because overall its so wholesome and healthy and there are supportive creators like yourself that advocate for self care
New to the game and new to this channel- the self care check at the beginning is BEAUTIFUL. Immediate sub!!
I reset on a whim and I automatically knew it was a blessing when I got a Peach Tree island. I have been trying to acquire peaches on my last island for the longest time 😭 I am traumatized from the green pears. Lol
I genuinely thought that I was strange, but it turns out we island plan on a similar way 🤣 I've always planned and executed my layout/terraforming before moving and decorating areas! It's good to know I'm not alone in this methodology 😉👌🏼
In*
Thank you for the video! You’re truly an inspiration to us all!! I really needed this today. You’re absolutely right, this game is meant to be fun, an “escape”, not a chore. I needed the reminder.💕
I quit acnh since it was just becoming so stressful because I had no idea how to design my island and I really wanted it to be good. I recently reset my island and am looking forward to starting over even if it's daunting. These videos really help me become inspired and excited to play again
Thank you so much I've been struggling a lot with my island. I was always fixated on one island theme but I never was a consistent person. So I felt kind of trapped. First I've wanted to to cottagecore, then farmcore, after that I thought city core would be really awesome and all of that. And I realized a theme don't really fit my playstyle.
I agreed to only have a color pallete as a theme. I mostly use blue, black, purple and white on my island with a heavy focus on blue and it should be aestheticly pleasing in the night.
Now I got a mix of elegantcore, city core, dark and farmcore and hearing my island is still valid makes me feel way better about my island :) I think I got the feeling I wanted to convey out. I wanted my island to feel like a nostalgic dream :)
these videos about meticulously designing an island are so foreign to me bc I just spontaneously move things around in a chaotic manner and hope it works out . but that’s why my island is no where near as aesthetic of these RUclips islands lmao
Steps!/Timestamps
Step 1: Do you want a theme? 3:19
Step 2: Map/draw out ideas 3:54
Step 3: Terraform 5:18
Step 4: Move buildings 6:17
Step 5: decorate! 7:07
Good luck!
I just started a new island and these tips are sooooo helpful! I have only done one area so far for terraforming but I really need to get all the items I want to decorate so I can finish it up. ❤️ But sometimes I just like to go with the flow!
I’ve started playing 1 month ago and you made a really good point there that I forgot. “You have time, you have to enjoy your island”
Aw, Peaches was so excited in the sign off!
Oh my gosh, Peaches is darling. 😭❤️ I struggle with the mapping after I figure out where my buildings go. Even with a theme, I always seem to stare at my map and rack my brain with what I want to fill it with. I also tend to terraform an area at a time, since I don’t have a full plan right from the start.
My island theme is Lilly's house. Im not even kidding, I walked into her house when she moved to my island and saw it for the first time and just fell in love with the vibe, now my island is a beautiful forrest full of hydrangeas and decorated in cool blues and whites with a hint of purple
Lily's home is literally stunning, I fell in love with it when she moved onto my island🥺 I love the hydrangea wallpaper and the calm vibes of her home in general-
I actually decided to be crazy, and I dug holes across and down my island and counted how many spaces it was, calculated out exactly where my RS, airport, secret beach, and river mouths were, so that I have the base of what can't be moved. I found a pixel program that allowed me to create my own graph paper and marked off those things so now I can either draw over it on a new layer, or print it out and have an analog copy. It's not so much to plan everything down to the last pixel, but more because I tend to plan out an area and then discover that I waaayy over or under estimated the space I needed for something I knew I wanted to have and then I have all this stuff to redo in my terraforming. I find than using it to plan actual dimensions of my areas helps me to have less dead space to have to deal with later, but also to have realistic ideas for what I want to do.
your intro actually reminded me to take my meds, thank you!
I named my first island Juniper after my dog and it had no theme and I really struggled. I restarted and named it Strawberry so it will have a pink/red theme (I need to get merengue again 😩) but I found putting everything near or on the beaches, getting a map with the plaza a little farther away from the airport and starting from the back decorating and planning your way up has really helped. Thanks for the additional tips!!
The addition of Happy Home Paradise is going to make designing a themed island so much easier now that we can renovate our villagers houses.
