How To Make Your Own Custom Skins In Minecraft Java & Bedrock

Hey everybody, it’s UnderMyCap and welcome back to another video! Today I’m going to be showing you how to create your very own custom Minecraft skins. They are super simple and easy to create, and this guide will work for both Java and Bedrock Edition. Unfortunately, for Bedrock players on Xbox, PS4, Switch, or any other console, this method won’t work for you.

If you’d prefer to watch the full video tutorial, you can check it out here: How To Make Your Own Custom Skins In Minecraft Java & Bedrock

Getting Started with Planet Minecraft Skin Creator

Today I’ll be using the Planet Minecraft Skin Creator, which is honestly one of my favourite tools for this. I’ll leave the link in the video description so you don’t accidentally use the wrong one. To get started, open it up in Advanced Mode and you’ll notice it gives you a really cool 3D view of a blank character ready for customising.

Using the Colour Tools

To create your custom skin, the first thing to know is that you have a colour wheel or colour triangle available which you can use to customise your own pixels. You can select the colour you want and fine-tune the exact shade. Hex values are also supported if you’re familiar with that style of colour selection. Once you’ve chosen your colour, you can simply paint away at your character. You can also use the Paint Bucket tool to fill in larger sections quickly, and you can rotate the 3D model just by clicking and dragging your mouse to reach all areas of the character.

Loading an Existing Minecraft Skin

A really cool feature available in the editor is the ability to load an existing skin. If you click on the little file icon and select “Get from MC Username”, you can pull in a skin that someone else has created and edit it yourself. This works great for your own current skin too. For example, I can type in “UnderMyCap”, hit “Get Minecraft Skin”, and my character pops up straight away ready to be customised however I like.

Switching to Hybrid Mode

If you’re not a fan of editing in full 3D, you can head to the top right corner and click on Hybrid Mode. This gives you a really handy editing style where you can paint different sections of your skin in a more flat, pixel-based view. You can use the pen tool to make precise pixel edits, like changing your character’s eye colour for example. It’s a great alternative if the 3D view feels a little overwhelming at first.

Adding a Second Layer to Your Skin

In Minecraft, you can actually customise a second layer on top of your character, which acts similarly to an outfit or overlay. This second layer is accessible by selecting the outline section in the editor. To enable the hidden overlay options, simply click on the little grey boxes. For example, I selected the jacket overlay and you can see it added a secondary layer on top of the character. You can also enable things like a helmet overlay to add something like a sweatband around your character’s head. If you disable the overlay, your base skin remains completely unchanged underneath, which is a really cool feature. Personally, I tend to keep things simple and just work with the base 2D skin, but the option is absolutely there if you want to get creative.

Using Pose Models for Easier Painting

When editing in the 3D view, you can also change your character’s pose to help paint certain sections more easily. If you click on the tiny little person icon in the top corner, you gain access to a whole bunch of pose models. You can make your character sit on the grass, stand in the air, or use a pose that lets you see under the arms for painting. You can even adjust the position of individual limbs, which is something I used to use a lot when creating thumbnail poses. Once you’re done, you can reset the pose by clicking any of the reset icons, and then jump back into paint mode by clicking the paint button.

Exporting Your Skin

Once you’re happy with your skin, it’s time to export it. Head up to File and click “Save to File”. The skin will download to your computer. If you’re using Firefox it may appear at the top of your browser, but on Chrome and other browsers it will simply go to your Downloads folder.

Importing Your Skin into Minecraft Bedrock Edition

Once you have your skin file saved, open up Minecraft Bedrock Edition. Head to the Dressing Room, then create a new character or edit an existing one by selecting “Edit Character”. From there, tap on the little green icon and click on the grey box. A prompt will appear asking you to choose a new skin. Navigate to your Downloads folder, select the skin file you just created, and open it. You’ll see your custom character appear right away. To save it, simply hit the back arrow and you’ll see a message confirming the character has been saved. That’s all there is to it for Bedrock!

Importing Your Skin into Minecraft Java Edition

For Java Edition, you don’t actually need to be inside the game itself, just the Minecraft Launcher. Click on Minecraft Java Edition in the corner, then click on Skins, followed by New Skin. Hit Browse, go to your Downloads folder, select the skin you created, and hit Open. You’ll see your skin appear in the preview. Depending on your preference, you can choose the Wide or Slim model. Just keep in mind that the Slim model does require your skin to be edited slightly differently in the creator.

If you have any special capes, you can also select them here. For example, if you migrated your account to Microsoft you may have a Migration Cape available, or if you were a customer when Minecraft Bedrock and Java Edition were combined you may have access to that cape as well. Once you’ve made your selections, simply give your skin a name and hit Save. If you’d like to start using it straight away, hit the Use button to set it as your active skin. After that, all you need to do is close and reopen Minecraft Java Edition and your brand new custom skin will be ready to go.

Final Thoughts

And that’s everything you need to know about creating and importing your very own custom Minecraft skin for both Java and Bedrock Edition. It’s honestly a really fun and simple process once you get the hang of it. If you found this guide helpful, please consider leaving a like and subscribing over on YouTube, it’s greatly appreciated and I can’t wait to see you in the next one!