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New Icons for Androkkid "TransparentFrames" finally!
These new Icons should work better for those of you who have like me found the standard winmo icon ugly and pixelated.
I have always thought that some of the IPhone's attraction was the beautiful icons that were uniform in size and shape. So I made my own for Ifonz (based on other people's graphic work). When Androkkid came along I loved the scenic wallpapers you could use but I thought the beautiful scenery of the wallpapers became too cluttered with the IPhone style icons and that the square icons ruined the effect of the beautiful wallpapers.
So these new icons are designed to preserve a uniform style and at the same time be better integrated into the "scenery" by using transparency.
I hope that some of you will have a look at these and tell me what you think
PS If you resize these, they will not work.
If you want to use these and need other icons, ask me on the themes Thread and I'll see what I can do.
You find these icons here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=4829217#post4829217
a picture here as a thumbnail:
not one comment!? not even that they suck or something?
teacher1960 said:
not one comment!? not even that they suck or something?
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not feeling em bro. kinda ugly
opasha said:
not feeling em bro. kinda ugly
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yeah i agree.
Dont worry, just fine tune them to perfection. not a lot of people would step up and make an icon pack
good job
I agree, Need some work, but your on a good start man. ;]
I as a designer can understand if you feel bad when people tell you what they have above,
And as a fellow designer, I say you should not stop, keep looking at them, and try some different more round, glossy, vibrant edits. :]
And they will be a Thumbs up!
volcomdesigns said:
I agree, Need some work, but your on a good start man. ;]
I as a designer can understand if you feel bad when people tell you what they have above,
And as a fellow designer, I say you should not stop, keep looking at them, and try some different more round, glossy, vibrant edits. :]
And they will be a Thumbs up!
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Click to collapse
I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to discourage him. No one replied to his icons (to be honest i thought he just posted them from finding them from somewhere), so I was just giving my honest criticism of the icons only. Personally, I'd touch them up with a gloss background layer or just remove the outside glass square. Good luck!
I don't know if anyone noticed, but he said " found the standard winmo icon ugly and pixelated"
Wrong forum?
harpreet1988 said:
I don't know if anyone noticed, but he said " found the standard winmo icon ugly and pixelated"
Wrong forum?
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Though my next phone will definitely be an android phone, I do use winmo.
I use an applauncher (Androkkid)which emulates android.(see screenshots) I know this isn't Android but it looks like it so theoretically my icon pack could work for both. I'm not selling anything don't either want any donation or anything so it was just an idea. It would be really helpful if someone could tell me which icons they think work and which don't
This is my first theme so please just check it out
Crisp= A nice white and ice blue theme with eclair launcher and many color and icon changes.
i will be updating it as soon as possble, high school and work make it kind of difficult.
Im not sure if anyone is even following this thread but oh well, ill write it all out anyways
Update:
Fixed the obnoxious bright blue, dimed it a little, i use my phone on half brightness, so i didnt realize how bright it would actually be!
Switched some icons around, i dont really like most eclair icons
Custom boot screen
Next:
9.png
http://www.4shared.com/file/167084384/b2b6af84/CrispV2.html
Please let me know of any issues or problems and also i would love more ideas about it and requests may even be met
just to be honest. its an eye sore
just to be honest, dont be an ass, respect work, no reason to mock it
looks good.. just needs some refinement
jad011 said:
just to be honest, dont be an ass, respect work, no reason to mock it
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just to be honest, i wasnt being an ass. its an eye sore, plus its NOT going to look good once apps are all loaded up. its called constructive criticism, and this theme is not even hard at all to make
brian_v3ntura said:
just to be honest, i wasnt being an ass. its an eye sore, plus its NOT going to look good once apps are all loaded up. its called constructive criticism, and this theme is not even hard at all to make
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if its an eye sore why don't you make your own theme. Respect the work, negativity isn't good for the dev who actually took the time to do this.
It isn't that much of an eye sore. The blue could maybe be toned down a few shades just so it isn't so... I can't think of a word, maybe blinding is a good one.
