How to change player skins in Minecraft Java Edition

Skins are one of the best parts of Minecraft. They largely do not provide any advantage to players, but being able to change from the standard Steve or Alex skin is pretty great. Custom skins, skins from skin packs or even character skins can all make the game a little bit more enjoyable.

Most players have access to several skins that they could put on at a moment's notice. It's a fairly simple process, so once crafters learn how to do it, they can repeat the process pretty easily.

Moods change, so players' feelings towards a Minecraft skin will also change and that can create a carousel of skin usage. In any case, here's how to change it for Java Edition.

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Minecraft Java Edition: Changing skins tutorial

While there are two different versions of the game, there are a lot of similarities between Bedrock and Java Edition. Fortunately, skin changes remain the same across both versions.

There are still two main methods of changing one's skin. One of them is in-game and the other happens before getting into a world.

Doing so before opening up a world is pretty straightforward. When loading into Minecraft, gamers have a few options.

The account option, profile option, play option, settings and marketplace will all be on the first screen. Players can go to the profile section at the bottom of the screen to change anything they want.

Once there, they have five options to pre-set a skin and emote combo. This can also be customized with the standard Steve or Alex skin.

Selecting any one of these slots will open up customization options. The first tab is the character creator, but the second tab, which is called classic skins, is the right one to go to.

Players may click on the "Owned" option and navigate to the pack they want. From there, they can find the correct skin and select it. That will automatically save and be considered the default until players change the selected character slot.

Skin changes (Image via Minecraft Help Center)

Doing so in-game includes the same process. The route to get there is a little bit different, though. Players will need to pause their world (find a safe place to wait if it's a multiplayer world) and enter the profile section.

From there, the steps are the same and players can change or edit their character pre-sets. It will still automatically save once players are done.

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