Dice Designer

Intermediate · 8 min read

The Dice Designer gives you dedicated controls for designing custom dice components. When you select a dice component type, the designer activates an expanded per-face editor that goes beyond the standard flat canvas — you can configure each face of the die individually, choose how values are displayed, and style pip colors, number fonts, and icon assignments face-by-face.

Accessing the Dice Designer

The Dice Designer becomes available when your component type is a die. To use it:

1. Click the component selector in the toolbar (shows your current type, e.g., "Poker Deck").
2. Navigate to the Dice category and select a die size (D4, D6, D8, D10, D12, D20, or custom).
3. The face navigation strip at the bottom of the canvas updates to show each face of the die (Face 1 through Face N).
4. Click any face tab to switch to that face and design it independently.

Face Display Modes

Each face of the die can display its value in one of three modes. Set the mode per-face in the properties panel or apply it globally using the Apply to All Faces button in the Dice Designer panel.

Pip Mode

Classic dot-pattern pips, the same arrangement used on standard casino dice. Pips are rendered at precise positions for each face value. You can control:

• Pip Color: The fill color of each dot.
• Pip Size: Diameter of each pip relative to the face.
• Pip Inset: How far pips are set in from the edges.
• Background Color: The face background fill.

Pip mode is only valid for D6 faces with values 1–6. For other die types or values above 6, use number or icon mode.

Number Mode

Renders the face value as a numeral. This mode works for all die types and any numeric value. Controls include:

• Font Family: Any Google Font or custom uploaded font.
• Font Size & Weight: Scale the numeral to fill the face.
• Number Color: Text color for the numeral.
• Underline 6 & 9: Toggle an underline on 6 and 9 faces to disambiguate orientation.
• Background Color: Face background fill.

Icon Mode

Replaces the numeric value with a custom icon or image. Useful for symbol dice (action dice, element dice, event dice). Controls include:

• Icon Source: Pick from 275K+ Iconify icons, Kenney board game art, or upload your own image.
• Icon Color: Tint color for SVG icons.
• Icon Size: Scale relative to the face area.
• Background Color: Face background fill.

Per-Face Styling

Each face is a fully independent canvas. Beyond the display mode, you can add any standard design elements to a face using the normal toolbar — backgrounds, text, shapes, images, and generators. The display mode element (pip/number/icon) is just one element among others; you can layer card art, flavor text, or decorative borders on top of or behind it.

Common per-face design patterns:

• Themed backgrounds: Different background colors per face for visual variety.
• Flavor icons: Small corner icons indicating the face's game effect.
• Action text: A short label describing what the face means (e.g., "Attack", "Defend", "Miss").
• Frame elements: A consistent border shape across all faces for a unified look.

CSV Binding for Dice Values

For dice that have variable values driven by data — such as dice in a deck-building game where multiple dice types exist — you can bind face values and icons to CSV columns.

1. Import a CSV where each row represents one die face configuration.
2. In the face's properties panel, bind the Display Value field to the relevant CSV column using {{Column Name}}.
3. For icon mode, bind the Icon Name field to a column containing icon identifiers.
4. Navigate through CSV rows using the bottom navigator bar to preview each face variant.

This approach lets you define an entire set of custom dice in a single spreadsheet and generate all faces automatically.

Tips for Custom Dice Designs

• Keep pips large enough to read at 16mm: Standard D6 dice are about 16mm (0.63"). At that size, pip diameters should be at least 2mm. In the designer, this translates to a pip size of roughly 12–15% of the face width.
• Use high contrast: Dark pips on a light face or light pips on a dark face read best. Avoid colored pips on similarly-colored backgrounds.
• Underline 6 and 9: Always enable the underline option in number mode to prevent players from misreading these digits.
• Test icon readability at small size: Zoom out to 25% or smaller to simulate how an icon will appear on a physical die face. Detailed icons lose clarity at small sizes.
• Use the Generator: Dice Face element on regular card designs if you just need a dice face graphic — the full Dice Designer is for when the component type is a die. The Dice Face generator gives you a single face illustration you can place anywhere on a card.