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+--- Thread: New Skins (?) (/thread-585.html)
- Denis - 01-17-2003
Sorry, shapeshifter, I just realised I actually uninstalled Diskeeper.
It was causing errors when trying to access the registry.
And to top it off, I also realised I'm not using Partion Magic original icon, as it is extrenely ugly.
![[Image: partition_magic.gif]](http://www.teaching-tools.com/hosted/partition_magic.gif)
I'm using the Windows XP blue pie-like one instead:
![[Image: blue_pie.gif]](http://www.teaching-tools.com/hosted/blue_pie.gif)
I wouldn't need any other icons anyway, only the ones I'm currently using on the taskbar.
Thanks for the tip about the icon editor, I've downloaded it and will give it a try.
- Denis - 01-17-2003
To make up for my sillyness I've found something that could be useful to you if you'd like to make icons with Photoshop.
It's a plugin that works with PS6 and PS7 (maybe older versions too).
IconBuilder
Let me know what you think.
- shapeshifter - 01-17-2003
That would be very handy... if I used Photoshop
Unfortunately, I am poor (spent all my money on TLB
) and can't afford PS. I use Paint Shop Pro, and it does everything I need. Well, with the exception being create icons directly. I make them in PSP, save them as pngs, then use IW to create the icons.Anyway, thanks for the tip
Oh, and thanks for the tip about Phoenix, too. Been using it for a copule days now, and so far, it's kicking some pretty major booty.
- Denis - 01-18-2003
You're welcome.
Glad to hear you like Phoenix.
Don't forget to check its available extensions and themes, as well as checking their support forum.
If you have a question about it, pm me, I have only be using it for a week or so, but I've learned a few things.
- shapeshifter - 01-20-2003
Denis, I've finished icons for all your taskbar buttons but one. I'm having trouble coming up with a concept for the Multimedia Tools icon. Maybe if I knew your definition of "Multimedia" and/or which programs you have in that menu, I could come up with something. What icon are you using now (I ca't really tell from the screenshot)? Suggestions are always welcome, too.
In addition to 5 of your 6 icons (with 3 versions of Internet Utilities), I've also finished 11 others. Here's a list (I'll post snapshots later): Internet Explorer, Phoenix (I didn't like the Mozilla icon, and the "Flaming Duck" in the help menu was a little lame, so I made a "Firebird" looking icon in the same style), IconWorkshop, Notepad, RegEdit, Paint Shop Pro 7, Explorer, Favorites, Games, My Documents, and Shutdown. I keep getting SO many more ideas, like drive icons, folder icons, more and more application icons, icons for games, etc., so I wonder if I'll ever be "done". Plus, I've got a cool concept for a spinoff "line", too - similar design, but part of the icon extends outside the "box".
- Denis - 01-20-2003
I can see how making icons could become addictive.
Here are pictures of my "Multimedia" menus:
Multimedia Menus.
- shapeshifter - 01-21-2003
Ok, Small Packages - Load 1 is finished. I'm working on a web page to showcase them, especially since it looks like this could become a full-time hobby. In the meantime, here's a snapshot of the 20 icons in the 245kb zip file:
![[Image: Small%20Packages%20-%20Load%201%20Snapshot.jpg]](http://mywebpages.comcast.net/rtoothman/Small%20Packages%20-%20Load%201%20Snapshot.jpg)
Denis: I seem to remember you saying you were on dialup, and that you only needed icons for your taskbar, so I made a smaller zip (95kb) for you. It contains Start Menu, Internet, Internet 2, Internet Tools, Miscellaneous Tools, Multimedia Tools, Hard Disk, and Outlook Express. If you'd like it even smaller, I can create a zip with just the 16x16 versions of those icons.
I also created two Mail Monitor animations, one for small (16x16) icons, and one for large (32x32). The zip file is 22kb. Here's an animated gif demo:
![[Image: mmani32.gif]](http://mywebpages.comcast.net/rtoothman/mmani32.gif)
Comments/Suggestions/Requests/Tips always appreciated
- shapeshifter - 01-21-2003
I have no idea why the iB code for the links doesn't work in that last post, but the images are fine. <shrug> At least you can copy/paste the urls.
- Yuri Kobets - 01-21-2003
Excellent work! Especially I like the icon of Outlook Express with animation - this is fantastic!!!
Quote:I have no idea why the iB code for the links doesn't work in that last post, but the images are fine. <shrug> At least you can copy/paste the urls.I guess IB do not like spaces in URL's
- shapeshifter - 01-21-2003
Thank you, Yuri
A little disclaimer, though. Two of the icons (Games and Internet Explorer) were cropped from 128x128 png versions of Foood's iCandy icons. For Favorites, I used a picture off the Microsoft web site. I drew all the other icons in a vector graphics program, using the original icons as reference, where applicable.
I've already made 6 more "My Blahblah" type folder icons. I'll release these (along with a template for making your own) in the next "Load". I also plan on making other drive icons (CD, CDR, Floppy, Zip, etc.).
- Denis - 01-21-2003
Quote:Excellent work! Especially I like the icon of Outlook Express with animation - this is fantastic!!!I couldn't agree more!!
Really a fantastic job, shapeshifter.
Thank you for making such great icons, they are already on my TLB.
![[Image: tlb-shapeshifter.gif]](http://www.teaching-tools.com/hosted/tlb-shapeshifter.gif)
- Denis - 01-21-2003
P.S: and thank you for making smaller packages in consideration for my dial-up connection.
I still downloaded the "big" zip cause it was still small.
- shapeshifter - 01-21-2003
You are absolutely welcome
And thank you for helping me discover this new creative outlet.I chose formats and sizes keeping file size in mind, knowing that they would eventually be downloaded. Unfortunately, my 3.5 Mb download speed has skewed my perspective on what's considered "small"
Apparently, I overcompensated, but it is better to err on the side of caution, they say. I deleted all the WinXP (32bit) icon formats from within the icon files to keep the individual files relatively small. Since the icons don't use any alpha blending, they look exactly the same as the 24bit versions. I decided to include the 8bit versions as well, even though I wasn't sure how often they'd actually be used. In the end, the ability to control the color palette was worth the few extra bytes. I couldn't ever get the 4bit versions to look like anything but colorful noise, so I scrapped them. If you can't display more than 16 colors, you're probably not interested in icon collecting anyway.Anyway, I'm in the process of relearning html (and css and xml and js and flash and all the other stuff that's gained popularity since the last time I wrote a web page). My plan is to eventually have a full-fledged icon site that Yuri can link to
I added 24x24 and 48x48 versions of the MailMon animations. I'll be adding those and removing the spaces in the urls soon.
- Denis - 01-21-2003
Well, if you need any help with your website let me know.
I know PHP/MySQL, Flash, HTML, and some JavaScript.
- shapeshifter - 01-21-2003
I appreciate it, and just might take you up on that before all's said and done