i guess what better excuse to draw these guys than give a shot at making a 3ds theme........ i've recently dusted off my 2ds anyway
so if you happen to like pippinses and have a modded(!) 3ds! For Now you can get the theme here! but i'll try to upload it on a site for these things specifically soonish
I MADE A HTP 3DS THEME!!! AND IT JUST GOT APPROVED ON THE THEMEPLAZA!!!
(Vid attached so you can see what it looks like!)
It's my first theme so it's not really THAT customized, but i learnt a lot and I enjoyed making it so i'll probably do more themes in the not-so-far future.
Here's the ThemePlaza link in case anyone's interested!!
Nintendo 2DS and 3DS theme inspired by the H:tP series.
delirium razor 3ds theme! it comes with a custom top screen texture, custom icons and fully custom colors (even though they're all black and red for the most part lmao) as well as the song delirium as the bgm! if you have a homebrewed 3ds just throw the zip in your themes folder, no extracting required :]
I always loved characters throughout my whole life, and I always wanted merch or something that reminds me of them. But these characters where very niche or OCs from people on the internet, and with these, I didn't want to cross the line of using someone's art without asking for permission. But I wanted something relating to them in one of my belongings, so, I chose to embark on creating a theme menu for the 3DS.
This console was my dream when I was a kid and I wanted to play all those games that I missed when the console was released. So, after buying it from an eBay Japanese seller (btw, Japanese console sellers are the best for second-hand items, totally buy from them, they are very nice and attentive), I modded it. I mean, Nintendo won't release more games or give it support anymore, so why not? And then I launched to study how to do so, with one character that I have been obsessing over for quite a time.
Theopolis "Theo" North from @kwillow was the perfect blorbo for this project, and even though I was a rookie in it, I loved the results, which I am going to present to you right here. And as a gift, show you how you can make your own themes for your 3DS!
First of and I can't be enfatic enough, you need a modded 3DS. However, I am going to tell you this: DO NOT USE YOUTUBE GUIDES!!! They are flawed, outdated, and can potentially brick (which means destroy) your console. Instead, you must go with the 3DS Hack Guide (which you can enter and see by yourselves by clicking here). This website is the best way you can get your 3DS modded. It is the safest option to make this process, because it gives you a step-by-step guide, according to the model of your console, the system version you have, the tools you need, etc. Also, they have an active Discord called Nintendo Homebrew, so if you need to make any specific questions, just jump right in and ask; they are pretty friendly and will help you.
Now, if you have the modded 3DS, you can download whatever you want, and what brings us today is the Theo Theme. And from now on, I will show you the whole process!
Part I: what did I used?
For starters, there is the required tools for this: permission. I made Kwillow the question to make this project, and with the green light, I jumped right in. With it, I searched through Kwillow's archive and selected a few drawings of Theo, and also browsed some through Google, for decoration, background and stuff.
Second, audio: VERY IMPORTANT, you need to download all the audio files in a .WAV format, and they MUST be codified in uncompressed 16 bits or 8 bits. This was a hustle to do, because I had to learn it the hard way. You will thank me later, and if you can find an audio converter that allows you to edit the codification of your .WAV files, go for it, and if it's online, the better (I recommend you FreeConvert.com as the web I used, but you can use whatever that can help you out)
Third, the edit program. For this I used Krita, and I'm gonna admit there could be way better options, but I'm more used with it.
Fourth, and most importantly, the program to create the theme. And I will insist, you need to use Kame Editor: it's a very intuitive program, easy to understand and it won't give you a lot of problems. Here, right here is the link for you to download the program for Kame Editor.
Now, with your files, programs and tools, you will go and start by editing your pictures.
Part II: PNG that rat man!
Now, I started by putting my images of Theo in Krita, and erase the things I didn't want. Note: I am not an expert on Krita, there are people who are smarter and know how to use Krita's tools with more ease than I, but with my knowledge and resources, this is how I did it.
I started by erasing the backgrounds, and selecting what was going to stay with the magic wand tool and other selections tools that Krita provides. But, I had the issue that some pixels weren't erased exactly how I wanted it, so... I had to ressort to more... tedious ways. So, I manually erased those pixels, by chunks, as shown in the images below:
I had to do so, and be extremely careful to not erase the drawing itself, and it became specially hard in the smaller sections, or the ones that had textures, so I had to check carefully that no pixel of the background was left or made the drawing look funny. Also, I didn't want to erase poor Theo, becuase the rat man deserves the best treatment possible.
After that wearisome process of using even a magnifying glass to erase even the smallest of rogue pixels, I exported the images as .PNG to put them around the top screen and bottom screens as I pleased.
Part III: now, the funny part with Kame Editor
Now that we have our images done, what I did was open Krita once again, and had the size that Kame Editor needed for the files of the top and bottom screens to be. When you open Kame Editor and see the screen window, the "texture" option will appear, and it will show you the measures for your file, which is 512x256 pixels.