Also, on the nice side of my post, it looks good, it reminds me a lot of the Bluebird theme I used to have on my iPhone before I switched to Android. Maybe look it up for a little bit of inspiration? I know that it looked AMAZING & it is really similar to this but with the toned down blue & a few undertones of black.
I will try to find an old copy of it & upload so you can see it if you'd like.
EDIT: OK I found a copy. I will upload a few of the icons & a few mods I had made to it to look a little better. I have a killer statusbar that would go good with this as well as a little bit of lockscreen stuff you can adapt to this if you like.
This is a very good start this is how I started making themes, so guys please show this themer some respect. "Experion" is my second theme and i improved a lot so good job man keep it up!
OK here it is. I can give a little rundown too (by folder in the zip).
Battery: Has the lockscreen battery images that would work on the Stericson lockscreen and could be adopted for the statusbar. Also there are 2 images of the statusbar battery.
Icons: Obvious enough. Some icons that show what I mean about a toned down blue & shades of black. Could look really nice on Android.
Statusbar.png: Obvious again. Statusbar that can be easily adopted to Android. It has transparency so on Android it would just appear black so instead of the black to transparent gradient I currently have set up a black to dark gray gradient might appear better.
Lockbar.png: This was the bar of the lockscreen slider on my iPhone. Here it could be the background that the clock is on but I don't remember that may be hardcoded.
Here is the link: Bluebird Android.zip
PS: I don't claim credit for this whole Bluebird theme. I got it off of ModMyI.com from a user whose name I don't remember. I just changed a few icons & the lock bar among a few other small tweaks.
PS PS: Yay! 200th post
in a way
Hey this theme isn't bad, the blue reminds me of alien aqua. More power to you make a theme you like and hopefully not what someone wants you to make. Your taste your enjoyment. If someone doesn't like it, go away...if you can't find you like make your own.
Looks good, I like the color .
Hey don't let people get you down, everyone's new at one point. This is great for a first theme, I never did that much icon theming Some suggestions, try to find a good background that goes with the colors you chose. Also, try to theme the widgets. I know it's hard at first, those .9.png's can be REALLY difficult to deal with. Just keep practicing and always challenging yourself to do more and there's no limit to what you can accomplish!
brian_v3ntura said:
just to be honest, i wasnt being an ass. its an eye sore, plus its NOT going to look good once apps are all loaded up. its called constructive criticism, and this theme is not even hard at all to make
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Click to collapse
One line that says it's an eye sore has nothing to do with constructive criticism.
Any theme is taste sensitive so bringing your 'constructive criticism' as facts doesn't help anything either. So please read up on constructive criticism and try again or move on.
What might be easy for you might not be easy for someone else. If it's all that easy why aren't we seeing more themes?
And there's also the time you need to put in to study how to do things and than actually implementing it. This alone should make you show some respect.
I'm sometimes really amazed at the rudeness of some members especially the ones that have been frequenting these forums like you have.
@sassyness77: good to see another theme for MetaMorph.
Just ignore the comments you don't agree with and look at the ones that make sense for you. After all it's your theme and it's impossible to please everyone. Looking forward to see where this is heading and don't let the haters get to you.
I love the white drawer tab!
Yes, the tweeter blue is a bit too bright. escpecially put against darker wallpaper.
thanks guys
Thanks for all the feedback guys, positive or negitive I didn't realize that the blue would be so bright! I'm planning on toning it down and I'm figuring out how to edit p9s as we speak it can only get better!
Updated 12/7
Hey, i just updated it last night if anyone is using my theme, I'll update it soon with edited 9.pngs, high school+work makes that difficult.
i did make a custom boot screen which i love and switched icons, the OP has all the other stuff!
Hia mate,
i agree with people its looking kool,
keep up the good work, i am so lazy when it comes to making icons, i never have any ideas. so its good to see people working on things like.
