Reskinning Mod Guide

NO EXPERIENCE IN MODDING NECESSARY! This guide covers creating a reskin mod from start to finish. By the end of this guide, you should be able to make a reskin mod from scratch, learn how to open the game’s textures, open up the game’s animations, and more!

Introduction

This guide is also on the Klei Forums HERE[forums.kleientertainment.com] and is written differently than this one. Check it out if you don't like the formatting on Steam.

The purpose of this specific guide is to help you create a mod for reskinning / retexturing in Don't Starve Together. You can also use this to reskin pretty much anything in the game like items and structures. However, I'm going to be showing how to reskin a creature for this guide. This guide can be considered a good introduction to how textures/animations work in general. I've tried my best to make this guide as simple as possible to follow. Therefore, if you have the time and patience for this process, I believe you will be able to do it.

Important things to note:
If you have a particular idea for what you want to reskin, I've included warnings for some common issues people are running into.

• Huge/boss sized mobs for the purposes of this guide are highly recommended to use Method 1
  
• The Webber Update has made it so the new happy face spiders get when tamed replace the face with the game's default if you use Method 2 you need to follow Method 1 in Making the Mod
  
• Reskinning characters does not work with my guide since 1) It follows different rules and 2) It's not allowed
  
• With the addition of the Clean Sweeper, anything can be reskinned. Since Klei earns revenue on skins, they are not going to be 100% okay with every reskin mod. I have no idea how Klei is going to treat reskin mods, but odds are if you are not doing a joke mod and you are making a serious high effort to reskin something in the game (like drawing it in the game's style) to have caution and please ask trusted modders in the community or Klei first. Joke mods or something that does not remotely fit the game's style likely will survive in the workshop.

Despite this guide's size, the process is simple. This guide is only large to be as verbose as possible for ANYONE's understanding. If any part of this guide gave you difficulty, please let me know in the comments so I may fix it.

Also, I recommend watching James Bucket's guide on extraction animations from the game as a fun introduction into how textures work and what the 3 types of files do. It goes over installing some of the programs I have listed below as well. Completely optional, but I find it helpful to supplement the guide.

If you wish to view the mod I made for this to use as a reference click here.

How to get to the mods folder: Right click Don't Starve Together in your Steam Library > Click properties > Click local files > Click browse local files

TOOLS TO DOWNLOAD:

You need to log in using Steam to download tools on Klei forums

TexTools and BuildRenamer[forums.kleientertainment.com]
(Alternative link - https://github.com/HandsomeMatt/dont-starve-tools )

TexTools provides a way to convert from Klei's .tex to .png or the other way around. Tex files are
used to hold the separate images used to create an animation. This is essentially the only program
you must download to reskin. (Unless you do not have any program to unzip/open .zip files or want to publish it on the workshop)
Inside TexTools are TexTools(.tex -> .png) and TexCreator(.png -> .tex).

BuildRenamer renames build files essentially. This is not the same as changing the name of the file at all. It's difficult to explain but it's pretty much just use taking the files from the game itself and renaming it so the game doesn't get confused.

Make sure you download both of these tools on the link!



Don't Starve Mod Tools
Steam Library > Tools > Install Don't Starve Mod Tools

This allows you to upload the mod in the first place and also has a neat program called Spriter*.
Spriter is useful because it can show each labelled body part along with each animation the creature has.

KTools[forums.kleientertainment.com]*
(Alternative link - https://github.com/nsimplex/ktools )

This allows you to turn the files anim.bin, atlas-0.tex, and build.bin into viewable Spriter files.


*Technically Ktools and using Spriter are not necessary and you can easily do the first method without them. For the exact differences and the pros and cons of each method I will explain. These methods are for RESKINNING.

Also, you can download the free Spriter version on the Brashmonkey Website[brashmonkey.com]. While Don't Starve Mod Tools does HAVE Spriter, it's heavily outdated and not recommended since some features are not there the current one has.

