Nintendo’s life simulator Animal Crossing: New Horizons is, for many, a game about style. It’s a meditative one, with fishing, gardening, bug collecting, and islanders to gently make friends with – but the bulk of the game is about designing and decorating yourself, your home, and your island. Players everywhere have been using the game’s tools to build idyllic cottagecore getaways, disconcerting murder mansions, and pastel perfect picnic spots. For artist Sara Sinclair, however, the ideal aesthetic for her island is rainbow – rainbow everything.
Why not check out our review of Animal Crossing: New Horizons from 2020…
Sinclair's love of rainbow isn’t limited to Animal Crossing, but something she expresses in her own personal style, down to rainbow clothing, rainbow-dyed hair and rainbow-coloured glasses. “I got into the whole rainbow aesthetic because I wanted to surround myself in everything that makes me happy,” she explains. “I struggle with mental illness and spent so long hating myself, but when I let go and just let everything I love surround me it made a world of difference.”
Despite always loving the aesthetic, it wasn’t until she was 22 that Sinclair decided to embrace styling herself and her surroundings in rainbow. “Guilty pleasures no longer exist with me.” She’s been rainbow-everything for six years since. “Honestly, I started to not care because I realised how silly it was,” she says. “Why live in this little box people want you to live in when there's this whole world to explore yourself in.”
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One of those not-guilty pleasures, then, includes the world of Animal Crossing. “Animal Crossing is my escape, and when I log in and see all my cute animal friends and rainbow island it's like instant serotonin.”
While many of her rainbow-coloured items are ones you can purchase or craft in-game, a number of them are custom creations that Sinclair has either designed herself or downloaded from other Animal Crossing creators online - the rainbow bricks that pave the way from place to place being one example of her own creation. “I love the idea of sharing art with people and seeing everything everyone has created,” she says.
The recent 2.0 update for New Horizons update saw a slew of new features and furnishings, including the first-person perspective camera - all the better to photograph your newly revamped island with. Among the new furniture additions is the Plaza Set, an amusement park-themed collection including (among other things) a ferris wheel, a carousel and a balloon stand - all set for the carnival. Expanding on the carnival space she already had is one of the things about the recent 2.0 update Sinclair was most looking forward to: “I love the idea of having a carnival because it's such a fun and happy space.”
Sinclair’s rainbow everything approach even finds an upside in the controversial Bunny Day event, which was unpopular with many players in its first iteration for disrupting activities like fishing and digging for fossils for an entire 10 days when the game was still new. “[I]t was a lot of fun,” she says, while also admitting that “mostly I just love the colour options of the items”.
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This piece is part of a series exploring how people choose to play games their own way, via customisation, character choices, or other forms of inspiration. How they present their 'other me'. Read more: God of War, Destiny 2, Dead By Daylight, Stardew Valley, Crusader Kings III.
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This editorial content is supported by Philips OneBlade. Philips is committed to providing products that fit into every individual's life, to suit every personality's idea of style. Every one of us is unique, and every one of us feels comfortable and confident in different ways - and the flexibility of Philips OneBlade ensures that anyone can express themselves in a way that's all about them. Find more information here.
Featured Image Credit: Nintendo, Sara SinclairTopics: Animal Crossing, Nintendo, Opinion, Interview, Philips