Keep it up, and do what i do theme for your self and if people like it that's just a plus!
cache
This theme is basic but good, it's what u can expect for a first theme. I'm also doing my first theme for eclair using the cyan blue, i love the color. Good job man, we can only get better and better. Cheers to your efforts, pretty impressive for a H.S student
I want to create a theme, as no one here seems to have the same design sense as me; most are obsessed with trends from 2004 or something, and are fascinated by bright colors and the need for everything to be big and/or cluttered. as a minimalist, i'm basically exactly the opposite. i like clean, concise, small and unobtrusive.
Anyway, if a dalented dev and I could hook up, I could design a very nice looking exterior for Android so long as he could code it all into place. I'd be wanting to skin basically every skinnable object within Android; I want a full UI overhaul. I also want it to be the best looking thing released for the OS.
To give myself a little bit of credibility, here's a mock-up I was messing around with to provide an idea of what I'd be talking about.
http://img811.imageshack.us/slideshow/webplayer.php?id=homel.png
is no one replying because it doesn't look good enough, or because no one is interested?
The design is very bland, more work on it would make it look pretty nice. I see you're aiming for a simple look yet, somewhat elegant.
looks very nice and clean but...
notification bar is half the size,dont know if it is possible to edit the size of it.
and it wouldnt be easy to acess the drop down menu.
Same goes to lockscreen,a lot to change...
Perhaps this are the reasons no dev is interested in this,but it is a nice concept...hope you can manage to get it done.
ZED_pt said:
looks very nice and clean but...
notification bar is half the size,dont know if it is possible to edit the size of it.
and it wouldnt be easy to acess the drop down menu.
Same goes to lockscreen,a lot to change...
Perhaps this are the reasons no dev is interested in this,but it is a nice concept...hope you can manage to get it done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can change the status bar size from source: frameworks/base/core/res/res/values/dimens.xml and change the status bar dpi from 25 to "x"
that was just a mock-up. everything can/will be changed to meet the dimensions of the elements to the sizes needed for the phone. and yes, it'll looks a lot better after some more time is put into it. i posted just a barebones preview of what i hope to accomplish.
You came in here bashing many talented designers and then post that? Instead of 2004, you're going prior?
Good luck, and I hope your "new" idea (given that there are quite a few minimalist themes) turns out well.
how did i bash anyone? i mean sure my comment was a little snarky, but it wasn't meant to put anyone down.
i don't see how that's prior-2004 either way, though.
Instead of asking for "talented devs" to help you, it might work out better if you spend a little bit of time to get to know the roots of android theming, and hopefully get more going than a few minimalistic mockups. Read a few how-to guides to get things rolling and when you get to troublesome .9's and xml tweaks, that might be a better time to ask for help.
As much as all of us will be really excited to see what you come up with (I mean that seriously), I really think it would be better that you get some experience going on your own first. 'Employing' people to do the dirty work usually means the end result is nothing like what the concepts suggested (I think a lot of us remember a similar situation late last year).
Good luck, have fun. I'm looking forward to the results.
turn said:
I want to create a theme, as no one here seems to have the same design sense as me; most are obsessed with trends from 2004 or something, and are fascinated by bright colors and the need for everything to be big and/or cluttered.
http://img811.imageshack.us/slideshow/webplayer.php?id=homel.png
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This is absolutely true, most of the themes would make my phone look like a cheap knockoff. However, I don't find yours the most appealing either. Minimalistic is good, very good, but add some more life to it (again, in a minimalistic and clean way)
It kinda reminds me of this here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=662721&highlight=xperia
turn said:
I want to create a theme, as no one here seems to have the same design sense as me; most are obsessed with trends from 2004 or something, and are fascinated by bright colors and the need for everything to be big and/or cluttered. as a minimalist, i'm basically exactly the opposite. i like clean, concise, small and unobtrusive.
Anyway, if a dalented dev and I could hook up, I could design a very nice looking exterior for Android so long as he could code it all into place. I'd be wanting to skin basically every skinnable object within Android; I want a full UI overhaul. I also want it to be the best looking thing released for the OS.
