Design an original girl or heroine BO2 emblem using readable face shapes, hair silhouettes, masks, and a compact 32-layer stack.
10 minute BO2 tutorial - Updated July 2026
Create an original character concept
Define a new hairstyle, mask, expression, and color identity instead of tracing a celebrity, streamer, anime character, or copyrighted game figure. Original characters are easier to personalize and safer to publish.
At emblem size, a distinctive hair outline or visor communicates more than realistic facial detail.
Construct the head as a symbol
Begin with a broad hair or hood silhouette. Add a simpler face plate inside it, then place eyes, a mask, or a central highlight. Treat the portrait as a graphic icon rather than a photograph.
Use symmetrical eye and cheek shapes when possible, but allow the hair or accessory to create controlled asymmetry.
Spend layers on expression
Large eyes, eyebrows, and a simple mouth or mask line carry personality. Tiny eyelashes, individual hair strands, and soft nose shading consume layers without surviving at playercard size.
Reserve the last four to six layers for highlights and expression adjustments after the outer portrait works.
Choose a character palette
Use a dark hair or hood tone, one skin or face-plate tone, one main costume color, and a small accent. Test every choice against the dark game interface.
Build from reference without copying
Use your own sketch or a permitted image as a local reference, simplify it into geometry, and remove the image layer before export. The resulting emblem should be an original interpretation, not a traced protected character.
Practical example
Nova Heroine shows how an original portrait can work without realistic skin rendering. The head silhouette, swept armor, dark face core, and bright visor communicate a character role while avoiding a copied celebrity or franchise design.
Change the visor angle first when exploring expression. A flatter visor appears calm, while a descending V feels more aggressive. Hair, hood, or side armor should remain broad graphic regions rather than collections of thin strands.
Before you finish
The character is original and not a traced likeness.
Head shape remains readable as a symbol.
Expression uses large features.
Small portrait details survive at playercard size.
Nova Heroine is an original science-fiction portrait built as a mask rather than a realistic person. Swept side armor and a luminous visor provide identity without referencing a protected character.
A dark head silhouette holds pink side armor, a narrow center face core, and a pale visor assembly. The pointed lower mask keeps the portrait emblem-like.
Pink identifies the armor, charcoal shapes the face, and pale gray creates visor light. Keep skin-like shading out of the design so it remains a graphic original character.
Try this variation: Use cyan armor for a reconnaissance role.
Iron Mask treats a helmet as a ceremonial emblem rather than a realistic face. Ivory armor plates create the identity, muted gold marks rank and hardware, and the black visor supplies a controlled expression.
A gold outer helmet contains mirrored shell, eye, and jaw pairs. The crown plate and nose bridge divide the face vertically, while the chin plate closes the stack with a narrow termination.
Ivory should remain the largest bright area. Gold works best as a frame and center accent, while near-black belongs only in the visor so the eyes stay severe and readable.
Try this variation: Change gold to steel blue for a colder armored look.
Lunar Cat places an original cat face inside an open crescent. The mint moon acts as both frame and atmosphere, while the compact mask keeps the character readable.
The crescent sits behind a dark cat silhouette with separate mint ears. A pale face plate contains narrow eyes, a pink nose, and a small mint smile.
Mint connects moon and ears, charcoal defines the cat, off-white opens the face, and pink is limited to the nose. The small accent hierarchy keeps the mascot calm.
Try this variation: Use lavender for a dusk version.