METHODS

Please read the pros and cons of them along with my warnings in the beginning of the guide to determine which you should use for your mod.

Method 1: Manual

Essentially this is the method this guide will be describing for the most part. You DO NOT need KTools or Spriter. However, you could still use them to view what your creation looks like. (At that point, you might as well use method 2) The benefits of using this method is that it's usually fast and simple to do and understand. However, you are confined to the borders of the original mob. (Ex. you can't draw/use a bigger head for the walrus you can only work within those limits.) This method is fine if you want to make a few simple edits to the original design. (Like me photoshopping a walrus head on the MacTusk)

Basically:
*Faster and for very minor edits and may be more simple to comprehend
*Confining and limited

Method 2: Spriter
You should read the entire guide for this to know how everything works, however you will not be editting the atlas (aka the "sprite sheet") and instead will be using Spriter and KTools. The main advantage of this is that you can edit each body part directly with almost no worry about borders. Spriter shows you the animations of you creature and also you can essentially make the creature whatever you want as long as it follows the animations. The sample/tutorial mod still is a good template for this and the only thing that will be different is how you get the build file (where the "spritesheet" is located)

Basically:
*May be more difficult to understand
* Allows you to view animations and the movements of each limb in a program
* Not confining (You have much more freedom to make limbs bigger than they usually are)

I highly suggest using this method, however this method may not be for you if you only want to do simple edits or have difficulty using the tools. If you can learn it, it makes everything easier.

An example mod of this is my Catcoon with a gun mod that uses this method because the new "hand" is a lot bigger than the original catcoon hand.

Finding the animation files to reskin

First, go to your Don't Starve Together folder. Go to the folder titled "data" and then "anim" in your Don't Starve Together folder. Here you will see many files that list the names of every entity with an animation. You will also sometimes see two zip files. One of them will have the name build in it. If you go into the build you see two files: atlas-0.tex + build.bin

I'm going to use the walrus as an example for the rest of the tutorial. You will need to copy the build and any form of a basic zip. (There are multiple animation zip files for certain creatures and it doesn't matter which one you pick)
(For example: walrus_basic and walrus_build for walrus and for spider ds_spider_basic and spider_build)

walrus_build has atlas-0.tex and build.bin

• atlas-0.tex is where all of the images for the animation go. This file can be opened using TexTool (NOT TexCreator) where you can view all of the body parts for the creature. Save this file as a .png with TexTool because this is what you are going to be working with.
  
• build.bin essentially contains how each body part is labelled. (Imagine a square around each individual picture in the atlas. That is your workspace for reskinning. Not working within the imaginary square is a good indicator of your work being cut off.

walrus_basic has anim.bin

• anim.bin is essentially where all of the body parts are selected and scaled up or down or translated to display an animation using the atlas. You don't need to worry about this as long as you aren't using Spriter to check your animations. Even then, you would just be plugged it into KTools.

Method 1 (Manual)

Now that you know what you want to change, grab that .png you converted from the atlas-0.tex earlier.
(Open up the atlas-0.tex with TexTools and save it as a .png image to your desktop or any convenient location) Open up the .png image with your favorite image editting program (I use GIMP) and get to work! Make sure that the image stays transparent when you save it and that you use the square rule I use. Since this is your first, don't put that much effort in yet! Just make some minor doodles or
photoshop to get comfortable and see how it works. I'm going to just cut and paste the face of an actual walrus onto Mactusk for my little test.
This entire image is every body part for Mactusk and is animated in the game. This is why you don't need any animation skills!

WHEN EDITTING:

Take note that everything is cramped into one picture. Generally, you should pretend everything is in a square grid and work within those boundaries. The build.bin is the fine that defines an area and says "okay this is the Pigman's arm" so if you get out of that defined area it will get cut off. I don't have a good way of telling what the actual boundary is without some trial and error.

MAKE SURE YOU SAVE THIS AS A TRANSPARENT PNG IMAGE!

