The customizable skins are areas to apply digital papers, patterns and colors.

You’ll find inside the file:

• Cutting File
• Customizable skins without bleed
• Customizable skins with bleeds

As in the image below:

• Customizable skins without bleed

They have the exact same size of the cutting area and they are very useful to create frames, shapes or details on each side of your box. There is no space for artwork outside the cut line:

• Customizable skins with bleed

They are a little bigger than the cutting area, so the fill runs beyond the cutting lines, creating a safety margin. With the bleed area added, you’ll avoid any misalignment and white borders while cutting your projects.

At first, make sure the customizable skins are ungrouped. To find the ungroup tool you must select your project, click with the right button and click on ungroup.

Then open on your computer the folder where your digital papers are and place it on your screen in a way you can see the folder and Silhouette Studio. Check the image below:

After that, select the digital paper you want, drag and drop it inside the area you want to fill.

You can use any image saved on your computer in .jpg and .png  formats and you can also use native or purchased patterns from Design Store.

Every digital paper, native or purchased, from Design Store are listed on Fill Panel > Fill Pattern.

It’s even easier to use it in your projects. Select the shape you want to fill and then click on the digital paper you want to apply.

When we import a digital paper to Silhouette Studio, it becomes a Fill Pattern. To edit it, you must follow some simple steps:

• Select the face with the digital paper you want to adjust the size
  
• Open Fill Panel
  
• Click on advanced settings
  
• Edit the pattern as you need
  

You can do some adjustments like scale, angle, aspect ratio and mirror.

The digital papers, colors and patterns must be applied inside the skins with bleed.

Use skins without bleed to design ornaments with the offset technique (check it out in the following topics).

After you finish your customization, prepare your project following the steps below:

• Group all customizable skins
  
• Make sure the cutting lines are grouped and have no fill
  
• Select both groups and then center them
  
• If the customizable skins are in front of the cutting lines, select the group, click with the right button and then click on send to back
  
• Change the color of the cutting lines to a different one from the one used on the customizable skins. Remember to choose a color that is easy to identify. I usually work with red
  
• Set a page size compatible with your printer
  
• Turn on the Registration Marks
  
• Print your design on the paper of your choice.
  Pay attention to the size of your sheet, which must be the same size chosen on Silhouette Studio. And don’t forget: once your project is printed, you should not make any ajustment on its position, otherwise you’ll find some misalignments while cutting it.
• Click on “Send” button and then select the “Line”mode
  
• Turn off every color on the list, except the one you chose for the cutting lines
  

Your project set up is done. Adjust the cutting options as you need and now you’re ready to cut it.

If you want to make your pattern continues through different faces of your box and want to get that seamless effect like the image above, you must follow these steps:

• Select the customized shapes you want to make seamless
  
• Click with the right button and then click on Make Compound Path
  

To merge different areas you must:

• Select the shapes you want to merge
  
• Open the Modify Panel and then click on Weld
  

Customizing in a creative and cohesive way takes time and it improves with practice. But I have a tip called the Offset technique that can help you design faster some beatiful effects.

It consists of creating two offset lines on the inside of the customizable skins without bleeds, in every single shape of your project

Doing that, you’ll have three different polygons (one inside the other) for each side of your box. With these three polygons you can create different customization styles by basically adjusting four parameters:

• Fill
  
• Line color
  
• Line thickeness
  
• Line style
  

By alternating and combining different styles, you can improve the design of your project and get creative results in a easy way.