My process is to start with a notepad of things I want to include, buy pretty much every piece of furniture Nook's Cranny offers, then kind of mush it all together until it sort of makes sense 😂 Not very efficient, but very funi think.
I’m so happy to see someone with almost the exact same starter map layout as me!
I’m actually doing a challenge, I’m building out my island making very few changes to the terrain. I’m still obviously doing elevation and other terraforming, but where the main rivers are and hills are being kept.
I also have the same map. How did your Island turn out?:3
Oop thank you for the reminder I actually forgot to take my retalin!
i snorted that once. didn’t do much.
The second I see Kiki it’s an instant like for me 😍👏🏼
Yes I do the same! Terraform and layout everything first! But I usually place the buildings as I’m doing it cause I know they’ll stay there. It’s so much easier to have it laid out before decorating!
Honestly I've tried this method 3 times and I'm flattening it all and starting from scratch again because it just doesn't work for me. I know what I want to do, but doing all of the terraforming first burns me out, I end up with a blank undecorated land for months on end and so I've lost that creative spark from doing nothing but terraforming.
I've found that starting on one part of the island and putting all my focus on that and then gradually making my way across the rest of the island works best for me. So some days I'll be terraforming and then other days I'll be decorating etc. It's so much nicer.
just wanted to say your self care check at the start was so helpful thank you!!!
I use Happy island designer to sort of plan out my terraforming. It helps me see if everything will fit. Then I do it like you. Terraform, move and decorate.
Thank you for the reminders at the beginning, I actually forgot to take my nighttime meds! You genuinely helped me I appreciate it ❤
3:16 Where the advice starts. In case people are in a hurry lol
Thank you i was getting annoyed 😂
Lex you just saved my life😭tell me how I’m sitting here watching your videos as I edit my Island and you said “don’t forget to take your meds” and I was like :0 I NEEDED TO TAKE THEM 2 HOURS AGO
Something that I struggle with is wondering what to connect to those cliffs. I'm unsure if I should just close it off, or turn it into a little area.
The self care check at the beginning of the video is so sweet 🥺❤
Interesting, I place my houses right away with a general layout in mind. I work with the landscape and houses I already have, because I couldn’t imagine terraforming everything flat and having a blank canvas. That’s too overwhelming for me. I found this really cute pathway design and connected all the houses with it in round paths only to make it look organic. Then I placed fences and decorations, then flowers and trees. I have a second path that is dirt and stones and one path with wood slates for the corn fields. The dirt path leads into a cherry tree forest with a heart shaped lake and a Picknick set up.
I have been playing this game for over a year now and I was honestly never able to complete a single island. I want to do something really ambitious though so that's kind of my own fault.
A tip I have for all my fellow frustrated gamers: Planning ahead is nice, but it will only get you so far. Things are not going to turn out the way you wanted them to look in your head. You are going to be trying all the awesome things you planned and you will realize that half of them don't work. Use the island planner if you want to do bigger builds and want to make sure they fit on your island, but give yourself plenty of space to transition from one area to the next and walk around comfortably. Some things you just have to see in game to decide if they work or not.
Thank you
You have no idea how helpful this is. I'm the sort of person who has to plan things out before I carry out the action, so there's only so much I can do when I 'go with the flow' lol
The way I do my Islands is usually I move all the buildings where I want them to be. Then I add paths then I add terraforming and the ultimate decoration. It’s rly fun
I needed this video! I just got animal crossing recently and unlocked terraforming and completed my neighborhood idea which or course Im not sure I even like anymore. But I do also have Henry as a villager and love him!
This timing couldn't have been any better! I JUST started my third island and this will help a lot :)
I recently got back into playing and this is my first video in a long time watching and I really appreciate it
My process lately has litterally just been to vibe. I dont know how else to describe it. I've always had a general idea of what I wanted to build but was never sure where to start. So I decided to begin by following a build tutorial to create an island entrance and then adjusted and added to it with my own touches until I was happy with it and from there everything just sort of flowed together naturally.
