ANN: MacThemes Interviews MindFad

Joshua Jones is better known as MindFad in the Mac GUI community, a name he made for himself by creating an esoteric series of icon sets based on Nintendo video games, with a cartoonish style that was perfect for the job. Today, Josh continues his tradition with a twist - his newest set, based on the hit game Metroid: Prime, is his first to be rendered in 3D, and infused with the darker style that Retro Studios created so successfully in their critically acclaimed game. In this Insider interview, Josh talks to us about some of the techniques that a premier OS X icon designer uses daily, the advantages and pitfalls of going 3D, and his favorite Mac artists.

http://www.mathgamehouse.com/mt/insi...ad/insider.png

Sweet. :) :cool:

Seriously, thanks again for having me for an Insider. I really was honored to be asked to do such a thing.

why'd you interview MindFad? MindFad sux.

jk lolz

Great! Gonna go read it now. :thumbsup:

'fad is teh awesome.

congrats for the recognition man. :thumbsup:

i laughed. i cried. i lawl'd.

:D :cool:

That HD icon is soooo awesome. It needs to be a theme. Although it would be really hard to pull it off, with all the textures...

The harddrive icon looks way too "made in a 3d app"ish.

:/ I think it's cause of the lighting... and maybe the texture bump.

Anyways, you should ask nintendo for their permission... that's not really nice :hmm:

good interview.. nice projects.

Now the question is:

Did Adam Betts make that image? or Mind Fad? :D

-Owl

Adam did the tube (I think, anyway; looks like it). Very cool. :cool:

Very cool interview. I like it when you guys interview icon designers. Mike Matas interview was superb and now Mindfad. Pretty awesome. Maybe you could line up an interview with Dave Brasgalla... ;)

The very same idea crossed my mind... ;)

nice interview and cute icons.

but imho You should really work on 3d modeling and texturing. i am looking forward to new icons. :rolleyes:

I'm confused. I should stick with 3-D modeling and texturing? Or I should work on it because you don't think it's that good? And you're looking forward to them, but you roll your eyes? Or did you hit the wrong smiley button? :confused:

i mean that Your 3d icons are not as good as Your 2d icons. That is why You should work harder on 3d modeling to make it look better.

"I am looking forward to new icons" - it means that i am looking forward to new, fixed 3d icons because i don't like the quality presented on screenshots.

However, i really admire Your work and You as a person. I just wanted to say gently that Your 3d icons needs more work because they are too 3dish now. Thank You and i hope I didn't make You feel bad - i really like Your ideas and general look of icons.

All the best,
Milo

A 3-D rendered, more realistic style is what I'm going for. I guess one could call that "too 3-D," but that's the idea. Doesn't necessarily mean I'm not working hard enough on them. ;) And what exactly needs to "look better"? I'm open to criticism, I just don't understand exactly what you don't like about them.

Still, I will probably be changing around the lighting of a few of those on the website, so we'll see how it goes. Hey, not everyone's going to like them, but that's cool. I'm trying my best. :cool:

i don't like the texture you use on the Metroid icons. its ugly, and not Metroid at all.

yes. the texture needs to be changed.

about "look better". well make Your icon a bit softer and less solid-modeled.

feel free to take a look here and please comment if You want http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.p...readid=212408. they were rendered in 3d program and almost not retouched in any 2d app (only adding a shadow).

like i said i believe in Your creativity so i am sure you will change that hd icon to something much better.

Milo

What don't you like about it?

What is wrong with it exactly?

So we have a difference of opinion, and a different way of rendering 3-D icons. I render mine to be touched up. And I'm not trying to have a soft look, like the icons you posted. Art styles and techniques are different things.

*Shrug*

Whatever. I can't please everyone. :)

Have you played prime at all?

twice.

the Metals in Metroid look slick and smooth. its the rocks and other things that are all textured. so unless you were attempting to make the icons look like rocks or whatever, you won. :D

Awh, come on, not the overall feel of the game. :) IMO, anyway. There will be slick icons in the style of Samus's suit metal, don't worry. And besides, all of the icons I have shown thus far have been touched up even more. Lighting, too. They basically look the same, but there have been changes. I'm not gonna post them, though. I'll just save that for release. ;)

While I'm here...
New MP 2: E signature! Sorry for the completely empty post, but I couldn't resist, 'specially with Josh's and fireside's sigs.

Oh yeah, Josh's interview was awesome. I can't wait to see SR388 all over my Mac.

to wickedfour: change the freaking font on Metroid 2002 and make it bigger. courier sucks small, and its hard to read.

Too bad Mindfad isn't here in beautiful Montreal, Quebec where there are several game compamies including Ubi Soft

I'd move if they were looking. ;)

Sure they are looking:

http://jobs.ubisoft.ca/index_en.php

List of several game companies in Montreal: http://www.igda.org/montreal/links.htm

Ever heard of Centre NAD ( NATIONAL ANIMATION AND DESIGN CENTRE )?

Pretty great place to study if you intend to get a job in gaming: (open in Mozilla, I don't think it's Safari friendly) http://www.nadcentre.com

All these resouces in my hometown and I don't take advantage *sigh* Oh well

You'd automatically be teh world's greatest living Canadian if you moved, that much we know for sure... It'd cause confusion on AIM, though. I think we need you to stay in Fla. just for the sake of clarity.

Oh, and kick-ass interview, and icons! The world is your oyster, dude. Rock on.

CV

Well that's a bit of an insult to me and all other Canadians

It's a bit of an inside joke. Not meant to be or taken as an insult. :)

Yeah, apologies. It wasn't meant as a knock against your county, but as a nod to the 'Fad. Though there may be some Canadians hereabouts who have besmirched the name of your beautiful country, the joke seems to pervade the lounge, mostly, and I've taken leave of that asylum for a while, anyway for what now appear to be good reasons. :) I'll leave that childishness there.

But, let it be said, that if 'Fad were to put forth in Texas, the rest of us here'd be knocked down a rung or two, as well. Peace.

CV