Converting to an atlas-0.tex file:

Just to recap, the tex file is essentially an image file. So far, you should have:

• found the atlas-0.tex file for the creature you want to reskin
  
• opened the atlas-0.tex file with the TexTool application and saved it as a png
  
• open up the png with your favorite image editting program and reskinned it
  
• saved the image as a transparent png image

Go in your TexTools folder and next to TexTool should be TexCreator. TexCreator converts a .png to a .tex file. Add your modified png file and set the destination of where the new .tex file will go. Here, I am going to choose my own Desktop. Hit the convert button and it should say it compressed the image file. Rename this new .tex file to atlas-0.tex

Alrighty! Now you can jump to the Making the Mod section of the guide.

Method 2 (Spriter)

The main difference between the two methods is how you make the reskin. Method 1 is you manually editting the original "sprite sheet" (the atlas-0.tex) and overriding it with your mod Method 2 overrides the original with a newly generated atlas. This allows you to increase the size of the body parts you wish to reskin. Quick reminder that Spriter can be opened in the Don't Starve Mod Tools or simply enough can be downloaded (as the free version) on the internet. Please note that you should follow the entirety of my guide for this method except for the parts about actually reskinning the mob on the png then converting it.

• KTools converts anim.bin, atlas-0.tex, and build.bin into a Spriter file and a bunch of separate images that are categorized into body parts.
  
• Spriter files when opened show every animation in the anim.bin. This is useful because it shows you what body parts are doing in the animations.

Creating a Spriter file using Ktools:

In the KTools folder, drag and drop the files mentioned beforehand. If there are multiple anim.bin files associated with your creature, pick the one you want to see the animations for. When working on reskinning your creature and you want to view it, quickly convert it to a .tex file with TexTools and see how it looks in Spriter.



Now that you have your anim, build, and atlas in the ktools folder you can now convert it. You are going to need to copy and paste the location for 1) krane 2) anim.bin 3) build.bin 4) output IN THIS ORDER!

Press the copy path button when you select where each item is.






Paste each location in a text document in the order I had described. (There are spaces separating each location, also remove the quotation marks) Save this blank text document as a .bat file. (You could name it start.bat or something) You can also just open command prompt or terminal and paste them all in. (In Windows type in "cmd" in the search bar)

To compare, this is what I paste in my command prompt:
(Note: outputfolder is a new folder that is created by the command. The location here is the desktop.)
C:\Users\l0rdgumby\Desktop\ktools-4.4.4\krane.exe C:\Users\l0rdgumby\Desktop\ktools-4.4.4\anim.bin C:\Users\l0rdgumby\Desktop\ktools-4.4.4\build.bin C:\Users\l0rdgumby\Desktop\outputfolder

When command prompt says "Done" there should be the folder you named in the location you picked. There should many folders labeling each body part with a .scml file. When you open up the .scml file it opens in Spriter.

Example of the Catcoon Mod's folder made from KTools: (See how there is the Spriter(.scml) file and body part folders)

Please ignore the file path it looks like the same thing

Example of the Walrus Mod in Spriter: (See how you can view animations and body parts)

What now?

Note: Please export the outline of your reskin before doing anything else. If there are too many sprites (like the dragonfly) the game will create a lot of messy stuff that isn't fun. So export your outlines and test it as a mod before doing anything else!

You can now view how your reskin will look in game with animations. When reskinning, you get to know exactly what body part you are working on and are able to test it without making it a mod an launching the game compared to method 1. Also, you can directly change the pictures to practically any sizes bigger than the original image (like me changing the catcoon's hand to be a bigger image with a human hand) When you change the pictures, you can view how the game animates them in Spriter. Just to clarify, you should not be moving any body parts or messing in Spriter because that would change the animation and that is not our goal.

Basically, just open the folders with all of the body parts and edit it from there. You can view the Spriter file to see how the animations would play out in the game.