To give myself a little bit of credibility, here's a mock-up I was messing around with to provide an idea of what I'd be talking about.
http://img811.imageshack.us/slideshow/webplayer.php?id=homel.png
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do get where you're coming from and a lot of the themes posted aren't to my taste, but your design is weak. If you're going to make something so minimal that it's just a gradient fill and a font, the font needs to be something so special it can carry the whole design, and that really isn't... italics.. seriously..? It looks very dated. I think you've shown a lot of arrogance to come in here disrespecting the work put in by some very talented people, and then put forward your own amateurish design as an example of what they should be doing. You're not going to recruit anyone to help you that way.
Personally, I don't have the time or the motivation to work on full system themes without any kind of reward or pay. This is difficult, time consuming work, as you will soon find out if you make the effort to learn for yourself. I will however be leaning much more towards the minimal style in my future GDE themes, as it's my own personal preference.
Minimal is a very difficult look to pull off in an interface without looking bland, but there are some fine examples around here. Take a look at Elegance for a start. I respect that theme a lot.
Forget changing codes and such, just go to Sweeter Home and build it yourself. There are tons of themes there that look like your example.
http://www.sweeterhome.com/
Hey man, I just felt like I needed to give you some words of advice from an artistic standpoint.
I don't know your design capabilities, I don't claim this is your best, and I don't claim you are a world renown designer.
But every designer I do know deals with battling what other people say about their work.
We can choose to be offended, or we can choose to take it as a way of improving.
There are two words for this. One is greatly different from the other.
One is Criticism, and the other is constructive criticism.
Some of these posts I have seen are just pure criticism. (Perhaps this is why I see a whole page of posts gone but others I see here are constructively trying to criticize the work so that you may gain humility towards others works, and improve in your own.
This is a true barebone theme my friend, but I see potential in it. It doesn't matter what other's think, it matters what you think. If you ever need some help with this man, feel free to e-mail me. I am no dev, but I am a designer, and I would love to help you in the artistic aspects of this project, so that you can have something to be strongly proud of in the end of this. Let me know what's up. Shoot me a PM.
A loving word from one designer to another,
-VolcomDesigns
volcomdesigns said:
Hey man, I just felt like I needed to give you some words of advice from an artistic standpoint.
I don't know your design capabilities, I don't claim this is your best, and I don't claim you are a world renown designer.
But every designer I do know deals with battling what other people say about their work.
We can choose to be offended, or we can choose to take it as a way of improving.
There are two words for this. One is greatly different from the other.
One is Criticism, and the other is constructive criticism.
Some of these posts I have seen are just pure criticism. (Perhaps this is why I see a whole page of posts gone but others I see here are constructively trying to criticize the work so that you may gain humility towards others works, and improve in your own.
This is a true barebone theme my friend, but I see potential in it. It doesn't matter what other's think, it matters what you think. If you ever need some help with this man, feel free to e-mail me. I am no dev, but I am a designer, and I would love to help you in the artistic aspects of this project, so that you can have something to be strongly proud of in the end of this. Let me know what's up. Shoot me a PM.
A loving word from one designer to another,
-VolcomDesigns
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*applause* well said!
Word up Xda...
In this thread i'd like to share and find out about your advice's, tips and tricks to be a stellar icon designer. Whether its for android, your computer desktop or any other devices.
Beginners or advanced creators, whats your advice's? what's on your mind...???
Tips
Persistence means something in the icon design field, be ready for the long haul if you wanna leave a trace.
Create nice previews of your icons, first impression counts a lot.
Quality is Very important, create with the highest resolution possible.
Find the thematic you want to go for, and stick with it consistently throughout the icon set.
Accessibility will help you, make a simple pack with your .png images in it, and also explore new avenues like creating a icon pack app for the market or even be part of a theme. It will be appreciated because users have different taste.
Don't forget! Make sure a user can see what the icon means, its easy to get caught up in a design that very nice but unusable. Icons are suppose to be functional, so if you make the symbol too small or too distorted its useless...
