Only the most loyal and dedicated fans of the Minecraft Pocket Edition community may recall that long ago, the company 57 Digital shared insights about their projects. At that time, they were focused on creating reference applications for the world of Minecraft PE.
Now, Jamie Chapman and Luke Dixon, co-founders of 57 Digital, are engaged in some of the coolest developments within the realm of Minecraft PE, which are featured in the Marketplace.
This team has gained fame for producing skins that cater to every taste and preference. Want a dog skin? You got it! A cat? No problem. Perhaps you’d prefer something truly delicious? Try out a burger or fries skin instead!
Burgers and fries. Milk and cookies. Peas and carrots. Absolutely anything you desire! An amazing collection of skins serves as a bittersweet reminder that I started writing this article before grabbing a bite to eat 🙁
“We sourced these skins from the pack We Go Together Like…, which is a spin-off of the Foodies pack,” notes one of the creators, Jamie.
“This was entirely new territory for us. We aimed to introduce such variety into the Minecraft universe that we decided to blend one skin set with another. We literally mixed and merged them, resulting in this masterpiece.”
This unusual combination was well-received by the Minecraft PE community. What could be better than a mix of coffee and eggs? Eggs and bacon? I sincerely hope you’re reading this article with a full stomach—otherwise, you might have serious issues.
“I believe it worked out perfectly,” says Jamie. “The skins look incredibly interesting and fun. Much of the credit goes to Luke. He contributed significantly more to the project than I did.”
“You made a major contribution to this creation!” interrupted Luke.
“Yes, perhaps I came up with the idea and inspired you, but still, you did an enormous amount of work regarding design and everything else,” insists Jamie.
The truth is, it’s challenging for the 57 Digital team to single anyone out—they both collaborated on all those projects that are captivating the world of Minecraft PE, through extensive teamwork. This sets them apart from others; creating such content without a large team of creators is no easy feat.
“We use a board called Trello to jot down all our main ideas and concepts. After that, each idea undergoes a ‘build-by-build’ phase, which helps identify cool combinations of design and graphics. Our creations stem from this process,” explains Jamie.
“Take our Doggy Pack for example. It’s a collection of skins featuring dogs of various breeds. While developing this project, we had to scour the internet for visual references of different dog breeds. Then, I attempted to draw images of these dogs to see how they would appear in Minecraft PE.” 
“Once we have a rough sketch, we engage in collaborative work where each of us adds small elements that we think can better convey the essence of the dog, thus enhancing the skin,” notes Jamie.
The work doesn’t stop there. Each skin undergoes meticulous testing in Minecraft PE to meet the standards set by the developers themselves. First, they constantly jump into the game to spot any errors or inaccuracies. Secondly, the skin must be viewed from various angles for greater accuracy. Therefore, the dog collection is excellent work, even though I’m not a fan of dogs.
I am quite the dog hater. I find them to be annoying creatures. For people like me, the Birdies skins were created by the same 57 Digital team.
With their food-themed bombshell, We Go Together Like…, the approach took a completely different direction. “Initially, we intended to create entirely individual skins, meaning the burger and fries skins would be separate entities,” says Luke.
“Then we thought, if players are playing in pairs or small groups, one could be a burger while the other is fries. That would make for the perfect duo. Unfortunately, playing with someone isn’t always possible, so we had to consider that aspect too. We decided to create combined skins that wouldn’t require cooperative play.”
I think that’s a pretty good idea. Just imagine the potential problems: Your friend wants to be a cookie, and you decide to be a burger. Anyone familiar with Minecraft PE knows that a cookie and a burger can’t coexist!
“One of the best discoveries was the transparent layer. Thanks to this, we were able to create fantastic skins. For instance, the banana skin from Health Foodies features a transparent part of the arm. This adds a greater sense of realism to the world of Minecraft PE,” says Luke.
The developers believe it’s crucial to consider how players utilize skins in Minecraft PE.
“If you don’t pay attention to the details, success in skin creation will elude you. We carefully contemplate the possibility of cooperative gameplay when designing skins for Minecraft PE. You never know whether your user is playing solo or with a large group of friends, so you need to be prepared for anything and account for such scenarios,” emphasizes Jamie.
A perfect illustration of this concept is the map Doctor Splice, also crafted by the folks at 57 Digital. Here, you’ll battle in the lair of the evil Doctor Splice. The unique feature is that Jamie and Luke designed the map to be equally enjoyable whether played with friends or solo.
“Everything works seamlessly. If a second player in Minecraft PE just joined and is at the beginning, while the first has already reached chapter two, they can press a button that teleports them to each other. I think this works perfectly for multiplayer. Now, all you need to do is fight against the mutant monsters of Doctor Splice! It’s quite a challenge!
It seems rather odd that a team known for creating numerous brilliant skins suddenly ventured into map development for Minecraft PE. And not just any map, but a substantial narrative campaign. So, can we expect even more from them? “Absolutely!” exclaims Jamie, “We will surprise you with our Skin Studio, which will tell you about our project’s history. Simultaneously, we’re diligently working on a variety of skins to delight Minecraft PE fans!”
“We’ve seen many talented individuals create truly magnificent projects that captivate the imagination. We wanted to test whether we could match or at least come close to that level in developing a different type of project.”
“It felt great to return to the beloved world of Minecraft Pocket Edition. Developing our mobile app, Skin Studio, consumed an incredible amount of time and effort. After such work, it’s always nice to play your favorite game and come up with something new for it. We will soon launch new projects based on redstone usage,” promises Jamie.
“We love our creativity and will undoubtedly continue to innovate!” asserts Luke.
But what about new skin packs? “Soon, we’ll release several skin packs we’ve been working on for a long time,” says Jamie. “However, we want to refresh them and add new ideas.”
“The list of ideas is vast, and there’s much to accomplish to bring joy to even more people in Minecraft PE!”