Creating your mod using Spriter:

First, make sure your reskin you did looks fine in Spriter. Check through any animations it has and make sure they look the way you want.


Go in your mods folder and create a new mod folder and name it animation exports. Create 2 folders inside called anim and exported. Copy and paste everything in your reskin folder into the exported folder. (The folders with all of the body parts and the .scml aka Spriter file)


Double check and make sure everything is in the right place. Next, launch Don't Starve Together. A console window should pop up and mention it is exporting and atlasing your file. When the game finishes and goes to the title screen, exit the game. There SHOULD be a new .zip file in your anim folder. If this doesn't happen, MAKE SURE everything is where they should be and that you didn't make any mistakes.


Go in your anim folder and open the zip file. If the zip file is not named the same way like in the animation files in the game (ex. catcoon would be catcoon_build.zip like in the files. If not, rename it so it matches the file build name) and delete the animation file. There should now be atlas-0.tex and build.bin remaining. Rename the entire zip file to whatever you want and remember this will be used for assets. (I didn't explain this yet it's okay) Go in your zip file and take the build.bin and rename it with the BuildRenamer program. (I take out the build on my desktop, select the file as an input and output, rename it to whatever you want, then delete the original build in the zip file and replace it) Remember your name of the build as well.


From there on, you should have what you need for your reskin. Go to the parts in my guide about making the actual mod after making your reskin.

Making the mod

Remember the [name of your creature]_build.zip file you found in your Don't Starve Together folder? (Mine is walrus_build.zip) *If you did Method 1, please look at the last paragraph of Method 2

You are going to want to copy that and then open up the file. Delete the original atlas-0.tex file within it and replace it with your newly converted .tex file renamed to atlas-0.tex. The build.bin file should be left alone. Create a new folder called "anim" and then place that zip file with your new atlas and the build.bin file within the anim folder. Make another new folder and name it the name of your mod. (If other people download this mod from the workshop, this name will just be the workshop ID) Put your mod folder in the Don't Starve Together mods folder. If you have any mods, in there should be a bunch of folders that say workshop with their respective IDs.

Note: If you are using Method 2, you can just place the zip file you generated from launching the game as long as it's name correctly.

Creating the rest of the mod files:

If you downloaded the mod I made for this guide, you can just copy and paste these files and then edit them to your own liking. Also, the reason why my text looks weird is because I am using Notepad++ instead of regular Notepad.

modinfo.lua
Create a blank text document and write down the following. Save this as modinfo.lua (not as .txt) This is where you put the description for your mod that is seen when people enable it from in the game. Also, this is where you select if this is a CLIENT or SERVER mod. If all clients need it, it becomes a server mod. Also, this means you are likely putting it on the workshop. If it is only client, only the client needs it. What is great about doing a simple reskin of an existing creature is that you have a choice. Take note -- are comments and are ignored by the game.



modmain.lua
Create a blank text document and write down the following. (The green parts are comments) Save this as modmain.lua (not as .txt) The modmain is where the bulk of a mod goes. You must make sure you have the names of the zip file correct for the assets and the newly renamed build for the SetBuild.






modicon.tex
Create a 128x128 png image and put what you want. Convert this to a .tex file with TexTool and rename it to modicon.tex The modicon is the icon people see when they enable the mod from in the game.

modicon.xml
Create a blank text document and write down the following. Save this as modicon.xml (not as .txt) The xml is essentially the information for the modicon.



Your mod folder should look like this when you finish:



You can now open up your game and select your mod. If you have another mod that conflicts with yours, the game won't take it well. (Ex. you download a mod that reskins spiders but you are making a spider reskin mod. Just disable the other one before you enable your own mod)

Uploading to workshop

You did it! You've made your mod and tested it in game. Why not upload your hard work to the Don't Starve Together workshop? To do this, go to Don't Starve Mod Tools. To get there, go to Library > Tools > Install Don't Starve Mod Tools. Open it and then press Play Don't Starve Mod Uploader. You will then need to change the game to Don't Starve Together and hit Add. Another screen will pop up where you will be able to upload your mod.

