Welcome to the...

Complete Guide to Custom Decor

I'm a custom decor maker & enthusiast, and after I found a lot of my customers hold a lot of confusion surrounding the process of custom decor, I decided to make this guide. I have split it up into 5 sections:

I.. How to draw custom decor (+links to Xylax's art guide)
II. How to use the Custom Decor Creator
III. How to edit approved Custom Decors
IV. How to restock on your custom decors & sell them to others
V. How to navigate and purchase Custom Decors from other user

HEADS UP! This is a VERY image-heavy thread!



I. Drawing Custom Decor

Lioden Custom Decors are expected to, as best as possible, match the artstyle of existing Lioden art. Xylax (#4), artist of Lioden, has posted these helpful guides when it comes to mimicking Lioden art, and I highly recommend that any custom decor creator reads through these:
- Xylax's Art Tutorial (includes PSD files for lion poses)
- Xylax's Brushes
If you are worried about whether your art is fit for a custom decor, Xylax has mentioned you can PM them for feedback so as to avoid wasting time on the decor process.

As far as I know, Xylax's art is made on Photoshop -- but if you can't afford that program, don't fret! Brushes are not a magical tool. You can do a great job with decor utilizing standard brushes, as well as other art programs. I personally use Sketchbook Pro for my custom decor and the standard brushes included there. They work perfectly fine!

The MOST important things to keep in mind when making art for the decor:
- don't fret the tiny details, as your art will already be shrunk down when put onto the lion.
- matching the outline color to that of the lion helps a LOT when making sure the art looks like it blends into the Lioden system.
- put a shadow on your decor! for clothing, show where the shadow lies on the lion fur. if you're drawing an animal companion, consider where the shadow of that animal would be.
- for shading your art, try a semi-realistic and half-blended style. cell shading looks very off against the other lioden art. i find that painted/soft/texture from this chart works best.


NOW LET'S DRAW...
I use one of the PSD files (I upload on PS and export as PNG) and upload it to your art program.

I then create a new layer and draw the sketch upon that new layer"


I color on a layer beneath the sketch! Then I create a new layer on top of BOTH sketch and color and do the clean lineart on top of these. Then I remove the sketch layer.


Then I add a shadow beneath all of these layers! See the importance of a shadow? It really sells it as a physical object interacting with your lion!


After I save this (to use for thumbnail purposes), I remove/hide the background layer (the lion PSD/PNG file we saved from Xylax's thread!) which leaves me with just the decor:


Keep these files on hand, because you're gonna need them!


II. How to use the Custom Decor Creator

If you don't already have one, head on over to the Oasis and grab one!
Here's where you can find it:



and sell for 10, but sometimes people sell them for cheaper on branches if they got one they don't need -- check 'em!

Now head on over to your hoard and click on your custom decor creator, then choose "create custom decor":



You'll be taken here:



You'll need the artist ID# (if you, then it's easy, if you commissioned it from a user, put in their ID#!) as well as come up with a name for your decor. Since Primals do not have a specific section for image links in the decor creator (you'll understand what I mean in a second), I always mark primal-only decor with [Primal/Smilus/etc] in the name, just to avoid confusion! Also, give your decor a snazzy description. Like...

"Wow! Your lion looks stunning in her new shawl.
Or, from my Viking Garb: Your lion has never felt this ferocious before... could there be something mystical in the metal?

Custom Decor names and descriptions can't be changed later so make sure there are no typos!

Now, see the "Item Image URL" section? This is the link to your decor thumbnail, AKA the one that shows up in your hoard. I use this online image resizer to create my thumbnails. They have to be PNGs as well as 100 x 100 px size. Use a 1000x1000 in the Fixed Aspect Ratio section, crop your photo as desire, then go down section 4, "resize your image" and make sure it is 100 x 100 pixels. Click "resize image" and download it!

This is an example of some of my custom decor thumbnails.
I NOW USE this online image resizer



Now, all these photos need to be uploaded and hosted on a third-party website. Lioden suggests https://imgur.com/, and it's what I use as well. No account is required and you can drag photos from your files directly onto the website. Right-click and get the IMAGE ADDRESS URL, not the https URL of the post. These are different!


It should start with https and end with PNG. All photos need to be in PNG form!



Paste the Image URL into the "Item Image URL" slot. Awesome! You have a thumbnail now. So let's move onto uploading the actual decor. Remember the photo of the decor we saved without a background? Grab it and upload it on imgur, then take the photo image URL of that one as well.

