Interview with a skinner...

It's hellish torment...the eternal suffering of an artist for his art...
I'd sooner be in that dark hole, without a life or a girlfriend...[especially the girlfriend...my wife'd kill me]...

Well my main job is actually shooting birds for the local airport.

I'm actually a programmer. Skinning is my alter-ego.

I found a trial copy of WindowBlinds, tried it out, and noticed a few bugs. Reported them on the #stardock IRC channel. Things went on from there. I've certainly learnt a lot since then - how to use PSP and Photoshop, usability, graphic design . . . well, some may debate the latter! *g*

As to what I do other than skinning - well, there's the programming I mentioned, which takes up quite a bit of time. I also do juggling and (of course) spend time in the newsgroups and on here answering everyone's questions.

Often on my computer coding ASP or PHP
Skinning almost everyday.

On my normal life I am married with a wonderfull man, we have a son, he is 6 years old, he is fantastic, I am proud of my little familly. We are often visiting my parents in law. They are really great persons. Life is great! Thanks God!

I only pretend to skin. Work is piling up and deadlines are rapidly approaching. Ah well, I always work better when the deadline is (too) close.

Real Life ™ for me is doing commercial art (which is now called computer graphics). I started in it when you worked with pens and knives and hot wax but went digital about eleven years ago. The only part I don't like is now I never have the time to do things I like to do. It's not like I'm making a lot of money either, I work twice as hard as ever before doing freelance (unemployed) work and make about half as much as I need to pay the bills... I'm slipping into financial oblivion... Making skins is the most fun thing I do, I just don't get to do it as much as I'd like.

Recreation for me is disapearing into a wilderness with my camera for a week or two... or mowing the lawn...

My real life is dull. I currently live in a town where you've more chance of contracting the plague than getting a job, and thus I'm unemployed.
When I'm not skinning I generally spend most of my time studying martial arts, reading books on both it and Chinese philosophy and watching old martial art films.
I'm also a gearhead and have an obsession with WRC (World rally Championships) and MotoGP.

At weekends I stand in as a stunt double for Elton John, and when I grow up I want to be a tree.

Wow, DavidK thinks mowing the lawn is recreational. Since hubby has let me retire, I seem to have inherited all the chores (didn't know retirement came with strings attached). I always equated retirement with being able to do all the fun things (lying in the sun, etc.), but I think someone played a joke, not at all like the movies. Seems between family (mother, daughter, grandson) life has been pretty hectic and at times I think maybe I should go back to work so I can have a settled life - just a slipping thought though. One day I came across Windowblinds, loved it, got the full package, fell in love, and decided to try skinning. Suggest downloading the great tutorials that Stardock has. Study other blinds and see how they are structured. Then start making your graphics. (If you use Skin Studio it has templates to help you create a windowblind.) Don't be afraid to experiment - it can't hurt anything. And, when you are stumped, there are a lot of friendly hands to help with any questions.

my life? lemme see...
I blast music all day and work on my machine from home for work, and chase my youngest around in between, then clean & play late into the evening or until request for more work fly into my mail box or they buzz me I have the occasional play day outside in the real world but usually only when I sneak off and take it
(my job owns me)

In my real life, ( ), I am a very successful Dentist with a lot of work, for many years now. Having a wonderful wife and many friends, I am having a very nice life.
In this period of my life, I prefer skinning as enjoyment and I have decrease the passively enjoyment, (as Cinema, TV and reading), because skinning is something new for me and has more fun!

There are no magical prescriptions for someone to be a skinner, everyone, can find the way to be a skinner, (even those who doesn’t know very well English ), the only thing that doesn’t allow someone to become a skinner is laziness. Laziness and skinning they never walk together.

Or jest the fact that someone can not draw graphics...

Ok, I don't live in a dark hole and do have a life, but no have a girlfriend...

I have a good life and I have a lot of knowledge in different things. But all that knowledge means nothing right now, because I can’t get a job that involves anything I know, especially not at my age (15). I tried making a skin a few times, and I spent a good deal of time on them. Pixtudio gave me permission (after I asked) to make a skin port of Logika on Trillian. That went down the drain. I spent weeks on making it, but it was taking up all of my time, many sleepless nights, I got a Gamecube, and the goal of finishing it faded away. The only thing I can do with graphics is take someone elses work and modify it to my likeing.

I have a lot of friends that are girls though...

I devided in topics to be easier to understand on my terrible English

work: Since last August I quit my real job became a professional full time graphic designer, Alexandrie and me openned a small graphics company (Pixtudio)and today we make skins, gui and web design all days long. I couldn´t be more happy, today I make a leaving from what I most love to do.

Work tools: Pentium IV 1.8, 1024 sd RAM, 40gb at100 7200rpm hard drive, Matrox G400 milenium dual head video card, 19" flat screen Sansung monitor and a bunch of other gadgets.

Favorite software by order of taste: Photoshop, Photoshop and Photoshop.

Family: We are a happy family, I have a wife , 3 kids, a cat, a dog, a turtle, a ferret, 2 hamsters and lots of fishes.

Hobbies: Skinning comes in first place ( yes, I still skin for fun and I love doing it), then it cames Flyfishing, wich I also love to do so and Films, I am a movie fanatic.

c2zero: for more info on a lot of the skinners and artists here, check out some of the interviews in the teknidermy back issues

http://www.teknidermy.com