Custom Animal Crossing Amiibo Coins

By c-ringo click here to view my website! Follow

About: I am an Interactive artist with experience in Robotics, Game Design, 3D-Modelling and Printing, and Immersive works! More About c-ringo »

This guide will show you how to take images of your favorite characters and make them into 3D printed Amiibo Coins!

Supplies

• 215 NTAG Stickers
• Tinkercad or 3D printing software
• Superglue or quick setting epoxy
• Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator or an Equivalent
• An android phone or device with an NFC writing insrument
• TagMo app for androids
• Paint or Ink

Step 1: Select Images of Your Favorite Villagers

Gather images of your favorite villagers, I did 11 in my first batches, so this took about two weeks. Fewer villagers means less time!

Save the Images to your computer, best with a transparent background

Step 2: Photoshop Time:

• Open your images with Photoshop.
• Take the eraser tool and slowly erase everything but the villager's head.
• Try and get the image to be as high-contrast as possible
• Make sure there is no background
• Save in a locate-able folder

Step 3: Illustrator Time!

• Drag in a High Contrast image into a new illustrator file
• Use Image Trace to divide the image into vectored shapes. Use the advanced settings to make sure you have as few color layers as possible.
• It may be best to stick to low detail characters at first
• When it looks good Click expand in the top toolbar

Step 4: Refine Your Illustrator File

• Make sure your Character looks crisp, but simple enough.
• Use the pathfinder to combine shapes that can be combined
• I suggest only having a single layer, but you may need two for complicated characters
• For one layer: use save as to export the whole file as SVG
• For multiple, use export selection as SVG and only select one color or layer at a time

Step 5: Onto 3D Modelling!

• I would recommend tinkercad for this, its easy and non-complicated for your design.

• Use the Coin Template file I have on this page, or take any of the pre-existing files!
• Import your character SVG into tinkercad.
• make the character's face smaller
• replace the text with the name of the character and the numbers with the amiibo card identification number, these can be found online
• Export as an STL when satisfied, move onto the next step

• Sometimes SVGS import all wonky into tinkercad. This can be fixed by going back in your file, reducing the amount of vectored points in your shapes, either by right clicking and selecting simplify, or by hand.
• Make sure the bottom of the coin is flat! If it is not it will not adhere to the 3D plate.

Attachments

Step 6: SLICE

• Import your STL into a slicing software, I use Cura Ultimaker studio as it is free and easy.
• I recommend printing with a skirt adhesion and at the FINEST quality possible
• Load onto your 3D printer! Wait 2-3 Hours!

Step 7: DOWNLOADS and Setting Up

• Make sure you have your NTAG stickers ready
• In device security settings, in install unknown apps, allow your browser to install unknown apps

• Follow this link to download TAGMO on your android device
  • Tagmo Download
  • Also download these two .bin files
    • Unfixed info . bin
    • Locked-Secret.bin
    • For AC characters, download this!
      • Animal crossing NFC
        
      • I suggest downloading the .bin and nfc files on a PC and plugging your android device in to be able to manage where the files go
      • place all three in a folder you will be able to access on your android device
      • Find and Open Tagmo.
      • In Settings:
        • Import the unfixed info.bin and locked-secret.bin under Import Keys
        • Enable Amiibo File Browse
        • In the load tag option:
          • locate your amiibo files folder, and find an amiibo you want to create
          • LOAD THAT TAG!

          Step 8: Label Your NTAG and Write It

          • Know that you can only write a tag once, afterwards it will only be that tag
          • Place one NTAG under your device
          • Write the Tag
          • Afterwards, Label the sticker as to what character it is, this will save confusion later

          Step 9: Construct Your Coin!

          • When the coin is finished printing, use superglue to assemble the ring part to one of the character parts.
          • Place the NTAG in the middle of the ring onto the back of a piece
          • Superglue the other half
          • If you would like, you can use a stamp pad, or a paper towel and ink, to put color on your coin!
          • You can also paint them!
          • I used gold to mimic the animal crossing bells!
          • Use your coin on an Amiibo compatable device!