The entrance to your island is the first thing that other players will see when visiting. Therefore if you want to leave a lasting impression and wow from the very start, it makes sense to make your entrance magnificent. If you’re unsure on how to go about this, why not use these awesome Animal Crossing: New Horizons entrances as inspiration.
And This (WIP) Little Duck-Themed Entrance (Just Because)
God-Tier Entrances: 🤯
Don’t Compare Your Island To Other Players’ & Take Your Time
It can be daunting knowing where to start with any island renovations. It can also be a bit disheartening to see other people’s awesome creations and feel like your own island is lackluster in comparison (I’ve been there!).
However, don’t be disheartened, as ACNH isn’t meant to be stressful! (Although the Bunny Day festivities kinda were, so thanks, Nintendo…) 🐰🪓
But back on topic, if you’re dead (like Zipper will be if he ever sets foot on my island again) set on making your airport/island entrance look super cool, then these simple tips will heed you well. Be sure to take all the time you need, plan your island entrance in advance (see below for tools and tips to help), and most importantly, make sure that you do you! 😊
Stay Organized, Make A Map
Planning is an important part of terraforming/landscaping your island. Therefore, like these awesome island maps shown below, you could definitely hand draw your island map, or use digital art software (which would make a nice memento). But it doesn’t even need to be that hard with this Google docs spreadsheet ACNH map creator 😀🗺️
See How Your Ideas Look Using A Planner First:
If you are too busy hunting down that blasted bunny with an axe don’t have the time (or inclination) to hand-draw/create your entire island map, then don’t worry! A handy 3D ACNH island planner is available to download for free on itch.io.
Here you can try out terraforming ideas and get an idea of how they’ll look in 3D before committing to paying for that darn bridge, only to have to give Tom Nook more bells to demolish it, yet again! If you own a Chromebook like myself, you may be disappointed to know that the app is only avilable to download on Mac, Windows, and Linux operating systems. Although you can still use the planner in-browser whilst using a Chromebook, which I discovered AFTER using the below method…
You can also use the more simplistic in-browser Happy Island Designer planner here. Whilst unfortunately not 3D, the tool does allow you to plan your island beforehand, instead of getting stuck right in, only to realize that you don’t know where to start.
I found it quite handy to see roughly how my island would look, due to the ability to place trees, flowers, and buildings. Additionally, you can upload a photo or screenshot of your island map layout before starting, something which would’ve saved me a lot of time, had I known beforehand… (Man, I need to do my research)! 🙄 Here is my first attempt at using Happy Island Designer:
Video Tutorials & Speed-Builds:
Below are some great videos with content ranging from tips on how to design your island entrance, to speed builds of more awesome examples to inspire you:
Even more Animal Crossing New Horizons Design Ideas