How to make someone the star of your family tree

Some family trees are made for one person, or one couple: Grandad's 80th, a golden wedding anniversary, a new baby, a retirement or a family reunion in someone's honour. With PeoplePlotr you can make them the star of the tree with one sentence. Stars are drawn full length, head to toe, a size bigger than everyone else, and each design dresses them up in its own way: a crown and robe in Royal, a space suit in Space Crew, a cape in Superheroes. This guide shows how to do it, what each design does, and some ideas for using it.

A family tree in the Royal design with Arthur and Rose as the stars, drawn full length on a red carpet in crowns and ermine robes as King Arthur and Queen Rose, with their children and grandchildren below — Arthur and Rose as the stars of their family tree, in the Royal design. Every example in this guide is made up.

Step 1: Write one sentence

Write your family's story as usual, then add a sentence that says who the star is. Any of these work:

Make Arthur the star.
Make Arthur and Rose the stars.
Arthur is the star of the tree.
Make me the star.

That's all. The tree redraws straight away. Here's the whole story behind the trees in this guide, with everyone given a skin tone:

My name is Maya and I am 24. I have curly brown hair and light brown skin.
My mum is Grace and my dad is Tom. Mum and Dad married in 1995. Grace has long black braids and brown skin. Tom has short red hair and fair skin.
I have a brother called Sam, who is 20. Sam has short curly black hair and light brown skin.
Grace's dad is Arthur and her mum is Rose. Arthur is 80 and Rose is 78. Arthur and Rose married in 1968.
Arthur is bald with a white beard and glasses and has dark brown skin. Rose has short white curly hair and dark brown skin.
Grace has a brother called Leon. Leon has short black hair and dark brown skin. Leon is married to Priya. Priya has long black hair and brown skin. They have a daughter called Zara, who is 6. Zara has black hair in pigtails and brown skin.
Arthur loves gardening and Rose loves baking. Arthur and Rose have a dog called Pepper.
Make Arthur and Rose the stars.

Saying someone is a star doesn't make them one, so Grandma is a star and Sam is a film star stay as praise and a job. It has to be the star, or Make … a star.

What changes

They're drawn full length, standing up, instead of as a portrait on a card. Their face, hair, skin, glasses and hat are the ones you gave them.
They're a size bigger than everyone else, about a third bigger.
Two stars who are partners stand side by side, joined as a couple, with their children's line coming down between them.
Their name and details go underneath, and their hobby and pet badges hang below as usual.
Everyone else stays as they were, in the same places on the tree.

The same family tree in the Storybook design twice: on the left, Arthur and Rose as portraits on cards like everyone else; on the right, Arthur and Rose drawn full length and bigger, standing on grassy mounds — The same tree in Storybook, before and after Make Arthur and Rose the stars.

Every design dresses its stars differently

Stars work in every design. Each one gives its stars something of its own to stand on, and some give them a whole new outfit. The wedding designs work a little differently, as you'll see below.

Arthur and Rose as stars in 12 designs: crowned in Royal, in space suits in Space Crew, in capes in Superheroes, under spotlights in Pop Star, as monsters in Monster, in a dinner suit and fringed dress in Art Deco, in white linen in Ancient, in robes in Greek, in Georgian dress in Oil Painting, in snorkels in Water, as cut-outs in cowboy hats in Wanted and as sepia photographs in Vintage — The same two stars in 12 of the designs.

Design	What the stars get
Storybook	A little grassy mound with flowers
Royal	A red carpet, a gold crown and an ermine-trimmed robe, and the title King or Queen
Space Crew	A full space suit with a glass bubble helmet, on a glowing hover pad
Superheroes	A hero's suit with a cape, belt, boots and their initial, in front of a comic-book burst
Pop Star	A sequinned stage outfit and silver boots, under a spotlight
Wanted	Cut out like a poster, in a cowboy hat and neckerchief
Ancient	White linen and a gold collar, on a stone plinth
Greek	A long chiton and a cloak over one shoulder, on a step with the key pattern
Oil Painting	Georgian dress, beside an urn on a marble step, like a grand portrait
Art Deco	A dinner suit and bow tie, or a beaded fringe dress with pearls, on a black and gold plinth
Vintage	A full-length sepia photograph in a cream mount
Polaroid	A strip of washi tape to stand on, and pen doodles
Monster	A whole friendly monster, on a little fur rug
Water	A snorkel mask, on a sea floor of sand, coral and kelp
Mountain	Ready for a hike, with a fleece, rucksack and walking pole, on a rocky outcrop
Nordic	A drift of snow with two fir trees
Felt	Sewn from felt, with stitches and big buttons, on a felt patch of grass
Sketch	Drawn in pencil, with a pencil lying beside them
Sampler	Clothes in cross stitch, on stitched grass with a heart
Glass	Clothes in leaded stained glass, on a ground of glass panes
Flowers	A bed of tulips and daisies
Zen	A brush stroke of ground, a tuft of grass and a red seal
Herbarium	Pressed ferns and a specimen label
Moorish	A step of zellige tiles under a horseshoe arch
Icons	A gold-leaf step under a gilded arch
Family Stats	A glowing holographic pedestal with stat bars
Classic Oak	A grassy mound with oak leaves and acorns
Family Bible	An illuminated ribbon scroll

To try another design, open the designs in the top bar and click one. The stars stay stars.

