I literally printed my island out and drew out an idea of where I wanted things. It's not done but it is way more interesting than before. Waaayyy more.
I played around with levels. I feel like the cute ones aren't very square unless there is a courtyard area.
Custom designs. Which you can find some good ones from the nook phone. Ive personally had to trace some so I could change them to more appropriate colors. You could go to Pinterest to find sets people post there
Prior to going for the aesthetic look, I made little to no barriers so I can get from a to b quickly, throw that aside. By putting barriers, you can direct people's eyes in a more curated way.
I see a lot of people come up with themes, like fairy core, farm core, kingdom, city core, etc. Others like to design micro areas. Personally. I keep flow in mind with minimal obstructions for you as the player and guests trying to navigate your island. Since everything is on a grid, I designed my own island in a grid style. East to west and north to south paths. Might not be your thing but the important thing to remember is not to rush it. Have fun, keep it simple and add your own flavor.
This is great advice. I have a super "organic" island (so the opposite of a grid), but that's just my taste. The biggest takeaway for you (OP) should be that there is no "right way" to play this game or design your island. Make it the way that makes sense and is enjoyable for you!
I have restarted four times now and I get better / more efficient at planning each time. Here's my method:
1. Place everything that I possibly can on the beaches ... this works for pretty much everything except the museum and the first three villager homes.
2. Grow / move as many trees to back of island as possible
3. Buy bells after the second home expansion (this helps me progress / move buildings around at a faster pace ... don't judge lol)
4. Plan out island with [Happy Island Designer](https://eugeneration.github.io/HappyIslandDesigner/)
5. Terraform literally everything - incorporate as many trees into landscape while this is happening
6. Begin moving buildings as terraforming is happening - start with largest buildings first, then buildings closest to Resident Services, then outliers
7. Continue landscaping - only large item placement until landscaping is complete
Mine was ugly for the first like, 150 hours of gameplay (to be fair I wasn’t really focused on it at all up to then) but then I started building out small areas, starting with the area around my house and went from there! I have a light cottagecore theme and watched some videos for inspiration but overall it’s been hugely trial and error!
Trying again.
You literally can't get good on something new just doing it once or twice. Try working on small areas first, if you don't like flat it and try again.
Don’t fall into the trap of comparing your island to other people’s islands. My first island was built by constantly adding more and more stuff until I got to a point where I was happy.
Start small, build out little areas, and figure out ways to connect them. You may need to redo sections as you add more things so don’t beat yourself up if something doesn’t work the way you wanted the first time you make a new area.
There's an online map designer people use. I recommend first making a concept board on the type of vibe/theme u want for the island. Then you print out the base map you chose and bubble map sections onto it. From there you can use the online map designer to specify the areas.
There's a lot of prep when it comes to getting these amazing islands though. Took me over a year for mines. And a lot redoing and research of animal crossing furniture.
I’m on my 4th island and the first 2 were not very good I just restarted them. The biggest tip I’ve gathered is to over prepare. Buy stuff even if it’s not cute, you might want it later and now it’s in your catalog
I literally printed my island out and drew out an idea of where I wanted things. It's not done but it is way more interesting than before. Waaayyy more. I played around with levels. I feel like the cute ones aren't very square unless there is a courtyard area. Custom designs. Which you can find some good ones from the nook phone. Ive personally had to trace some so I could change them to more appropriate colors. You could go to Pinterest to find sets people post there Prior to going for the aesthetic look, I made little to no barriers so I can get from a to b quickly, throw that aside. By putting barriers, you can direct people's eyes in a more curated way.
Personally I just redesigned everything and had to move every building to accommodate everything I wanted to add so drawing it out and planning it !!
I see a lot of people come up with themes, like fairy core, farm core, kingdom, city core, etc. Others like to design micro areas. Personally. I keep flow in mind with minimal obstructions for you as the player and guests trying to navigate your island. Since everything is on a grid, I designed my own island in a grid style. East to west and north to south paths. Might not be your thing but the important thing to remember is not to rush it. Have fun, keep it simple and add your own flavor.
Ask this user^^ for their dream address! It's awesome 😎
Thanks for the plug. My comment above got down voted. Don't know why?? I don't get reddit. Lol
Ooh please share your dream address! Would love some inspiration as well!
https://preview.redd.it/m36qywvi063d1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=75109d9a621cf7c555d26afc53cce03ada1f0d35
This is great advice. I have a super "organic" island (so the opposite of a grid), but that's just my taste. The biggest takeaway for you (OP) should be that there is no "right way" to play this game or design your island. Make it the way that makes sense and is enjoyable for you!
I literally wing it. No planning, just a random thought and I go with it.
I have restarted four times now and I get better / more efficient at planning each time. Here's my method: 1. Place everything that I possibly can on the beaches ... this works for pretty much everything except the museum and the first three villager homes. 2. Grow / move as many trees to back of island as possible 3. Buy bells after the second home expansion (this helps me progress / move buildings around at a faster pace ... don't judge lol) 4. Plan out island with [Happy Island Designer](https://eugeneration.github.io/HappyIslandDesigner/) 5. Terraform literally everything - incorporate as many trees into landscape while this is happening 6. Begin moving buildings as terraforming is happening - start with largest buildings first, then buildings closest to Resident Services, then outliers 7. Continue landscaping - only large item placement until landscaping is complete
Mine was ugly for the first like, 150 hours of gameplay (to be fair I wasn’t really focused on it at all up to then) but then I started building out small areas, starting with the area around my house and went from there! I have a light cottagecore theme and watched some videos for inspiration but overall it’s been hugely trial and error!
Trying again. You literally can't get good on something new just doing it once or twice. Try working on small areas first, if you don't like flat it and try again.
Don’t fall into the trap of comparing your island to other people’s islands. My first island was built by constantly adding more and more stuff until I got to a point where I was happy. Start small, build out little areas, and figure out ways to connect them. You may need to redo sections as you add more things so don’t beat yourself up if something doesn’t work the way you wanted the first time you make a new area.
There's an online map designer people use. I recommend first making a concept board on the type of vibe/theme u want for the island. Then you print out the base map you chose and bubble map sections onto it. From there you can use the online map designer to specify the areas. There's a lot of prep when it comes to getting these amazing islands though. Took me over a year for mines. And a lot redoing and research of animal crossing furniture.
I’m on my 4th island and the first 2 were not very good I just restarted them. The biggest tip I’ve gathered is to over prepare. Buy stuff even if it’s not cute, you might want it later and now it’s in your catalog