Character House character parts allow you to build and style custom desktop companions using hundreds of interchangeable visual assets. In the desktop companion game developed by Yinengjie (ElfArtWorld), the character creation studio provides modular controls for facial features, multi-layered hairstyles, outfits, fantasy traits, and unlockable expression animations.
While the developer has not published an exact numerical count of all assets, testing and official documentation confirm that parts can be colored with custom hex codes, adjusted with two-tone gradients, and resized or repositioned across multiple anchor points.
Character Parts Categories in Character House
The creation studio organizes parts into a left-side category menu. Selecting a category brings up a middle grid of candidate assets, which are rendered on your character preview in real time.
| Category | Available Part Types | Customization Controls |
|---|---|---|
| Skin & Body | Base body models, varying skin tones | Saturation and brightness adjustments, custom color picker |
| Hairstyles | Front bangs, back hair, sideburns, twintails, ponytails, hair buns | Base color, gradient color, independent left/right side styling |
| Hair Details | Ahoge (cowlicks), custom highlights | Multi-slot layering (Slots A, B, C), unlinked color palettes, positioning, resizing |
| Eyes & Eyebrows | Eye shapes, pupil styles, eyelash outlines, eyebrow arches | Independent left/right eye colors, pupil highlights, spacing, tilt, vertical positioning |
| Face & Mouth | Mouths, blushes, facial scars, markings, beards, robot panel lines | Color adjustments, resizing, vertical and horizontal positioning |
| Ears & Fantasy | Human ears, elf ears, animal/beast ears (fox, cat, bunny), robot ears, fish fins | Color tinting, scaling, positioning |
| Clothing | Tops, shirts, dresses, vests, coats, jackets, pants, shorts, socks, footwear | Two-tone layer coloring, independent sock/stocking options, shoe scaling |
| Accessories | Hats, berets, sleep masks, hairpins, bows, glasses, monocles, scarves, ties, necklaces, gloves | Color matching, positioning, scaling |
| Tails & Wings | Animal tails (cat, wolf, fish, flame), head wings, back wings | Gradient coloring, positioning |
| Poses & Expressions | Smiles, smirks, pouts, scowls, wiggles, cheerleading, petting reactions | Unlocked via typing/clicking skill points |
Hair and Ahoge Customization
Hairstyles in Character House are broken down into independent modules rather than static full-head wigs. You can choose front hair (such as blunt bangs, parted fringes, or emo styles that drape over one eye) and mix them freely with different back hair silhouettes ranging from short crops and spiky cuts to wolf cuts and long locks.
The editor supports asymmetrical hair designs. You can apply different sideburn lengths or side locks to the left and right sides of your avatar. For hair tufts and ahoge, players observed an advanced multi-part layering system with dedicated sub-slots (Slots A, B, and C). This allows you to stack up to three distinct hair tufts, rotate them, resize them, and color them independently to shape custom hair bows, beast ears, or animal beaks.
Facial Details and Eye Adjustments
The facial feature editor offers granular control over anime-style aesthetics:
- Heterochromia Support: The left and right eyes can be colored independently with separate primary iris and secondary highlight colors.
- Eye Placement: Sliders allow you to adjust eye size, vertical placement, and horizontal distance between the eyes.
- Pupils and Highlights: You can select distinct pupil designs (such as small round dots, slit pupils, stars, or hearts) and apply custom catchlight highlights.
- Eyebrow Angles: Eyebrow assets can be shifted inward, outward, or tilted to change default idle expressions from calm to determined or grumpy.
- Special Ears: In addition to standard human ears, the menu includes fantasy and sci-fi variants such as large mechanical robot ears, aquatic fins, and beast ears.
Outfits and Layered Clothing
Clothing options range from everyday modern attire to fantasy and detective themes:
- Tops and Outerwear: You can combine base inner shirts (such as crop tops, collared shirts, or cardigans) with standalone outerwear pieces like oversized detective trench coats, lab coats, denim biker jackets, or kimonos.
- Dual-Color Channels: Most tops and coats feature two color channels, letting you dye the exterior fabric and interior lining or handkerchiefs separately.
- Legwear and Shoes: Pants, shorts, and skirts sit above an independent legwear slot, which includes full stockings, socks, and fishnets that can be applied to one leg or both. Footwear ranges from casual slippers to cyberpunk boots, which can be scaled up or down.
Studio Editor Tools and Hidden Shortcuts
In a developer announcement on Steam, Yinengjie outlined several hidden quality-of-life shortcuts and features built into the character editor that save time during styling:
- Global Palette Saving: Clicking the palette icon in the upper-right corner of the color card saves your frequently used colors across different parts and characters.
- Hex Code Input: You do not have to match shades manually by eye on the color wheel; typing an exact hex value into the input field under the color card applies precise color codes.
- Unlinking Colors: By default, matching accessory or hair parts share a linked color scheme. Toggling the unlink setting allows you to paint individual layers or accessories in contrasting colors.
- Mouse Drag Navigation: Right-clicking and dragging a character inside the workspace causes them to follow your cursor, which speeds up repositioning when checking how parts align.
How to Unlock New Parts and Expressions
Not all character parts are available immediately when you first open the demo. Character House incorporates an idle reward and companion progression loop:
- Idle Gift Boxes: While running Character House on your desktop, a gift box appears on screen every 30 minutes. Opening the box rewards accessory items, such as witch hats, froggy hats, crowns, or clothing items.
- Item Crafting: A dedicated crafting menu allows you to combine duplicate collected items into new accessories and setting props.
- Typing and Keystroke Counter: Right-clicking your companion activates desktop work mode. Every mouse click and keystroke advances an activity counter. Accumulating keystrokes levels up your character, awarding skill points.
- Unlocking Personality Traits: Skill points are spent in the character profile to unlock interactive animations and reactions. These include happy smiles, smirks, pouts, walking styles (such as skipping), idle wiggles, and unique click reactions like the "Shy" response triggered when petting your character.
Current Part Limits and Known Constraints
Player feedback and documentation note several constraints in the current demo build of Character House:
- Rotation Angles: Certain parts and accessories can be tilted, but the game does not support full 360-degree free rotation.
- Hair Dye Layers: While every hair section supports a two-tone gradient, the editor does not currently feature multi-pattern hair dye layers or patterned highlights.
- Hairstyle Variety: Community reviews have noted that while anime-inspired straight and layered cuts are plentiful, textured hairstyles like tight curls, locs, and braids are currently limited.
- Outfit Presets: The studio does not currently offer one-click saved outfit presets to swap entire wardrobes on an existing character.
- Upcoming Custom Uploads: The developer confirmed in official Steam patch notes that a custom asset upload feature is in active development, allowing players to import custom user-made parts in future updates.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I create multiple characters using different parts?
Yes. The free Steam demo allows you to create up to four distinct companions, which can be placed simultaneously on your screen. In official store details, the developer indicates that full release versions will support larger desktop companion groups.
How do I change a character's parts after saving?
Open your companion's profile from the desktop menu and select the studio/edit option. Your character will reload into the customization screen, where you can modify parts, colors, or accessories without losing level progress or unlocked traits.
Can character parts be transferred to the full game?
The developer stated in the official Steam demo announcements that they intend to carry over character customization data from the demo build into the full game upon release.
Does the game track my keystrokes to unlock parts?
The desktop counter only increments an integer by 1 per click or key press to track activity and award character experience. In an official Steam announcement, the developer confirmed that the application never records text content or typing logs, and players can disable the counter feature entirely in the settings menu.
