WinCustomize Forums
Dreamed this up last night, more to follow....
..lots more... 
Subject to change*
Not too shabby there, slac...eh, John boy! I likes eet!! 
Gotcha Giz! 
This has all the ear marks of a 'Keeper' vStyler. Nice work. 
John...lookin' good.
I'm curious...did Scooter and Jim Bob get yer engune back together? 
The engine is all rebuilt now, but.. still having issues some where in drive train... working on it.
Cheers.
I like the new direction this is going. Minus the "battle-hardened" texture, it ends up looking very refined and polished. All the sweet details you put into it stand out even more.
As far as I'm concerned he can take in ANY direction he wants it'll be always breathtaking for me, unbelievable 
Gotta say I kind of identified with the 'battle hardened', zillion light year/Medicare version and wish there were a way to apply those fantastic textures you created, John.
Sad there isn't. Maybe Neil can work his code wizardry... it would be so wonderful if he could, eh?
No, there wont be a way.. and too late to turn back now.. personally I prefer the cleaner look.. as far as usability within windows goes.
Perhaps u can think of it as.. a fountain of youth? 
Well....I have the upgraded version and the original. Perhaps one of each.
Okay
Don't use the old PSD's please Ross.
I'd prefer for everything to be uniform.
Those are only for personal use John.
Carry on 
diggin' dem scrolls.... perfect with it...
very true...
it was a fabulous effect.... loved it too... very classy grunge look...perfect weather/asteroid beating.....great pity artistry is bound by technical constraints... would love to have seen both versions available... 'cause I gotta say, the shiny one is looking extremely spiffy on my monitor right now....
*syd goes to find some more walls...
Really amazing concept, John. Quick question, if I may. What informs your choice of lighting effects? Your skins always seem to have very interesting lighting coming at different angles in different areas that really makes the skin unique.
/me continues lurking
will the wallpaper that is shown in the b ackground also be a part of the skin or can i get iot somewhere in advance 
You're right, you know..there is a saying...LITTLE secrets from BIG masters 
I'll buy that! (EVERYday - heh!) 
Ponce De Leon looked for it too and you see where that got him. 
Just compared the screenshot with the previously posted PSD both looking good but now the fine cuttings on the metal stand more out giving it a more crispy look...PS i want that nebula background + My wife agrees i have to buy the skin when its done ... oh yeah thumbsup from her aswell
Interesting question.
I've always tried to be a little creative when it comes to lighting a visual style, If you take anything, in the real world, you can see light hitting it from different directions, objects that stick further out, further in, different materials, and colors, some things absorb light, some reflect, some diffuse.
Typically if i make a more minimal, usable skin, I will light from top left, and keep it uniform thru out the skin, shadows bottom right, etc. Global lighting.
When i make a more out of the box skin, like this, or Penthouse, Krome etc.. I like to throw light sources in from different angles, different strengths, different colors and shades.
Whether it is physically correct or not, to me, doesn't really matter..as long as to the eye..it looks good, and if It doesn't, someone is always gonna let me know. 
Now, if I were doing still life drawings, or nature paintings, It would be different but I think in UI design you have a certain amount of creative license to break the rules a little in the interest of coming up with something eye catching for the end user.
As far as method, my two main weapons are a good vivid light blend mode in Photoshop, and my trusty dodge and burn brushes.
I make almost everything with vector shapes, then if I am going to do any brushing, flatten the image and go to town with the brushes.
Whether any of this made sense or not, I have no idea.. hope it helped.
Rolo.. I'll try find a link to those walls, they aren't mine but fit the skin exquisitely.
Cheers!
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