Maybe your a designer, not a developer... stop trying to do everything yourself and make associations with others. It will let you focus on you main task (making awesome icons) and the devs can do theirs (creating awesome apps). Believe me its the only way to have a complete product. Remember make associations, don't just hire someone to help... A partner is more likely to give his best than someone simply hired who wants his paycheck and then move to another project. Never underestimate the power of involvement.
Tricks
Use Photoshop for the final render of your icons.
In Photoshop, use Actions and Scripting to automate some process.
In Illustrator, use Actions and Scripting to automate some process.
Go beyond, right now im mostly using C4D a 3D software to help make my icons objects and have more possibilities.
Learn Python scripting to automate some process in your 3D software.
They are plugins like EyeCandy for Photoshop that can extend manipulation beyond the realms of generic Photoshop filters.
The size of icons on older Android devices is 72px by 72px, on newer devices its 96px by 96px but create more than one size because you'll need a big version of it sooner or later, i recommend simply doing them at 200px by 200px to start with and ideally you would go 512px by 512px, yes really...
Start with a vector (I make mine with Adobe Flash, or/and Adobe illustrator) then import that vector in Photoshop, that way you'll be ready if you need to make a bigger size later, vectors are really crisp and infinite resolution.
Test your icons in a phone, sometimes it looks very different than on your computer screen, often its a brightness contrast issue.
Test the icons on a black and also a white background, users have various wallpapers.
Advice's
There a preconception in this field that icons should be free, no matter how much work goes into them. If you intend to generate funds from them, be aware that its 1 paid icon packs per 500 free ones out-there... YOU WILL HAVE TO WORK HARD.
Be original, its not easy to come up with something new, yet its not impossible. Do your research before you jump in and study the style you intend to use like its your high schools final exam. its worth the effort.
UPDATES, be ready for them...
Trends are fun to mimic, but in the end it won't save you. Inovate!
Listen to user requests, its your ultimate guide to what you need in the icon pack, one requested icon is worth more than 10 nobody cares about.
It may be tedious, but redraw each icons yourself so that you have the best quality to start with, simply copy/pasting images is not recommended, and very hard to manipulate.
Piracy is rampant in icon design, but the way i think about it is that piracy is simply a competing business. They happen to sell at the price of $0, so you can't beat them on price, but you CAN beat them on 1. convenience and 2. content (piracy takes awhile to get up to date unless you have a hugely popular pack which gets pirated within HOURS of release). As long as these two points outweigh the price difference, you'll be ok.
DON'T give up! Keep trying as every endeavor faces roadblock at one point.
Rule of thumb for posting online: Treat people as if they were standing in front of you. Be consciously polite. Assume people's intentions are good. Remind yourself that your lucky to be alive, and grateful to be in the presence of others. Though I'm sure I've wavered from this philosophy on occasion, I'm not proud of those moments, and try to get better.
Templates
This is a Photoshop template i put together for you to study... if your new to photoshop it may help you with layer styles etc...
good advice tips tricks will be added in this list... its work in progress.
also
if you have tutorials it be nice... ill look for some too
Nice, I shall be keeping an eye on this thread. Currently using Illustrator for bits and pieces, mainly t-shirt vectors at the moment, but I've done a couple of logos too. Would really like to get my head round Photoshop, but it's quite daunting. Ultimate goal would be to have a completely unique personal Icon set that when happy I could release into the wild.
nice
Doktaphex said:
Nice, I shall be keeping an eye on this thread. Currently using Illustrator for bits and pieces, mainly t-shirt vectors at the moment, but I've done a couple of logos too. Would really like to get my head round Photoshop, but it's quite daunting. Ultimate goal would be to have a completely unique personal Icon set that when happy I could release into the wild.
