Item States

Some items change their model depending on what's happening: bows draw, crossbows charge, shields block, fishing rods cast, and elytra break. EcoItems generates the vanilla item definition trees for all of these from simple config keys. This page covers the state keys, custom tridents, writing raw definitions, and the built-in 2D player heads.

State keys

Every key goes under item:, next to your base texture or model. Each state accepts a -model or -models form (locations under models/), or a -texture or -textures form (generates simple models, honouring texture-parent):

Key	What it does	For
`pulling-models` / `-textures` (list)	Draw stages while using; first entry is stage 0	Bows, crossbows
`charged-model` / `-texture`	Loaded with an arrow	Crossbows
`firework-model` / `-texture`	Loaded with a firework	Crossbows
`blocking-model` / `-texture`	While raised	Shields
`cast-model` / `-texture`	While the bobber is out	Fishing rods
`broken-model` / `-texture`	Out of durability	Elytra
`damaged-models` / `-textures` (list)	Progressive damage tiers, evenly spread	Anything with durability
`throwing-model` / `-texture`	The model in flight	Tridents (see below)

# items/my_bow.yml
item:
  item: bow
  model: item/my_bow
  pulling-models:
    - item/my_bow_pulling_0
    - item/my_bow_pulling_1
    - item/my_bow_pulling_2

The generated trees match the vanilla items exactly (same thresholds and properties), so custom bows feel identical to vanilla ones.

Custom tridents

Any trident-material item is throwable. Give it a throwing-model (or -texture) and the projectile renders that model in flight, reverting when it lands so pickup shows the normal item:

# items/my_trident.yml
item:
  item: trident
  texture: item/my_trident # in hand and in GUIs
  throwing-model: item/my_trident_3d # in flight

The in-flight swap needs Paper; on Spigot, thrown tridents keep the held model.

The raw definition escape hatch

For anything the state keys don't cover (display context switching, composite layering, time-based models, has_component conditions), write the vanilla item definition format directly. It's passed through verbatim, exactly like item.components, so every present and future node type works:

item:
  item: paper
  definition:
    type: "minecraft:condition"
    property: "minecraft:using_item"
    on_false: { type: "minecraft:model", model: "ecoitems:item/spyglass_idle" }
    on_true: { type: "minecraft:model", model: "ecoitems:item/spyglass_zoom" }

definition wins over all state keys. Model references inside it must be fully namespaced (ecoitems:item/...), and the files they point at should exist in your pack folder, because raw trees aren't validated.

2D player heads

EcoItems ships two ready-made item models that render any player head's skin as a flat 2D icon, with no config needed:

/give @s player_head[item_model="ecoitems:2d_player_head",profile={name:"Notch"}]
/give @s player_head[item_model="ecoitems:2d_player_head_large",profile={name:"Notch"}]

These suit GUIs, leaderboards, and trophies. To bake one into an item, set the minecraft:item_model and minecraft:profile components; see items/examples/_example_2d_head.yml.

Where to go next

The base item: How to Make an Item for textures, models, and components.
Armor and elytra: Custom Armor for wearable items, including elytra.
Your own models: Resource Packs for where model files go in the pack folder.