Got second switch console, so, how do I plan my second island?

[Mestear]

I've already got 3 star rating, hence terraforming is available. But the huge BUT stands on the way. How to start spitting ideas? I got tons of screenshoots from different islands, just don't want to copy them entirely. Island will be autumn inspirated. I wish to plant lots of high spots. Somewhat inspired by Spyro level - Autumn plains. Also, johto and sinnoh pokemon region. But that's about it. Is it easier to build on island or plan in 3D island planner? So confused. Openning 3D planner - don't know what to do, same with actual island .
Any advice will come in handy.

 

[Mokuren]

I would start with one spot of your island for example the entrance and keep it up until you are really in love with it. And then the second part etc. It helps a lot to focus on only small parts. The whole island itself is just too much. Everything will fall naturally in it's place and you will find pretty soon the style of your island

 

[nageki]

one thing i'd strongly suggest trying is instead of building based off screenshots of others' islands, try building from photos (or in your case, spyro + pokemon screenshots). try to recreate little areas from photos etc and just focus on small builds until you find a way for them to naturally fit together. i can post a messy WIP of a spot on my island if you'd like to see what i mean!

 

[Mestear]

one thing i'd strongly suggest trying is instead of building based off screenshots of others' islands, try building from photos (or in your case, spyro + pokemon screenshots). try to recreate little areas from photos etc and just focus on small builds until you find a way for them to naturally fit together. i can post a messy WIP of a spot on my island if you'd like to see what i mean!

yep, would like too see)

 

[nageki]

yep, would like too see)

so i'm obsessed with this near-abandoned town in japan, yubari, which i'm loosely basing my island around. here's a photo of one of its main streets followed by a screenshot of the build i'm doing based off it. photo source

Spoiler

 

[Sholee]

What I did before I completely flattened my island was watch a BUNCH of videos to get inspiration. Don't copy it block for block by looking at the video while you terraform or decorate but by watching a bunch of videos, your brain only remembers snippets and you can fill in the missing parts with whatever items.

I would also recommend working on a small section and not the entire map in one go as it feels very daunting. Also place all your villagers and stores on the beach so you don't have to constantly keep moving them around as you decide what goes where.

 

[JellyBeans]

I back up the suggestion of doing it bit by bit - it's so easy to have a ton of ideas and just get totally overwhelmed by everything and end up not making any progress at all. maybe start with something that's already there - terraform entrance, decorate around RS, build up a shopping area etc, and then branch out slowly from there and fill in the gaps. that way you're consistently motivated to keep building and expanding

 

[DJStarstryker]

I tried to use the 3D island planner, but it doesn't seem to help me personally very much. I just do things all in-game because I need to see what it looks like when I'm walking by it, how it looks with the lighting in the game, etc. If it helps you, definitely use it though!

 

[Fruitcup]

My go to is always to start by decorating the stuff you cant move like the residence services and airport. They were the first things i connected and kept building from there.