Winter is Coming – Two Winter Customisations

Winter is coming – or it's pretty much here already. Regardless, it's time for this season's customizations! The most obvious ideas stem from a Christmas themed customization, but we've aimed to make two awesome general winter themed ones. Using wintery colours, like blue and white, with splashes of festive designs thrown in, it's simple and easy to throw together a wonderful seasonal get-up. So grab your boots and coat and get ready to dress up for the season!

To start this article off we will present to you the customization of a Female Ice Krawk. Although we realize that this colour is a little stereotypical for winter (at least we didn't do Christmas, right?), we just couldn't resist that pretty gleam where the sunlight reflects off of the ice. However, this colour is quite hard to achieve, since it is a lab only colour, so if you want your own pretty ice Krawk for Christmas, you have quite the zapping project ahead of you!

Festive Embroidered Holiday Road Background (NC Mall; still available)

Backgrounds are certainly an essential part of every customisation, so let's start off with that. This item is amazing: it is cute, adorable, embroidered to perfection and as wintery as it gets. It has all the elements to make it the perfect winter background: snowmen, candy cane, a decorated Christmas tree, cozy little cottages, and the look of a crisp cold winter day. Although there are many and more amazing winter backgrounds (it seems to be TNTs favourite season, and for good reason) this new addition is certainly one of our favourites. We would like to take this moment to thank TNT for starting off this winter season with a bang!

Winter Snow Drift (Stocking Stufftacular; 2009)

There are many lovely winter foregrounds. Most of them involve snow of some sort (no surprises there). However, many there are though, this remains one of our favourite as the animation is just beautiful. In addition, where some foregrounds take up the entire bottom half of your customisation, this one has the good grace to be pretty but unobtrusive: you get to admire your hard earned foreground and the bottom of your pet's beautiful dress at the same time! You can never have too many of these foregrounds on hand when winter comes.

Gothic Winter Wig (Wicked Winter Mystery Capsule Bonus; 2013)

Well, who said winter had to be all about holiday cheer? This wig is certainly not made to fit in with candy cane and coloured lights... But somehow it still does! The gothic element of this wig is not overly pronounced, and that little note of black is a great contrast for the rest of our customisation. This wig also has the advantage of looking absolutely fabulous on nearly every species!

Shining Princess Gloves (Shining Princess Superpack; 2011)

An ice Krawk wearing gloves? Do they really get cold? Well, yes, they do. Besides when getting all dressed up, it is very important to remember to accessorise! What better way to do this than to select a beautiful pair of shining white gloves? The Shining Princess superpack is generally a really lovely set of items! We would have let you feast your eyes on the shining princess shoes as well as the gloves, but the dress that we have chosen covers them up.

MME8-S2: Shimmering Icicle Garland (MME item; 2011)

MME (Mysterious Morphing Experiments) are a thing of suspense and surprises. How many times have you bought one, thinking that the first stage had so much potential, then been disappointed by subsequent steps? Yet the excitement always keeps us asking for more! We are happy to say that this particular MME did not disappoint (or at least not this stage). This pretty icicle garland is a great addition to any winter customisation. Just try not to stand directly beneath it. You never know.

Flowing Ombre Cape (Wonderclaw item; still available)

Again, we do believe that Ice Krawks are not immune to the cold. This little Cape doesn't look like it could do much to keep you warm, but do not be deceived. It may be pretty, blue and look like a floaty confection of soft tissues that couldn't keep the breeze out, but it is actually very warm! Pretty and useful, this cape will keep your pet's neck and shoulders from icing up.

Thoughtful Holiday Bouquet (Stocking Stufftacular; 2012)

Now what more can an elegant Neopian ask for than to have a bouquet for every season? This pretty little confection is a marvel of flower arranging technique. Beautiful red winter Roses, handpicked pine cones and pieces of folded pink silk arranged in a bed of soft pine needles flowing almost to the ground... Give this bouquet a prize!

Elegant Holiday Tree Dress (Stocking Stufftacular 2012)

Now this amazing dress is the linchpin for this whole customisation. It is the embodiment of holiday spirit. The Christmas tree is such an essential item for the winter season that designers saw it fit to transform this emblematic conifer into a beautiful fashionable garment for female Neopians. It is a radiant green colour which sparkles in the winter light, and the finishing touches are a belt and collar of tinsel, and a perfect pink bauble to top it off and make this dress into the an ornament of perfection.

Pink Lulu Contacts (NC Mall; 2010)

Although Ice Krawks happen to have very pretty eyes, we decided that for the purposes of this customisation, these pretty pink contacts would serve better. The side effects of these contacts is to give the white of the pet's eyes a yellow tint, which is rather unfortunate. However, this effect is balanced out by the pupil being a very pretty shade of pink. On top of that, in this customisation, this colour is perfect to match the bauble on the belt of our pet's dress bringing colour coordination to a new level.

