Animal Prints

Animal Prints can open Animal Crossing design patterns in many formats (.acnh, .acnl, and .acww files; ACNL QR codes; and generic image files), convert patterns between these formats, and save patterns in these formats, as well as produce paint-by-letter instructions.

Send to ACNH

Using a USB-to-serial adapter and a microcontroller with custom firmware to emulate a Switch controller, Animal Prints can automate the creation of design patterns in-game.

To use the Send to ACNH feature, you will need:

• A Nintendo Switch and a copy of Animal Crossing: New Horizons (duh)
• A microcontroller with built-in USB capabilities
  • We recommend a Sparkfun Pro Micro or Adafruit ItsyBitsy 32u4, which use the ATmega32u4 microcontroller.
  • You can also use an Arduino Uno or Arduino Mega, which use the ATmega16u2 microcontroller for USB; however, consider:
    • The main CPU, the ATmega328P or ATmega2560, will not be used, so this is overkill.
    • Many clones use a dedicated USB controller chip which cannot be programmed; such clones will not work for this purpose.
  • Other microcontrollers supported by LUFA can be used, but you'll need to compile the firmware yourself.
• A USB-to-serial adapter, such as the Adafruit FTDI Friend

Using a Sparkfun Pro Micro or Adafruit ItsyBitsy 32u4

• Download the file Joystick_m32u4.hex in the firmware directory. (You can also save a copy from the File menu in the Send to ACNH window.)
• Use ATMEL FLIP or avrdude to upload the Joystick_m32u4.hex firmware to the microcontroller.
• Connect the microcontroller's GND, VCC, RX and TX pins to the USB-to-serial adapter's GND, VCC, TX and RX pins. (RX and TX are switched. CTS, RTS, and DTR can be left unconnected.)
• Connect the USB-to-serial adapter's USB port to your computer's USB port.
• Connect the microcontroller's USB port to your Switch's USB port.
• Open the custom design editor in ACNH.
  • Make sure the leftmost color is selected.
  • Make sure the pencil tool is selected.
  • Make sure the smallest pencil size is selected.
• Open the Send to ACNH window. Select the USB-to-serial adapter from the list of serial ports, and click the Open button.
• If you see the screen on the Switch that says "Press L + R on the controller," click the Pair button.
• Click the Send button to make the magic happen!
• Once finished, click the Close button.

Using an Arduino Uno or Arduino Mega

• Please note, this will not work with many Arduino clones that use a dedicated USB controller chip instead of an ATmega16u2. For the best results, use an authentic board.
• Download the file Joystick_m16u2.hex in the firmware directory. (You can also save a copy from the File menu in the Send to ACNH window.)
• Download and install ATMEL FLIP from https://www.microchip.com/developmenttools/ProductDetails/FLIP
• Connect the Arduino.
• Short the two male header pins on the Arduino closest to the USB port for a few seconds. (If you're on Windows, you should hear the "device disconnected" sound when connecting the pins and the "device connected" sound when disconnecting the pins.)

• Open ATMEL FLIP.
• Click the button for "Select a Target Device" and select ATmega16U2.
• Click the button for "Select a Communication Medium" and select USB, then click Open.
• Go to Buffer > Options. Make sure "Reset Buffer Before Loading" is set to Yes and "Address Programming Range" is set to Whole Buffer.
• If this is your first time doing this:
  • Click the button for "Read Target Device Memory".
  • Click the button for "Save Buffer As HEX File" and save it as, for example, arduino.hex. (You can use this file later to turn your Arduino from a Switch controller back into an Arduino.)
• Click the button for "Load HEX File" and select the Joystick_m16u2.hex file.
• Click the Run button.
• Once the programming is done, disconnect the Arduino.
• Connect the Arduino's GND, VCC, RX and TX pins to the USB-to-serial adapter's GND, VCC, TX and RX pins. (RX and TX are switched. CTS, RTS, and DTR can be left unconnected.)
• Connect the Arduino's RESET pin to GND. This will stop the main CPU from running and potentially interfering with things.
• Connect the USB-to-serial adapter's USB port to your computer's USB port.
• Connect the Arduino's USB port to your Switch's USB port.
• Open the custom design editor in ACNH.
  • Make sure the leftmost color is selected.
  • Make sure the pencil tool is selected.
  • Make sure the smallest pencil size is selected.
• Open the Send to ACNH window. Select the USB-to-serial adapter from the list of serial ports, and click the Open button.
• If you see the screen on the Switch that says "Press L + R on the controller," click the Pair button.
• Click the Send button to make the magic happen!
• Once finished, click the Close button.

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to:

• Thulinma for ACNLPatternTool
• Cuyler36 for ACSE
• StackZ for LeafEdit-Core
• Dean Camera for LUFA
• progmem for Switch-Fightstick
• ItsDeidara for CommunityController