✨So how I would go in decorating my Island and terraforming✨
1. First I watch videos because I'm pretty bad at terraforming once I get a vision in my mind I kind of take some of the inspiration from that video and also use mine to make a vision a complete one
2. After I do that if I have a complete Vision I will just go along with it but if I have a kind of "I kind of know what it is but I don't" then I draw it or if I'm talking to my friend and I want to show her what I'm thinking I draw it
3. Usually I choose some areas for certain villagers like Joey he's my favorite so I made a little area for him and for Mallory and Molly I made Molly a little shop and I also made Mallory a little pumpkin farm but I put it together so Molly's store was on top and Mallory pumpkin farm was on the bottom
4. After I plan what villagers will go there and what I think they would put their I start terraforming usually that's a bit hard for me deciding if I want water here or not if I should make this more natural or not I also move around a lot so I may choose to say hey "I'm not going to place it but I'm going to make this DIY so the later I know I want to place it there"
5. Once I'm finished here for me and put all the inclines and bridges I decorate deciding if I should put a sign here or not if I should put this mushroom there or streetlamp what color mushroom all of that stuff
6. Once I'm finished I step back to look at the work seeing if I should put a different colored pumpkin if I should make this look a bit more natural basically putting all the finishing touch and cleaning up some stuff also along the way of decorating I put the houses usually I put the houses when I'm terraforming or when I'm decorating
Also in Step One about watching the video, I love the channel because I like watching her terraforming skills and help me put a vision in my mind like that time when she showed the Winterland and that little scenery behind those two houses
6:16
I don't think I'm going to use it but I can recommend my friend to and of course, she's going to put her own little Flair to it
Okay super off topic but your intro reminded me to take my meds today and honestly tysm
I rlly want to do a fairy/cute island theme 💗🍄🧚🏻♀️ I got the game when it launched but took a 2 year break after unlocking terraforming since I was so overwhelmed. My island was left a mess but this spring break I got the motivation back! I probably won’t be able to play much because of school but summer vacation is coming up, so that’s a plus
Just your quick check in the beginning, drinking water etc deserved a like for this video! Thanks Lex!
i just found your videos and really appreciate you checking to make sure we have water and took our meds omg
This video is very helpful!! Also, thank you for the self care check. It’s actually inspired me to start doing that in my videos.
Tysm, u have rlly helped me. Now I can design my island without tearing it down half way thru, subbed 😍
Why have I never thought to move the houses to the beach before redoing my residential area. Genius idea!
You do such a FanTabUlous job of designing and explaining things. You make questions turn to fun and looking forward to the finished work.. that I am about to start 😊👏 Thank you again.
Funny, your last step (Decorating) is kinda my first step, because that's the one with the most variables and I want to lock that down first. Once I know what items I want to have placed in a certain area (or what general selection of items) I start to form that region to fit the items, not the other way around. ^^
I do the same kinda planning with designs as you do as well for placing houses, though I use it to map out my terraforming as well. ^^
I also take my time with my island. Been playing since the game launched but my island is only 3/4 "done" and due to the update in Novmeber, I've already planned to erase about 1/4 of my island and reorganize it a bit to fit the new stuff. All of the old regions are getting a facelift as well. ^^
I've been wanting a video like this for so long, so thank you!
Clay's my Birthday twin and i love pottery and Ceramics so it fits,I keep waiting for him,either campsite or Nook Miles
I just restarted and my island is going to be a mix between autumn and cottage core themes
bescause my bday is in autumn and i love the cottage core theme
Every time I’m burnt out of AC, I come running to your vids to get motivated to play again
I like working one building at a time: I terraform the area where I want the building to be, mark its place with a pattern, decorate the outside, place the building and finish decorating, and move onto the next! Also I personally really enjoy terraforming :D
I want to start a new island so badly, it sounds so fun (especially for the upcoming update lol!) But I hate the thought of losing Eunice and Chèvre, two of my favorite villagers! Plus all the diy recipes I’ve learned.. Ah! it’s hard to decide lol!
Thank you for this great video! My island theme is Tropical core
Your so kind! The intro persuaded me to subscribe, The new update is awesome!!
It's nice having a villager you really like. Julian recently moved in.
Something I suggest if it's a town theme is to give some villagers a little fake builiding or area (or both) with a random job. Makes it more lively :)
i actually paused the vid and took my meds bc you reminded me. so thank you:)
I've been sloooooowly working on my island, one idea at a time, and am finally close to finishing it, yay! No planning, no theme, but it's not a pile of garbage anymore. Maybe I'll actually be able to upload a D.A. one of these days, woot!