Data
Click Browse and then select your mod folder.

Preview Image
This is the icon that people will see on the workshop. It should be 512x512 or it will have black spaces that will be unappealing to click on.

Name
This is the name of your mod on the workshop. You can edit this in the Steam workshop when it is uploaded.

Description
This is the description of your mod on the workshop. You can edit this in the Steam workshop when it is uploaded.

Tags
These are tags for your mod. Please don't be that guy that adds every tag.

Before you do anything, make sure you complete the Steam Subscriber Agreement Also, you should check out Klei's guidelines on what you are allowed to mod and etiquette. When everything is ready, hit publish! It will not show up in the recent tab until after a few minutes.

Changing the workshop page:

Now that you have uploaded your mod, you now have OWNER CONTROLS. Here you can change the description of your mod or add any additional pictures for people to view. The additional pictures do not have to be 512x512. Also, you can change the visibility of your mod. IF YOUR MOD IS PERSONAL OR ONLY MEANT FOR FRIENDS YOU CAN CHANGE IT IN THE VISIBILITY SETTINGS. When you join a modded game in Don't Starve Together, it downloads the mods from the workshop. If you just want a private server with your friends, you can upload your mod and change the visibility settings.

End

If you managed to follow my guide, I sincerely thank you. If you had any difficulty with my guide, lost motivation when reading the guide (because of the guide itself), know any more efficient ways, or are stuck please let me know in the comments. I can be contacted here on Steam or on my discord l0rdgumby#6264

[Jan Cheese]

Listen, and how to replace the texture if the model is not divided into basic and build? For example, "charlie_basic.zip" animation and textures in one zip file, but when exporting the animation is broken and replace the broken to the original animation does not work, what to do?

[l0rdgumby]

@Jan Cheese I would double check or try to experiment making sure that all of the files you have are correct. If this is solely based off of the animation looking different, make sure that you're using the original game's anim.bin in your mod and not the anim.bin created when you compile your files to a new zip. You're trying to reskin, not trying to give the game new animations.

If that's not the problem, describe a bit more on what you're trying to do and what appears to be wrong. Definitely look into what anim.bin you're using if it's just animations being messed up.

[Jan Cheese]

please help, I do not know what to do, when I export spriter files to a zip file, the animation is broken, for example, parts of the animation when they should disappear they do not disappear, what to do?

[Gronal_Bar]

I'm trying to assemble the builds and anims from a single character into a single set in spriter: i.e stalker_forest_build.zip(forest skeleton build) and stalker_shadow_build.zip(shadow build) and stalker_forest.zip(animations).
I can decompile one side and the other separately, but the problem is doing them together in a way that doesn't fuck over the pivot points nor fucks over the animation ingame.

[l0rdgumby]

@Adolescent Fuelweaver what are you trying to accomplish?

[Gronal_Bar]

Is there a way to convert two separate builds and atlas into the same spriter document? I've tried with spriter pro's options but the result I get isn't compatable with the original builds.

[TheMonkeyRaceCar]

Man, I wish there was this, but dumbed down to my understanding. I'm gonna ask a question i should probably look up now. Does don't starve together have story? Or is that just don't starve

[l0rdgumby]

I would try to look at the client logs which you can find by goig into Documents - Klei - DoNotStarveTogether where near the bottom ot will usually say there’s an error with the name of your mod.

[strawberryjuice6680]

Ah, I see. I'll try that. One other question, so my reskinned mob turns invisible right after I spawn it. How do you know what went wrong or what's missing? or do you just have to start from scratch? (my mob is a beefalo & it has 2 atlas, is that too many atlas if I'm using method 2?).

[l0rdgumby]

@strawberryjuice6680 I'm pretty sure it's possible, but I don't have experience or know how to do it. Off the top of my head maybe method 1 can help but there's probably a much better way to do this.