With a stock image of a purple tapestry, I wanted to make this aesthetic of a rotten, moldy tapestry, to represent Theo as his personality: he can be elegant, dress nicely, have refined tastes, but... he is a dorkable mess, with temper issues, anger issues, he is ugly, massively insecure, sometimes a cannibal, sometimes has the charisma of a wet cat... and this exactly what I love about him! So, why not represent that ugly side of him, but not just the physical aspect of him, but what he has inside. That is why I chose to make a torn, moldy tapestry as the background and as a central part of his 3DS theme.
For that, I chose to pick a torn png image, and edit it as its own paint layer: using a charcoal and other texturized brushes and playing a bit with the color, I gave this torn png a yellowy tone, to reflect the decay.
After that, I played a bit with pencil brushes, greens and purples, to portray the mold build up in the borders and spaces in this torned part of the tapestry, to give that disgusting part of mold. And as a little detail, I used light browns and greys in the borders (with aerograph and other flexible brushes) to give more detail. I wanted to give it deepeness, but I can't tell how well it went, but to my noob eyes, it looked nice so I kept it like that.
I wanted the mold build up to look gross, but be there to also tell who Theo is, and I am happy with this imagery that I made. Now with that done, I started placing the Theo .png on the background, putting them here and there, play with the sizes and all of that sort. Mind you, the next image will look very pixeled, but don't worry: it looks like that because of the size of the file, and I promise to you, it will look fine when the process is over and the theme is in the console:
(Oh, I also added a piano, because I don't remember where exactly, but I can promise that Kwillow once mentioned Theo likes to play the piano)
And yeah, I also used the furry version of Theo, because...
After doing this process of editing the torn tapestry, adding the Theo's and downloading the final results, I opened Kame Editor (finally!) and started choosing the colors of the buttons, the folders, etc.
I will admit, this was hard for me to do, because I am not that tech savy, but I watched this tutorial in YouTube on how to do your theme correctly. Don't worry, this tutorial covers the basics: Kame Editor and how to master it is a matter of trial and error, but no biggie (for you, because I know you're smarter than me lmao).
After editing the colors, the background, and play with the sizes, I went right into the audio window of Kame Editor, and... this is where the .WAV files come into play: Kame Editor has a built-in converter to turn the .WAV files into files that the 3DS will play (yeah, Nintendo created its own file type for this console... okay). I only had one audio to use, which was Lost Haven from Fear & Hunger 2: Termina (notes aside, this game is awesome, and its music is amazing. If you are a fan of horror games, go ahead and play that game, WE NEED MIRO HAVERINEN TO RELEASE THE THIRD PART, HIS GAMES ARE AWESOME!!!) for the background music.
Ehem, anyway... after all the parts of the theme are done, I exported it as a compressed ZIP file.
Now, I am going to clarify that there are two methods to get this theme on your 3DS, and the key program to install it is Anemone 3DS Theme Manager: this app is very friendly for the user, it lets you save your themes and install them how ever you want (you will have this program in your 3DS right after it was modded).
If you want to directly download the theme via Anemone, you can browse for the theme through Theme Plaza, select it and download. However, right now the Theo Theme is not available, as the admins still need to approve it for the users to get it.
But, here you have the method I used: with the compressed ZIP file of my theme, you drag it onto the MicroSD card of the 3DS. In here, you need to find a folder named "Themes" (if you don't have one, don't worry: just create one named "Themes" and you are good to go). You don't need to decompress the ZIP file, just put it right there.
After that, unplug your MicroSD card from your computer and put the MicroSD card once again on your 3DS (make sure it is well put inside!). Then, boot up your console, open Anemone, and boom, if everything went correctly, the theme would be there! Install the theme, and then voila, the theme is playing on your 3DS! This is how it looks on my console (if it looks dirty in the top screen, it's because it's old as hell, but no biggie)!
Part IV: conclusion of having a rat man in my 10 year old console!
Now, if you browse through Theme Plaza, you won't find the Theo Theme just yet. However, here is the ZIP folder uploaded on my Google Drive, so you can install the theme directly on your MicroSD cards! Just download the ZIP and do what I did earlier for you to get the theme by yourselves. When the Theme Plaza mods accept the theme in their website, I will reblog this post so you guys also have that method to download the theme.
Also, I wanted to thank as well @kwillow for creating one of the best characters I have seen in years: Theo is a character so full of details, and which I can empathize so deeply, I wanted to have him somehow in my console. I want you to know that you are an amazing artist and you have inspired me to do my own stories based on your beautiful art, so thank you so much for being an inspirtation!
That would... pretty much it for the tutorial and stuff. If you want to have Theo, you have the Drive file for it, and if you have an issue with the process, let me know in the comments. Thank you for staying this far with me, and I hope to see y'all again! Toodles!
