Add more hairstyles to character randomizer

@manuq

Threadbare has a character randomizer to create distinct NPCs from a small number of component parts. See it in action in game_elements/characters/components/character_randomizer_test.tscn.

Currently the character randomizer has five hairstyles:

We would like more! Some ideas:

Add more long-haired hairstyles: perhaps a bun, or ponytail
Add a receded hairline, where the front and top of the head have no hair while the rest has a short cut
Wikipedia's List of hairstyles might be a good source of inspiration!

The way these are implemented is that there is a sprite sheet for each hairstyle in res://scenes/game_elements/characters/npcs/components/, and then a corresponding SpriteFrames in res://scenes/game_elements/characters/components/sprite_frames/, which are added to the RandomTextureSpriteBehavior in res://scenes/game_elements/characters/npcs/townie.tscn. The sprite sheets use three shades of orange, plus black. Then, in the game, a chroma-key shader replaces those three shades of orange with one of a number of alternative palettes. The sprite sheets are exported from a single Aseprite file at scenes/game_elements/characters/npcs/components/townie.aseprite.

So to add a new hairstyle:

Open scenes/game_elements/characters/npcs/components/townie.aseprite in Aseprite, Pixelorama or compatible software
Add a new hair layer
Draw a new hairstyle using the same four colours
Export the spritesheet
Add a SpriteFrames
Update townie.tscn to include it in the randomized choices

@manuq created the existing assets & the game system that uses them, so he is the best person to ask for pointers!

XP Summary (total 450)

Subdomain	Skill	XP
Art: Animation & Effects	Problem Solving	150
Art: Animation & Effects	Creativity & Design Thinking	150
Art: Animation & Effects	Technical Literacy	150

I plan to work on this

I plan to work on this.
We'll be working on the same team.

@RosmeryFabian

@RosmeryFabian please consider picking the sibling tasks:

All these are subtasks of the epic task #2295

Still, you and @andregf01 (and @AnedV who picked #2297) should both work together because all these tasks are very similar, so it will be useful to do it as a team.

I plan to work on this

@Tamy6610

@Tamy6610 please work on #2294 or in #2296 instead! You can still team up with @andregf01, @AnedV and @RosmeryFabian because all of you are going to do assets for the character randomizer, the parts of the body are different but all the work should be the same.

@manuq

Understood, @manuq. My colleague @Tamy6610 is working on the other issue, but we're still coordinating because the tasks are similar.

Here's our planning sheet for this issue:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lYNCwmALyPYo_a3jaxH7Jbwm5_8eADzggru4PiD1Wks/edit?usp=sharing

@Nilu501

@Nilu501 since you were able to integrate new heads in the townie.tscn file #2884, can you help @RosmeryFabian and @andregf01 to integrate the new hair styles?

@manuq

Hi Manu @manuq .
I'm sending you my corrected drawings.

@Nilu501Dado que pudiste integrar nuevos cabezales en el townie.tscnarchivo #2884 , ¿puedes ayudarme?@RosmeryFabiany@andregf01¿para integrar los nuevos peinados?

Hello! Sorry, I just saw the message. Sorry for the delay. Sure, I can help.

Add more hairstyles (5) to character randomizer #2293 (#2923)

@manuq

Hi @manuq ,
I'm sending you the other hairstyles we were working on.

I am also sharing the workspace where the specific Conceptual Design—or Concept Art—process took place during its visual development phase, also known as the pre-production stage.

Link: https://canva.link/8c3uwgs4fkjcmjb

@manuq

Hi @manuq wondering why the outline of these face isn't the same color as the other outlines. Is it due to the skin tone? I see some skin tones similar that have the darker outline.

Additionally for @RosmeryFabian I suggest you take a look at the outline color of these, I think Manu mentioned something about this before in the hat thread.

Other than that, I love the proposals, they all feel very unique!

EDIT: Seems to be a Godot thing that it is automatically changing, personally it looks a bit jarring, do you know if there's a way to modify this, or is it ok @manuq ?

Hi @manuq , I'm sending you the other hairstyles we were working on.

Nice! Please send a pull request with them! I'm going to reopen the issue.

@Jalopezlag

Hi @manuq wondering why the outline of these face isn't the same color as the other outlines. Is it due to the skin tone? I see some skin tones similar that have the darker outline.

Yes, exactly! Dark skin tones use a different outline color, for better contrast. This is common in cartoons. See https://github.com/endlessm/threadbare/wiki/Visual-Style-Guide#reference-colors

Additionally for @RosmeryFabian I suggest you take a look at the outline color of these, I think Manu mentioned something about this before in the hat thread.

That happens automatically in the CelShadingRecolor shader. In those cases the hair is dark, so the light outline is used. Do you think it looks bad? Maybe we can improve it.

Other than that, I love the proposals, they all feel very unique!

Thanks for reviewing @Jalopezlag!

EDIT: Seems to be a Godot thing that it is automatically changing, personally it looks a bit jarring, do you know if there's a way to modify this, or is it ok @manuq ?

That is implemented in CelShadingRecolor, in our repository:

	if low_color.v < 0.3:
		out_colors.set(palette_index + 3, LINE_COLOR_LIGHT)
	else:
		out_colors.set(palette_index + 3, LINE_COLOR)

Maybe you want to propose a different value instead of 0.3?

@RosmeryFabian

@RosmeryFabian I see that you opened #2972 already, thanks. I will review it shortly.

Add new hairstyles to the random character generator (endlessm#2972)

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Add more hairstyles to character randomizer #2293

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Add more hairstyles to character randomizer #2293

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andregf01 commented on Aug 18, 2026

RosmeryFabian commented on Aug 19, 2026

manuq commented on Aug 19, 2026

Tamy6610 commented on Aug 19, 2026

manuq commented on Aug 19, 2026

RosmeryFabian commented on Sep 1, 2026

4 remaining items

manuq commented on Sep 14, 2026

andregf01 commented on Sep 15, 2026

Nilu501 commented on Sep 16, 2026

RosmeryFabian commented on Sep 24, 2026

RosmeryFabian commented on Sep 24, 2026

Jalopezlag commented on Sep 25, 2026

manuq commented on Sep 28, 2026

manuq commented on Sep 28, 2026

manuq commented on Sep 28, 2026

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