Snow Shower (NC Mall; 2008)

Now one may ask whether this item is really necessary for this customization. And one might well wonder: perhaps this extra touch of winter wonder is a little over the top? However, this is one of the most beautiful snow showers available to Neopians (there are more than you would think) and is really the perfect finishing touch. This shower is elegant and discreet, adding a little je ne sais quoi to the customization making it just a touch more beautiful, and a touch more... winter.

And for our second customization, we of course have our wonderful male Ice Krawk with an all neopoint item customization. For this customization, we tried to focus less on the actual outfit and more on bringing out the rest of the scenery. A beautiful winter's day is one of the best things to enjoy during this season, and we wanted to capture that in this customization. Focusing on the environment more than the outfit is a good idea for those wanting a new challenge or idea when customizing their pet!

Krawk Foreman Shirt, Krawk Foreman Jacket and Krawk Foreman Hat (Unis Clothing Shop; still available)

To start off with the base of the customization, we've dressed our Krawk up in very dapper Krawk Foreman clothing. The shirt, jacket and hat naturally go together and provide a good starting point for the rest of the outfit. The fluffy collar and cuffs of the jacket make it seem like a perfect cozy winter coat, while the matching top hat elevates our Krawk to new levels of fancy. We wanted to keep the outfit simple to highlight the surroundings more, so this combination works out perfectly!

Krawk Sleuth Trousers (Unis Clothing Shop; still available)

To go along with our fancy Krawk Foreman clothing, we needed a lovely pair of slacks! The Krawk Sleuth Trousers work well with the rest of the outfit, even though they may seem like just a plain pair of black pants. Along with the jacket, the trousers look warm and cozy on a crisp winter's day, keeping our Krawk's legs nice and toasty (or are they icy? We aren't quite sure). Regardless, every pet needs some pants, and these were ours!

Sinister Krawk Neovian Shoes (Prigpants & Swolthy, Tailors; still available)

Normally for a winter customization we would see boots, but these shoes work very well as a replacement. The black and white colours go well with the brownish colour of the rest of the outfit, and stand out quite a bit to the blue/ white background. We also know the selection of neopoint shoes and boots is limited, so we have to make do with what we have. Thankfully these big shoes look to keep feet toasty, along with everything else.

AAA Host Cane (Daily Dare 2011; retired)

Hand accessories are an easy way to spice up any customization. Because the rest of the outfit is pretty simple, we tried to find an item that would add nicely to it. Keeping with our Krawk's dapper theme, the AAA Host Cane makes him look like a true sir. The cane works well as a walking stick or simply a stick to shake at those young whippersnappers. Now all we need is a moustache for him to twirl.

Cavalier Gloves (Neopia's Style Showdown 2010; retired)

And to round out our outfit is, of course, a warm pair of gloves. The black Cavalier Gloves match with our black and white shoes and keep up the idea of bundling up for the bitter cold winter days. Whether you use pair of gloves or some boots (especially for our four-legged pets), keeping the extremities warm is essential this season. Anyone who's been out in the cold without a pair can attest to how big a mistake forgetting your gloves can be! So don't forget to grab yours this winter!

Snowy Cottage Background (Mystical Surroundings; still available)

Setting the scene for this customization is the amazing Snowy Cottage Background. The snowy scene with a quaint little cottage and snow topped stone bridge reminds us of winter in the countryside; beautiful and peaceful, away from the busy cities. Although the skies outside may be grey, the lovely glow coming from the cottage brings feelings of being snug in a warm house while the winter wind howls outside. All of this makes the cottage background essential for any serene or peaceful wintery customization.

Snowflake Frame (Ugga Shinies; still available)

We feel frames can often be an overlooked item for a customization. Usually passed up for garlands or foregrounds, frames can be an excellent addition to any design. In this case, our Snowflake Frame adds on another snowy layer to our wintery scene, almost giving the edges a frosty kind of look. They also give the illusion of falling snow, which is always a lovely look for any snowy customization. So don't forget about frames when making your designs. You'll be surprised how much they can add to any look!

Snow Laden Foreground (Ugga Shinies; still available)

And last, but not least, is a foreground to go with our frame and background. We've chosen to use this Snow Laden Foreground to finalize our customization (for obvious reasons, we're sure). The snow covered tree branches of the tree arch perfectly above our Krawk's head, and pair well with the other trees in our background. It also adds an extra vision of snowiness to the rest of the design. We love finding foregrounds with elements that match with the background, as it helps them blend together better and add to each other. So don't forget to look over available foreground for your customization!

Winter is easily our favourite time of year. Snow is falling, wind is blowing and everyone is getting ready for the holidays. Take a break from the hustle and bustle of the season, and relax by finding new and exciting customizations for your pets to fit the weather, either making a general winter customization, or even go with a crazy Christmas or other holiday themed design! Anything that gets into the spirit of the season will do!