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Click to collapse
Good that you know illustrator! cause its all about vector! you import it in photoshop to achieve a clean look... ill have to add this to the advice's.. THANKS
Its the photoshop part that I struggle with, although to be honest I haven't actually tried to use it that much, I've been spending all my time learning Illustrator and trying to achieve something that I find acceptable in that. Guess its time to move on to the next step.
I thought that I would show you lovely folks the icons that I designed for my website. I made a couple of others after them, such as the camera and www icons. The plan at the time was to build a whole set based on these, but I have still not got round to it.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
photoshop
I have added a photoshop template for you to check out...
This is an awsome start for someone to begin messing about with an original/variation of an icon set.
thanks.
and im even going to throw you a "thanks" from people who wont even say "good job" or "thanks". damn haters!
How do you add a template to Photoshop? I've had this trouble many times and dragging a template onto Photoshop didn't allow me to do much with it. I wanted to use the template but change it out with something else.
well
TheSwaggeR said:
How do you add a template to Photoshop? I've had this trouble many times and dragging a template onto Photoshop didn't allow me to do much with it. I wanted to use the template but change it out with something else.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is only a photoshop file... just click it and it will open with photoshop.
Take note that the version of photoshop you have matters.
For example, this is a photoshop cs5 file... if you open in up with, lets say photoshop 7, it may open but will be messed up since layer styles (which is an efx if i may say so) wasn't introduced till later version.
What version are you using?
I'm using Photoshop CS5 Extended.
I've been downloading a bunch of extension tools like Eyecandy 6 for it. Gotta be able to have several different styles and stuff to create unique icons with it. Eyecandy 6 is great but just doesn't seem to have a whole lot in it. So I went ahead and got quite a few more extra extensions for it.
My other question is, where can I find more icons to replace/switch out? I was at your website and I didn't see stuff like Terminal Emulator and other stuff. I could adb pull every single app off my phone, even from data and system/data, and find the icons from all of them in their respective folders but that would take forever.
I've basically been looking around to see if anyone had uploaded a huge set of plain, original icons that I could get and use them to replace or switch out.
TheSwaggeR said:
I'm using Photoshop CS5 Extended.
I've been downloading a bunch of extension tools like Eyecandy 6 for it. Gotta be able to have several different styles and stuff to create unique icons with it. Eyecandy 6 is great but just doesn't seem to have a whole lot in it. So I went ahead and got quite a few more extra extensions for it.
My other question is, where can I find more icons to replace/switch out? I was at your website and I didn't see stuff like Terminal Emulator and other stuff. I could adb pull every single app off my phone, even from data and system/data, and find the icons from all of them in their respective folders but that would take forever.
I've basically been looking around to see if anyone had uploaded a huge set of plain, original icons that I could get and use them to replace or switch out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Photoshop plugins are great, ill add that to the list...
but of course they won't do all the work for you, you will still have to tweak them until you get the desired result. A good trick is to know what you want beforehand and then work until you have you goal meet. Don't let plugins of efx control you, but rather control it.
And now for the icons model. I KNOW ITS HARD, but you'll have to redraw anything you wanna use, it may seem harsh and tedious but that's the best way to go. Ill go even further and tell you that REDRAW is the key to a good icon set. No way around it, don't waste time looking for sources just get to redraw (in illustrator for example) right away and your time will be manage much better this way.
It wont take forever... but it wont be instantaneous either.
Redraw in Illustrator? I have no skills in drawing, lol. I just know how to switch out or replace icons, use the plugins and be crafty with it, tweak it of course. And add anything else to it.
Which Illustrator do you use? I could give it a try. I just don't think my lack of skills in the drawing section is going to get me anywhere on that part.
TheSwaggeR said:
Redraw in Illustrator? I have no skills in drawing, lol. I just know how to switch out or replace icons, use the plugins and be crafty with it, tweak it of course. And add anything else to it.
Which Illustrator do you use? I could give it a try. I just don't think my lack of skills in the drawing section is going to get me anywhere on that part.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can use Adobe illustrator, or my favourite for free hand vector drawing - Adobe Flash.