Ah, laying in my bed and watching youtube videos about ACNH even though I don't even own a nintendo switch is soo relaxing.
Hey Lex, I don't know if you'll see this since it's been a year since you first aired this video, but, I wanted to let you know that I just found you and I loved this video! It was so helpful to me because I was struggling to decorate my island last year and finally got bored and stopped playing until now. I've been trying to redecorate my island and again was struggling but thanks to this video, I now have a clear way to go and I'm confident I will actually finish decorating this time. Thank you so much for this. And I don't even remember what my native flower is but I never got the specialty flowers either so maybe that will be my next task after decorating! ♥️😀
you reminded me to take my meds! I subscribed just because of that. love u girl
My plan is hilarious, I just terraform and move houses as I go. As of the moment, a lot of my houses are trapped in a small and claustrophobic space and the other buildings are just scattered randomly around.
I terraformed a little bit of the back part of my island for it to be where the houses are, and what I do to save some bells is that I just try to fill in the terraformed space as much as possible with the claustrophobic houses (and the yards I want to make for them) and then when it's all placed up there, I have a lot of space for commerce buildings and decorations for it down below lol
(So as of the moment, my island is a cluttered mess, but its a work in progress that Im pretty proud of xD)
Your animal crossing videos are my favorite!!!! 🥰💗 you have the best personality and ideas
I’m new to this game I never got it when it came out and I decided to hop on once the hype died down because now I have a bunch of helpful tips and tricks
Glad I saw this. I started working on my Southern Hemisphere island because I hate it. But now I’m struggling with changing it and I’m hearing what little I’ve done so far. Ugh…
This is literally SO helpful! I just treated myself to the ACNH Switch from my Switch Lite and restarted my island right before 2.0 came out, so The Lex Method is gonna be v helpful when I finally get to unlock terraforming!
Henry is also birthday twins with my late grandfather, who was absolutely obsessed with frogs. I wept for a day when he moved in, I’ll never let him leave
I liked in less than 30 seconds just for the self care check. That was super awesome
thank you for reminding me to take my meds! almost forgot this morning :’) 💖
I needed this video four years ago ahhhh
I think it is really cool that people can make their island look super pretty. Mine is not exactly pretty. lol I am trying to slowly build it to be how I like it. I've had the game for around 6 months and still not even close to being done. It's very plain. The items I love on others videos I have not come across those in my game yet. Just patiently waiting. lol
It's ok if it's not crazy. It doesn't have to be. For some your island might be a relief precisely _because_ it's not overcrowded or overdesigned--which usually leads to lag and bad pop in even offline if there's way, way too many things clogging the space.
_There's beauty in simplicity._
_Start small._
_Little touches can go a long way._
I'm not a fan of the mums, but I did like having a green mum in the center of three or four red cosmos (top, bottom, left [or] right side) and used that combo for the "entrance" to the other side of my island during the winter. It was a kind of reverse mistletoe and the combination looked so good when there was snow on the ground; made the red cosmos really pop and the few months of the green mum doesn't look so boring.
I loved this vid!! It’s so interesting seeing how people plan their maps. I also just reset my switch lite and have the same map as you. I loved the layout so much :)
You are the reason I fell in love with Henry, thank you 💕 he’s my bestie
Try a bunch of themes. The one that sticks to you and the one that comes easiest in regards to inspiration and decorating, stick with that one!
I love Henry! He’s been one of my villagers from Day 1! He’s so sweet! Oh and I give Henry every green thing I can buy! He’s the best!
He was my first campsite villager too!
I’ve been struggling to come up with something I’m happy with since I first started messing with my island (over a year ago!!!!!) and nothing seems to help :( my villagers have been living on the beaches for months now…
I’ll keep this video in mind while I give it another go, hopefully I’ll at least have some terraforming done in time for the new update ^^”
omg I really needed the take your meds reminder, thanks! lol (genuinely)
You reminded me to take my meds thanks! Actually really helpful! First time watching one of your vids too lol.
When i first started my first game sylvia was actually in my village but it looks bad so i reseted and also one of my villagers kit kat left the island.. where ever u are kit kat have a good life man..
This helped me a lot! Gonna follow these steps once i get home. I started terraforming and placing custom paths before measuring space and etc and now i have uneven cliffs and etc. 😭