Written by BaltoSeppala :

Hey everyone!  I wanted to give you some more good news regarding Zootopia Source!   We have yet another new layout for you to choose from! 

We've been talking about this subject on the forum, and prodding for feedback (so far there hasn't been much).  I'm pleased to inform you that the Sahara Square layout is now complete!  We're keenly aware of the fact that there are a lot of blues and greens evident in the prior layouts.  For those who prefer the warmer end of the color spectrum, we think you'll be quite pleased with the latest results.


Mighty and I collaborated heavily on this one (as we had done on the other existing layouts).  I found some interesting textures and patterns to add (and the picture of the oasis in the navigation menu headers, while Mighty developed the border of them), and she developed the color scheme, laid out the CSS sheet and, of course, did all the REAL work.  Between the two of us, we came up with a banner that would not only be fun, but also reflect the Sahara Square sector of the city of Zootopia.  Mighty has been working very, very hard on these layouts and it certainly shows (personally, I think she more than deserves credit as producing some of the most amazing layouts ever seen on Animation Source, and I hope you'll join me in thanking her for all that hard work!).  Whenever you see crisp, clear images, great colors and neat little graphics, you can pretty much thank her for those!
 

We also wanted this particular layout to reflect the influences seen in the movie for Sahara Square...which are primarily Middle Eastern in flavor.  Though we also added just a touch of southwestern Native American influence (in the sun symbol over the window panel headers).  As to textures, you'll see that we added rippled, wind-blown desert sand for the background of the left-hand navigation menu, and rocky, pebbly earth (as seen in a hot and arid, but not particularly desert, environment) for the main background.  The overall color we chose was a sort of earthy terra cotta...which is seen in several hot environments around the globe (even in the paint on buildings in those environments).  The bullets, once again, are Nick's "pawpsicles" (which are a common theme across the layouts), but this time they are a sandy color (yuck...sandy pawpsicles?  ).

Of course, other examples of those textures can be seen in the other two environmental layouts: "Tundratown" has icy letters on the banner, and icy tabs in different windows; it also has an icy background, icicles hanging from the main headers, and snow piled up on them (as well as under the banner); and there's an icy border on the left-hand navigation menu.  The borders of the navigation menu headers are inspired by the windows and structures seen in the Tundratown sector of the city, which itself is featured inside of each header.  In "Rainforest District", you get dark greens of the jungle, and a few interesting textures (not only rippling water, but a rough, almost leafy texture in the background of the navigation menu).  There are also vines serving as header borders, and the outer border of the navigation menu.  The header windows in the navigation menu are rather more generic though (and that's okay).

Finally, I don't know whether or not you noticed this, but if you go to any page that has subsections which can be opened or closed (like your own profile page), you'll see that we came up with some images which, instead of the standard blue Animation Source arrows, reflect the specific environments/inspirations the layouts are based upon.  For instance, in "Judy Blue", the "open" image is a lit-up light bar from a police vehicle (the "closed" image is an unlighted light bar); in "Rainforest District", the "open" image is a raindrop (the "closed" image is a splash of that drop in water); in "Tundratown", the "open" image is a lit-up neon snowflake (the "closed" image is an unlit neon snowflake).  And, most recently in "Sahara Square", the "open" image is a dust devil, and the "closed' is a poof of dust as it dissipates (more or less, lol). 
 

We have tried to make these layouts as fun, creative and interesting as we can for you guys, and we hope you like the results!  I have a feeling that Zootopia Source is going to soon be known by another name: "Layout Source" XD.  However, if the comments in the forum topic linked above are any indication, it seems like there is a call for a variety of layouts, and we certainly want to keep you guys as happy and engaged as possible, so we're on the case!
 

Keep watching, of course, because there's plenty more features to come!  And we would like to thank you all for your contributions so far, and to encourage you to keep right on contributing and commenting!  Let's keep that energy rolling!  Fandom of Zootopia is really electric right now, and it should follow that Zootopia Source will reflect that!

--BaltoSeppala