Is it bad that I vector all my stuff in PhotoShop with pentool, never really learned illustrator. I imagine I am doing it the hard way, but that often is my technique, as I don't read tutorials and try to create and recreate styles on my own.
Sent from Thunderbolt.
frostman89 said:
Is it bad that I vector all my stuff in PhotoShop with pentool, never really learned illustrator. I imagine I am doing it the hard way, but that often is my technique, as I don't read tutorials and try to create and recreate styles on my own.
Sent from Thunderbolt.
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Click to collapse
Pentool is good too, the reason i do vector with illustrator is because sometimes you may want to import these vector in something else than photoshop... for instance lets say you want them in a 3d software like 3dStudioMax... you can import your vector there and do the work, with the pentool you have to stay in photoshop... i think...
ThaPHLASH said:
Pentool is good too, the reason i do vector with illustrator is because sometimes you may want to import these vector in something else than photoshop... for instance lets say you want them in a 3d software like 3dStudioMax... you can import your vector there and do the work, with the pentool you have to stay in photoshop... i think...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure you can import Photoshop vector into 3dmax.
Frostman...whatever works for you and your comfortable, have at it. I have no idea how illustrator works. Guess its time to open it up and do a couple of tuts to get the hang of it.
And Congrats THAPHLASH for getting on the portal again.
ThaPHLASH said:
Pentool is good too, the reason i do vector with illustrator is because sometimes you may want to import these vector in something else than photoshop... for instance lets say you want them in a 3d software like 3dStudioMax... you can import your vector there and do the work, with the pentool you have to stay in photoshop... i think...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think u can import vector masks as I had done it to c4d for the text on this piece I did a while back.
Sent from Thunderbolt.
I don't even know what vector mask is and why it's that important to have. I didn't even know Photoshop had a vector on it. Photoshop use to be easy to use in the early release days. Now it's got a thousand more stuff added to it AND all these so-called "art laws" implemented into it. Like if you try to do one thing on it and then do something else to it with another tool it'll pop up some warning saying you can't do that without finalizing something. Wtf?
Art, to me, should have no limits and no rules, even by means of using Photoshop to create it.
I guess my high school days of Graphics Art classes is a thing of the past and cannot be used much today to implement into the designs of whatever I'm creating or fixing up.
Tha Krom
Today i was asked:
ThaPhlash, I am a big fan of your work! I am also a big fan of your chrome effect. 0_0 Wow. So smooth! Can't find a tutorial out there that can get me that level of smooth and shiny.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tha krom... try them!
very very shinny samples!
very very shinny ADW theme!
So im gonna answer here so that everyone can benefit...
For those i have used an incredible Photoshop plugin called eyeCandy.
I allows for many customization of that effect and many others, i encourage you to check it out. And purchase it so to encourage further development of this tool.
Hello fellow themers!
I've learned a few things so far about marketing and selling themes on Google's Play Store so far and figured I would share what I found. I hope others also share what they have learned about the process. So I just finished my first ever completed themes for android with the online Go Theme Factory packaging tool/site. I realized that my history in programming with Pascal and C++ really didn't match up to the ever growing JavaScript phenomenon and the learning curve would just be too much for me with my 80+ hour a week job as a Paramedic.. if you didn't already catch that from my username. I decided to use the Go Theme Factory because it was easy and simply took the programming portion of developing a theme out of the equation so I could focus on design. Long story short... I finally finished my completed themes and was ready for the MASSES to see what a fabuloussss job I have done!... Easier said than done. Believe me I'm not the type to walk into a room and expect things to be handed to me, i'm a very hard worker and have gotten where I am in life because of it. What I have realized so far is that to expect instant mass exposure is simply unreal. I've noticed that there are a few key components to being that sought after designer who gets thousands of downloads on the Google Play Store. Many of these may seem like a "no brainer" but to new designers in the theming market these pointers may really help...
