Entries are formatted in this sequence: icon/name/link : brief description : (type or other notes)
• brief description these can help narrow down/search what the cutter shape is, particularly when the icon is not very helpful, very rough descriptions.
• (type) when present this usually contains bgcutter, limited, avatar, bgframe
tab• bgcutter: these cut/reshape the background causing areas of transparency.
tab• limited: these do not work with many common background layers, usually works better with background objects/partial backgrounds, see spoiler below this section for a fuller explanation
tab• avatar: these identify cutters which cut the avatar directly or crop considerably, does generally not include poses that just occlude the avatar or lightly trim the edges of everything.
tab• bgframe: these are more of an overlay that lets the background peek through. Sometimes I include full backgrounds with layering designed to have more foreground/midground aspects layering over, but it's highly subjective what full backgrounds end up added to this guide.
limited cutters a longer explanation
Most background cutters are pretty direct and cut most full backgrounds, background objects and overlay layers. Limited background cutters can each be a unique challenge to work with, as many full backgrounds will not function with them. However they do affect many background objects and overlay layers.
In the example on the right: The blue full background layer is untouched, but the pink background object, green leafy overlay and avatar are trimmed to fit the smaller poster
Trickier to work with as each limited cutter has unique limitations, they can be highly rewarding and allow effects impossible with non-limited cutters.
Left+Right show the same avatar but with use of Dream Town. This cutter will completely invisible most full backgrounds when viewed from the front, but here it was utilized by building up background objects instead. As shown by the smoke, it does not affect every background layer.
[example 1: Freak Show Posters, Astra:Evening Cruising Cumulus, Pushing Pixels, Peaceful Ruins] [example 2: Dream Town, Lonely Traveler, Gloom and Doom, Complete Mayhem, Devout Launcher, Wonderful Green Wizard]
My go-to backgrounds for testing is Infinite Gaze and Lonely Traveler [generally cutters crop both, but limited only cuts Traveler], but sometimes also a Moga background and Dreamscape [two different layers than the first two, but Dreamscape often is affected by limited cutters]
Terrabloom, Terrabud, The Animator, The Candy House, The Case of Pietro, The Cat Tower, The Haunting, The Haunting, The Painter, The Seven Sisters, The Tea Merchant, The Tea Merchant, The Tower Mage, The Trash King, The Uninvited, The View From Above, The View From Abroad, The View From Beneath, The View from Within, The Watercolorist, The World, This Universe, Through the Hare Portrait, Time Management, Tiny Bachelorette, Tit for Tat, Toy Rocket, Trick and Treats, Ultimately Distracted, Ultra Satan, Underwater Vivarium, Ungaikyou Haunting, Unorthodox Experiment, Unwholesome Child, Unwrapped Wreath, Vague Reality, Valentines 2k19 Heart Background, Valkyrie's Descendant, Variant Edition, Veil of Dreams, Veil of Dreams, Vengeful Alice, Verdant Armageddon, Vicious Cycle, View of the Moon, Vineyard, Vintage Landscapes, Vixen's Tranquil Mirror, Voyage to the Moon, Voyage to the Moon, Warlord of Lalune, Warlord of Lalune, Warm and Cozy Inside, Warm Breeze Amidst the Books, Warning Signs, Water Nixie, We Thirst, We Thirst, White Moth, Whole Latte Love, Will to Fight, Winter Guardian, Winter Hanami, Winter Hunt, Winter Memories, Winter's Rose, Wintry Snowglobe, Witch of Fate, Witch of Mirrors, Witching Hour, Witching Hour, Witchy Workstation, Woman in Black Poster, Wonderland Carousel, World Serpent, Wwwah, Xmas 2k10 Event Winter Night, Young Woodling, Young Woodling, Young Woodling, Your Fortune, Your Fortune, Yuki Otoko, Zhivago's Transformation, Zip It, Zurg Legion Flag