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:

kreativekorp / animal-prints

Animal Prints

Send to ACNH

Using a Sparkfun Pro Micro or Adafruit ItsyBitsy 32u4

Using an Arduino Uno or Arduino Mega

Acknowledgements

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