Picrew Character Creator

Picrew describes itself as a character maker and creator, and the word "creator" has two sides there. Visitors create characters. Artists create the makers. If you have ever wondered how a character creator is put together, the answer is layers.

The maker above is built the same way, and you can use it straight away. It is not part of Picrew.

How a character creator is built

Every maker of this kind follows the same structure.

• A base: the body or head that everything sits on.
• Categories: hair, eyes, mouth, clothes and so on. Each is a slot.
• Parts: the drawings that can fill a slot, all drawn to line up with the base.
• Layer order: which slots sit in front. Back hair goes behind the body, bangs go in front of the face.
• Color options: the colors offered for each part.

What a creator on Picrew decides

An artist who publishes on Picrew draws every part, arranges the layers and chooses the color sets. They also set the rules for their maker through four permission labels: Personal, Non-Commercial, Commercial and Processing. That is why two makers on the same site can allow very different things. The permissions guide covers each label.

Try the layers yourself

You can see the layer order at work in the maker above. Choose Long straight hair and it falls behind the shoulders. Add Bangs and they sit over the eyes. Put on Glasses and they sit over the bangs. Add a Cape and it goes behind everything. The Details tab, where this page opens, adds marks directly on the face layer.