Ego File
In Nodd, a citizen's ego file contains basic information about them, and allows them to access creatures and items. This can be accessed via one's ego bracer.
If you haven't read the Induction Noddule, do that first.
This is essentially a paper doll kit with a space for collectibles. It requires basic art skills (coloring), and the ability to use an art program that can open PSDs, such as Photoshop or GIMP. GIMP is available for free here.
A tutorial follows, but assumes you know your way around an art program. In general, feel free to edit, trace, and add your own art as you please. Please credit accordingly.
NOTE: There are currently only outsider templates, but I will be adding insiders soon as well.
What is this for?
This is mostly a place to showcase digital collectibles and show others what your character might look like in Nodd.
As Nodd progresses, there will be various ways to earn items, weapons, creatures, clothing, and accessories. Many of these will be free, and some will be available to purchase as adoptables, commissions, or as SubscribeStar exclusives. Some may only appear briefly during special events, or be earned in other ways.
Do understand that there is no competitive game involved or any numbers attached, this is just for fun and roleplay. There is no winning, and you don't need to make an ego file to participate in Nodd otherwise. You may display your ego file wherever you like, including nowhere at all.
In addition, all concepts are "open"; you do not need to earn or purchase art of an item in order to say your character owns that item, no matter how rare or powerful. When and if you purchase an adoptable item, you are only purchasing exclusive rights to the art and design itself, and may resell it at any amount.
While you may not use my art commercially, you're free to make and sell your own characters and items for the Ego File. That all said, please respect others' items, and do not steal or trace anything from anyone else's ego file. In addition, don't resell any free items or creatures, even if you've made edits to them.
All generic, freely available items and creatures can be found in The Junkyard and The Hatchery respectively. In addition, all Noddules contain free items related to the Noddule. Naturally, it's possible to just scroll through all Noddules to grab the freebies, and this is perfectly acceptable - but the option for a bit of immersion is there for those who desire it.
Items are intended for display in the Inventory section of the Ego File, and those marked (E) may also be placed over (or under) your character. You may also equip non-equippable items, they are just not necessarily designed with this in mind. Creatures and eggs are for display in the Menagerie section.
Shinies
Shinies are special items and creatures available for a limited time, relevant to whatever events are currently taking place in the lore. Anything marked with ✨ is a shiny.
I may occasionally offer subscriber-only shinies as well, which will only be available to download on SubscribeStar for a limited time. They may also occasionally be available by other means.
While you're welcome to share shinies from past events with friends, please don't share them anywhere a large number of people would be able to grab them, as this defeats the point.
I'm aware that this system is not very secure, but again, this is all just for fun. Do what you like with shinies as long as you're not selling them or snatching from others' ego files.
Planning for Clothing & Equipment
Items marked with (E) are meant to be placed over (or under) your character where appropriate. Obviously, I cannot account for all shapes and sizes when designing clothing - but this would be the reality in Nodd, too; more monstrous citizens may need to have their clothing custom-tailored, if they choose to wear any at all.
For this reason, when adding your own custom character art, it's encouraged that you try to match the template poses as much as possible. Even if you're doing something with a completely different build, try to align things like hands, foot position, head angle, and eye position so you're able to make use of a wider variety of items.
Tutorial
Make a Citizen
Open Citizens.PSD and save a separate copy with your character's name.
Mix and match inks to your liking, merge and erase as desired. There are a number of Extras available to make small customizations; I will be adding more in the future. Please feel free to add your own inks as well.
If you're starting completely from scratch, please ensure your character fits within the template so that they can wear clothing and equipment. Try to line up as many features as you can.
Color your character as you normally would.
Shade and detail, as desired. Do not add any equipment or accessories to your character at this time.
Hide or delete the background layer.
Save your character out a transparent .PNG.
Build your Ego File
Open EgoFile.PSD, and save a separate copy.
Open the .PNG of your citizen and drag them in, resizing as needed to fit within the window under your character's name. Leave a bit of room around your character for equipment and items.
Open any clothing and accessories you'd like your character to wear. Not all items are designed to fit on your character, and some are intended for display only in the inventory. That said, feel free to use them in whatever way looks good to you.
Adjust hue as desired, and add any details you'd like to any items or creatures. If needed, you may use the Liquify tool to make small adjustments to equipment to better fit the silhouette of your character. Use sparingly, as too much will greatly affect the quality of the images.
Add any creatures you like to your Menagerie, and any items you like to your Inventory, resizing as needed.
Add your character's name, and any spells you'd like your character to have on hand. In Photoshop, these should appear as editable text boxes. In other programs, you may have to delete the existing text and add your own. I used 36pt Arial, bold.
Choose a House or Cult, as desired. Simply show the crest of your choosing, and leave the others hidden. If you don't wish to be associated with a house or cult, leave the crest holder empty. If you'd like to make up your own cult and crest, feel free to add that in, resizing as needed to fit. You can browse houses and cults here to see which one suits your character.
On the tab on the upper left of the main window, draw your character's Arcanogram. This is an ID symbol any citizen can visualize to quickly contact you via their ego bracer. It should be in a color and shape that's representative of your character in some way.
Save out the image, and share as desired. Feel free to use #cityofnodd when posting to Twitter.
If you need help, check out the #egofile channel on the Discord server.