Add Terp Flair to Your “Animal Crossing” Island

The release of “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” could not have come at a better time. People across the globe are stuck indoors and “bored in the house, and in the house bored.” The popularity of the game has led to numerous articles touting the merits of the game and its timeliness, even dissecting the politics of Tom Nook and his island.

We, too, have enjoyed countless hours of trying to get our favorite villagers, catching fish and bugs (and tarantula hunting), gathering materials, crafting, and building towards that ultimate rush of achieving a 5-star island.

“Interacting with friends through the game and visiting their islands has been helpful for me during this time of isolation. It’s also really nice to have something pretty low-stress and low-stakes to focus on.”
Sharona Ginsberg, Head of Terrapin Learning Commons

View of Animal Crossing villager with tarantulas

As the nostalgia for campus and being surrounded by fellow Terps has hit us, we began experimenting with adding images that represent UMD to our islands.

The Challenge

We want to encourage you to bring UMD images into your own games, as well. For the next few weeks, we will be awarding in-game prizes to those of you who incorporate images from the Libraries’ Digital Collections into your Animal Crossing world.

Prizes

Everyone who participates will get access to download an exclusive custom-designed UMD t-shirt for your character to wear.
- Just follow the steps below to transfer an image from the Libraries’ Digital Collections into “Animal Crossing” with a QR code, place the image somewhere on your island, and take a screenshot to post with the hashtag #TerpCrossing or share it in a DM with @umdlibraries
Post or DM your image before June 1st for a chance to win one of three exclusive prize packs of in-game items
- Including more custom-designed clothing, Nook Miles tickets, bell vouchers, and more. We’ll judge based on the creativity of the image chosen and how it’s used in your game.

How To Place an Image Into The Game

Choose an Image

Choose one of the images below or search for your favorite image from our Libraries’ Digital Collections.
- Tips for choosing images:
  - Look for something without too much detail, focused on a single subject, and without too much shadow.
  - Keep it simple, and if an image doesn’t work well, try cropping it differently, or try a different image.
Use the clipping tool on the left of the image to crop what you want, then click the checkmark to download.

Create a Downloadable Pattern

Visit the Animal Crossing Pattern Tool website: https://acpatterns.com/
Click on EDITOR, then the CONVERT button. Upload your image and choose your settings. Feel free to experiment, and don’t worry too much about it being very high quality.
When you’re happy with your image, click the GENERATE QR CODE button. You can scan the QR code using the Nintendo Switch Online mobile app in order to access it from the game.

Upload Your Pattern

When you’re playing Animal Crossing, open your Nook Phone and select the Custom Designs App, then hit the – button to download the scanned image. You can place the image on surfaces (walls, ground), on a shirt, on a canvas, and more.