1. [U]MAKE A QUALITY PRODUCT:[/U] If you don't put any effort into making a quality theme users will let you know. Spend that extra time to make sure you are producing a theme that you yourself would LOVE to have and interact with multiple times a day. Don't get me wrong if you are making a theme say to appease cute kitten lovers but you actually hate cats.. you won't necessarily love having that theme on your phone. Put yourself in the potential downloaders shoes. Create something that you can be proud of calling your own. If you lack on details and quality you may still get numerous downloads, but I wouldn't expect to have great user reviews if any at all. How likely would it be for that person to scroll down and click the "See More" link showing your other works of art that you spent countless hours on?
2. DEVELOP FOR MULTIPLE LAUNCHERS: There are numerous launchers available right now. Even though Go Launcher EX is the most popular launcher with regards to downloads, you shouldn't limit your audience to one platform. Almost all of the highest downloaded and highest grossing themes on the market and made to work with multiple launchers such as Go Launcher Ex, ADW, Nova, Apex, Solo, Action and more. The more launchers that your theme is compatible with the more exposure you will get. Why would someone download an ADW theme if they are a dedicated Nova user? It's easier for them to just simply search for a similar theme on their launchers platform.
3. KEEP CURRENT WITH TRENDS: Right now the highest trending themes and icon packs are ones that either resemble iOS 7 or ones that have a "flat" appearance. The iOS 7 style is obvious. Whenever a new phone or operating system comes out users want something similar. The "flat" style I believe is the lingering result of when the Windows phone first came out and theme developers rushed into reproducing the same look. Regardless of their origin it tells you something.. android is one of the only operating systems out there that you can openly and easily modify the look of your phones user interface. If they want the look and feel of an iPhone one day then the Windows phone the next they can have it. If you keep current with popular trends and new user interfaces, design a quality theme identical to it, and be one of the first offering it to a community of android users you may just be up there in one of the "Top New..." lists.
4. COMPATIBILITY FOR TABLETS: Phones aren't the only devices people want to modify anymore. There is more and more popularity in themes for tablets now than there ever was before. Tablet prices are much more affordable now. This translates into more users looking for apps, launchers, and ultimately themes. Icon sizes are increasing and pixel density seems to grow exponentially for each new device released. Make sure that your designs meet these visual expectations.
5. RESPOND TO EVERY REQUEST: I personally believe that great customer service is often overlooked with theme developers. If you aren't willing to take requests or answer questions that downloaders have then you shouldn't complain about your "CURRENT / TOTAL INSTALLS" ratio. Be nice, use smiley faces, complete requests as quick as you can, and guide them in the right direction when they ask a question about how to do something. Every person you help will remember it I promise you. If it means the difference between a 5 star rating or a 1 star rating you will be glad that you took that extra minute or two to respond back. Remember, you won't please everyone because you can't fix stupid but you can at least try to be helpful.
6. KEY WORDS AND KEY PHRASES: This topic specifically was one of the biggest eye openers for me after reading an article titled "App Store Optimization". Link below I highly suggest you give it a read. After I made a few changes in the wording of my app description I noticed an increase in downloads overnight. The article was written in 2011 by an android developer and the co-founder of ANDLABS. It covers the importance of key words and key phrases used in the description of your apps. Now I know a lot has changed since 2011 and android app searches on the Google Play Store do not rely as heavily on key words and phrases but regardless it will help. I won't name the specific icon pack but recently I saw one within the top 10 of the "Top New Paid" list with keywords of "iOS7, iOS 7, iPhone 5..." wayyyyyy down the bottom of the description where no typical user would think of reading. The kicker.. it was FAR from the new iOS 7's style and was marketed as a MIUI icon pack.
Link: http://droid-blog.net/2011/06/23/app-store-optimization-aso-14-keywords-description/
I could sit and type for hours about other pieces of advice I've learned throughout the process but I've chatted enough.
What has helped you gain exposure and downloads? Whats the best advice you can give to new theme developers?
Reply back and share with everyone!
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My FREE theme on Google Play Store - Doggy Style (Green) currently only for GO Launcher because I'm still a NOOB!