Below the decor descriptions, you have some funky options, so let's go over those:
TYPE: Universal means any lion can wear it. Age-specific is if your decor can only be worn by, ex, adult lions! Age and Mane specific is for lions with special manes -- since they only show up on adult males, it's also age specific.
LAYERING: Backgrounds or companions that don't obscure the lion go behind the lion, while jewelry, clothing, and animals etc that cover your lion in some way go above. If you aren't sure, you can ask me!

Alright... further down we go!



See all these URL options? Find the ones relevant to your decor. If your lion can only be worn by kind pose lions, take the image URL from imgur of the decor with transparent background and paste it here. If you have several versions, do the same for those! Ex, if you made a decor for ALL cub stages, paste the image URL relevant to the cub stage in the right slot. Make sure you've adjusted the decor to the changing poses! Lioden will NOT do this for you!

So... where are Primals?
Currently, Primals don't have their own URL slots, and each primal version will need its own custom decor, as you saw earlier looking at my decor thumbnails. It's a bit of a hassle, unfortunately, so keep this in mind when you're making decor for primals! This is also why I put the Primal type in the decor name.

When you're all done, click "Create"! The mods will look at your submission and either accept or reject it. If they reject it, usually they will explain why so you can edit your art accordingly. Your custom decor creator will be returned to you -- no need to buy a second one if your submission was rejected!

If accepted, you get 3 copies of the item with 10 uses each! It might take a few days to get your decor looked at, so get a snack and put it off your mind until you get a notification in your inbox.



II. How to edit approved Custom Decors

So you made a decor, it got accepted, and now... oh no... OH NO! Something's wrong! Maybe the background of your decor is white, covering the lion! Or you forgot to add an adult version to your decor!

Fret not -- customs decors can be edited or expanded, even after they've been approved. My first custom decor accidentally had a white background, the decor hovering sadly in the middle of nothing! So how do you do it?

Let's go to "My (Your) Custom Decorations!" It's a bit tricky to find -- I suggest using that link and then bookmarking it for ease. You'll see something like this:



You'll see a complete list of both your pending and approved decors! Click "Upload Version" -- it'll take you back to the page you saw at "Custom Decor Creation" and you can paste in a new PNG file in the appropriate URL slot.

A mod will approve or reject the change after a few days. Be patient. The decor is still available for use while you wait!



IV. How to restock on your custom decors & sell them to others

So, I'm sure you've seen custom decors made by other users around! Here's the deal: you can purchase these, but not all custom decors are available for purchase. An artist can choose not to make them public.

But let's say you've made a decor and you want others to be able to buy it from you. Go to your "My Custom Decorations" page. This is the overview you'll see of an approved decor:



"Automatic Sales" is code for "The Price Other Users Will Pay to Buy Your Decor", haha! This is an either or price -- they pay in GB or SB, not a mix of both. Put in your price here, and when someone buys your decor that money will go to you! You can change these however you wish. If you put on 0 for both, it doesn't mean the decor is FREE, it means others cannot buy it.

Right above Automatic Sales, you'll see "Buy Copy? (3GB)" -- this if for you, the creator, ONLY. You cannot restock on decor in SB, only GB. It'll give you one more copy of your item for 3GB. This is the only way to get a new copy of your decor if you run out if them!



V. How to navigate and purchase Custom Decors from other users

Cool -- you have your own special decor! But now you're looking around the Custom Decors page and wow... you want to own them all! You can browse by age, name, availability...

Alright, you've browsed a bit and found a decor you want, but how do you buy it?

Click on the item you want and it'll show you the item's stats:



You'll be able to see how many copies of it exist in the entire game. If the item is for sale, you'll have the "Buy for... X" options. If the decor is not available, it'll just say "Not Available". If you want to buy a decor that's unavailable, you can contact the artist/owner, but please be mindful of how you speak, and make it clear you understand if they want to retain exclusivity of the decor.

That's when we make our own!

When you purchase a custom decor, the money goes to the owner of the decor, which is a great way of supporting Lioden artists!


FINAL WORDS

I'll be here to answer questions, add to the guide or clarify, and do whatever I can to help you make your decor. Please feel free to comment any suggestions or questions you may have.

As of 2022 I cannot guarantee I will be active—please do not rely on me being able to respond in a timely manner, thank you! Please do not private message me with questions, put them in this thread.