Stars in the wedding designs

In a wedding tree the bride and groom are already drawn full length, so they don't need to be stars. Make someone else the star, such as the best man, the chief bridesmaid, a proud grandparent or the couple's child, and they stand full length beside the couple, a little smaller than them:

Make Tom and Naomi the stars.

Two wedding family trees for Sophie and James. In Celtic, Sophie's brother Tom stands full length in a kilt and James's sister Naomi wears a tartan sash. In Indian, Tom wears a kurta and Naomi a sari, each on a ring of marigolds beside the couple — Tom and Naomi as the stars of Sophie and James's wedding tree, in Celtic and Indian.

Stars don't share the couple's decorations, so the arch, the glasses and the wedding date stay with the bride and groom. Instead, each wedding design gives its stars a light touch of its own:

Wedding design	What the stars get
Champagne	A glass of champagne
Classic Wedding	A white rose buttonhole or corsage
Celtic	A kilt and sporran, or a tartan sash
Indian	A sari or a kurta
Christian	A little gold cross
Jewish	A Star of David pendant, or a kippah and dark suit
Islamic	A long-sleeved, full-length dress, or a long tunic with gold trim
Chinese	A qipao or a tang jacket
Japanese	A kimono and obi, or a kimono and hakama
Hawaiian	A grass skirt, lei and flower crown, or an aloha shirt and lei
1960s	Daisy prints

Making the bride and groom the stars changes nothing, because they already have the full treatment. Stars don't appear on wedding invitations or save the dates, which stay all about the couple. The wedding family tree guide has more on the wedding designs.

One star, or several

A star doesn't have to be at the top of the tree. Make a child or grandchild the star for a birthday, a new baby or a graduation, and they stand full length in their own place on the tree:

Make me the star.

The same family tree in the Space Crew design with Maya as the star, drawn full length in a space suit and bubble helmet among her family's crew cards — Maya, telling the story, makes herself the star in Space Crew.

You can have as many stars as you like: Make Arthur, Rose and Zara the stars. Keep it to one or two, though, so they stand out.

What the stars wear

In most designs, stars wear everyday clothes in a colour the design picks. To choose, say what they wear in the story, or click them, press Edit look and open Clothes:

Arthur wears a navy suit. Rose wears a yellow dress.

Arthur in a navy suit and Rose in a yellow dress, drawn full length as the stars of a Storybook family tree — Arthur in a navy suit and Rose in a yellow dress, in Storybook.

Designs with an outfit of their own, such as the space suit or the superhero costume, use your colour where they can. Hats, glasses and beards come with them in every design. The appearance update has more on giving everyone their own look.

Bigger still, or not a star any more

Bigger: stars are already a size up, and Make Arthur and Rose bigger or Make Arthur 50% bigger makes them bigger again.
Not a star any more: delete the sentence, or write Arthur is no longer the star or Make Arthur not a star.
Nobody: No stars turns them all back into cards.

Ideas for stars

A big birthday: Grandad's 80th, with the whole family round him. Print it for the party or put it in the card.
An anniversary: the couple who started it all, side by side, for a ruby or golden wedding.
A new baby: the newest arrival as the star, with everyone who's waiting to meet them.
A retirement or a graduation: a fun tree to share in the family chat.
In memory: someone much missed, at the heart of the family they made.
A family reunion: the oldest of the family as the guests of honour.
A school project: the child making the tree as the star, in Space Crew or Superheroes.

Quick answers

Do stars cost extra?

No. Stars work on every account, free ones included, in any design your account has. Some designs need a premium account, whether or not anyone is a star.

Do stars show when I share or print the tree?

Yes. Anyone who opens your shared link sees the stars, and they print as they look on screen, whether you print at home or order a framed print.

Why isn't my star drawn full length?

Check the sentence says the star (or Make … a star). In the wedding designs the bride and groom are always full length, so making them the stars changes nothing, and stars aren't shown on invitations or save the dates. Also check the name is spelt exactly as it is elsewhere in the story, so it's the same person.

Can I make a whole family the stars?

You can name everyone in the sentence, but stars look best kept to one or two people. To make a whole branch stand out, try Make Arthur's descendants bigger instead.

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