A New Wearable Category: Handwear
By Decentraland, , in Announcements
If you’ve been active in the Decentraland community for the past few years, then you may be familiar with the often repeated question “Wen hands?!” These two words are known for being the tagline of community creator Nikki Fuego, who together with many others in the community, has been advocating for a hands Wearable category to be added to Decentraland since as early as 2021. Now, the Foundation is pleased to announce the answer to that eternally burning question: Today!! A new category, handwear, has just been introduced to fulfill all your hand accessory and alt hand desires in Decentraland.
In this handy blog, we’ll cover the journey to nailing down this achievement, the perspective of the Decentraland creators who joined hands to reach this milestone, all the details about an unmissable handwear launch party with exclusive Wearables up for grabs, and everything else you’ll need to grasp about the new category’s specs. Hold on, we’re diving in!
The story behind handwear
If you’ve browsed through Decentraland’s Marketplace before, you may have seen Wearables that included hand components, such as CK Bubbles’ popular nail art Wearables. However, because there wasn’t a hand-specific Wearable category, items such as CK Bubbles’ nails would always have to include a head component, such as earrings, to be approved by the curation committee. These constraints restricted Wearable designers’ creativity, not allowing them to publish their creations in the form they originally intended. Having to be mixed in with all the other Wearable accessories available in the Marketplace also made hand-related Wearables difficult for shoppers to find.
Initially started in June 2021, the campaign to add a hands Wearable category was launched by community creator FrankyNeedles, when they submitted a DAO poll on the topic. Receiving 100% approval, it was confirmed that this was something the community really wanted. Recently, the initiative was taken up in the DAO again when Nikki Fuego and Doki put their collaborative powers together to create not another glamorous Wearable, but a well-thought out proposal, which even covered the technical details necessary to move the topic forward.
2023 being the Decentraland Foundation’s self-proclaimed Year of the Creator, highlighting the organization’s mission to empower creators and promote creativity in the community, the time for a hand Wearable category had finally come. Over the past few weeks, Foundation teams worked together with Nikki and Doki to bring the new category into being. The launch is expected to “shake up” Decentraland’s Marketplace, making creators’ work more discoverable and result in a renewed bloom of creativity in the Wearable ecosystem—the DCL community is ready!
POV: You’re a Decentraland Creator and handwear is released
Creator CK Bubbles, who is very passionate about Nail Art having even constructed a museum dedicated to the topic for MVFW ’23, says that, “Hands are where I start all of my fashion. The world can know who I am just by looking at my fingertips, and that’s exactly how it should be in Decentraland too.” They are predictably “So, so excited for the Hands category release!” and hope the new category’s launch promotes “others to be excited to create their own nail art or hand Wearables.” The new category has even inspired them to begin envisioning hand-centric Wearables outside of nail art, so be sure to keep an eye on their creator page!
Taking a unique perspective on the new category, Nikki Fuego thinks that, “Hands are a crucial expression of identity. From tattoos, to wedding rings, to gloves, to nails, hands express personality in so many different forms. I mean think about Emotes. Most expression [in Decentraland] comes from the hands since [avatar] faces don’t have facial expressions.” She adds that she expects the new category to have a ripple effect throughout the Marketplace, “New categories breed innovation and creativity. I can only imagine how many new Emotes will be created to uplift hands even more, now that there is a proper category for them!”
Hands down, these are some of the creators most excited for handwear.
Speaking partially from experience as Nikki collaborated with her partner in crime Doki to create the first handwear Wearables as part of the new category’s launch, the creator says she is hooked and believes other creators will be as well. “After making the Fuego Draco Hands, I am fully inspired to create all kinds of funky hands.” Since she spent many sleepless nights creating 150+ Wearables over the span of just two months after first getting turned on to creating in Decentraland, she will definitely be a creator you’ll want to follow.
Hair and face Wearable specialist Doki, says that the addition of the new category, “feels like a dream.” She adds “My hands create everything I’ve ever modeled so it makes so much sense that such a creative part of my body should also be a Wearable.” Extremely excited to expand her creativity to nails, nail guards, and finger jewelry, the creator has already begun, having created the most exclusive handwear Wearable for the new category’s launch. Find out how you can snag one for yourself below!
Hands up—who’s ready for a Handwear Launch Party?
To celebrate this joint achievement of the DCL community and Foundation, a party is being thrown on Wednesday, July 26, from 5-7PM UTC in the Genesis Plaza Bar (the place you land when you jump down into the plaza’s whirlpool portal).
Come to party to a live set from Decentraland native CJTrax and be among the first to claim exclusive handwear Wearables for free! During the festivities, four Wearables from the new category will be up for grabs when you approach a giant hand sculpture and perform a special action. You’ll be able to claim up to two different Wearables from the available four (while supplies last), but luck will decide which ones you get!
Of the four giveaway Wearables, which you can see a sneak peek of above, three were made by community creators: two by Nikki Fuego (Epic and Legendary rarity) and one by Doki (Mythic rarity), with the final Wearable created by the Foundation (Rare rarity). Do you already know which one you are hoping to get? Don’t let the chance to bag these special creations slip through your fingers—RSVP for the party now!
New base Wearables for the handwear category
With a whole new Wearable category premiering, of course new base Wearables had to be released too! Base Wearables are the items you can always access from your Backpack, even if you don’t own personal Wearables. With a variety of options, there’s something for everyone—above you can see a few of the new creations. Now if only we could get that DCL watch in real life!
Handwear Facts & Technical Specs
With a whole new Wearable category section to fill up in the Marketplace, Decentraland's creators are surely eager to get their hands on all the technical details—here's everything you need to know.
If you have already-published Wearables that you'd like to switch over to the new category, you may first need to update your item so it doesn't include content above an avatar's wrist. You'll also want to make sure you haven't gone over the triangle count. Find the exact specifications below. Once your Wearables are appropriately modified, you can resubmit them with the new category in the Editor.
Helpful Links:
Handwear facts:
The handwear Wearable category is intended exclusively for hand accessories (e.g. gloves, rings, bracelets, etc.) or for Wearables that completely replace an avatar's hands with other functionally similar ones (e.g. robot hands).
The new category should not be used for items that are held in the hand (e.g. a purse or sword) and should not impair the functionality of an avatar's hands, allowing for finger movement, the action of gripping something, and other gestures for compatibility with Emotes and future developments.
Handwear should not contain content that extends beyond the hand area, which extends slightly above the wrist.
The technical limits for handwear Wearables are a max of 1,500 triangles if the Wearable is completely replacing an avatar’s hand or 1,000 triangles if the Wearable is just an accessory with 2 textures and 2 materials.
Only one handwear Wearable may be worn at a time.