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bbxstudio · 06:38 PM

Slightly off topic I suppose (after all, it only runs in Windows but it was created on a Mac in OSX), just one of the many projects that have been stealing time away from my first OSX theme (mere days away from its own preview if I can ever get those days in)...

The official Terminator3 WindowsMediaPlayer skin I did with Skinsfactory (I just push the pixels - they make it work) is getting rave reviews on the big Windows customization sites:

http://www.wincustomize.com/skins.as...y=9&skinid=234

http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/1839319

Not sure that the stills do it justice - it's got some cool startup and runtime animations, but like all WMP skins it's windows only and for some bizarre reason is stuck with a 1-bit mask. Took 8 weeks all-told to sketch up, create vector masks, airbrush, assemble and animate... Ironic that I'll never see it up and running myself, I guess.

codywalton · May 6, 2003, 11:24 AM

looks killer... any chance of an audion port?

bbxstudio · May 6, 2003, 11:51 AM

Originally posted by codywalton:
looks killer... any chance of an audion port?

Nope (not my call unfortunately)... I myself am waiting for the next big revision of Audion (one that supports true runtime animations beyond the digits and net indicators) before I start doing more Audion skins. To be 100% honest, although I LOVE making Audion skins and find them fun to use, I mostly live in iTunes these days.

mrbiiggy2 · May 6, 2003, 11:53 AM

Why the hell is this here?

Adam Betts · May 6, 2003, 12:10 PM

Amazing design! The reflection looks very realistic

p.h..i...l.... · May 6, 2003, 12:14 PM

Originally posted by mrbiiggy2:
Why the hell is this here?

you haven�t read his post, have you?

bbxstudio · May 6, 2003, 12:32 PM

Originally posted by mrbiiggy2:
Why the hell is this here?

Fair question - I guess it's just to show that Mac GUI guys can get props from the 'dark side' and that one can turn a hobby into a profitable commercial edeavour. It's still GUI-related and it was actually created in OSX, so it sort of slips in under the wire I suppose. What are you, the forum police? ;p

codywalton · May 6, 2003, 12:42 PM

Originally posted by mrbiiggy2:
Why the hell is this here?

it's a gui design made by a well-known mac/win gui designer.... i think the gui customization forum is the proper place for it.

nooch.

bbxstudio · May 6, 2003, 01:10 PM

Here's a zoom of the startup sequence as well (apologies to dial-up users - I'll edit it out if it's slowing people down drastically):

Now all we need is the ability to incorporate runtime anims into Aqua interface elements

Weeee!

Phazer80s · May 6, 2003, 01:33 PM

Originally posted by bbxstudio:
Now all we need is the ability to incorporate runtime anims into Aqua interface elements Weeee!

Your interface is excellent, William. Congrats! The luminescence and polish fit the style perfectly. For us designers, it's nice to read the interface was the product of a lot of hard work, not something you 'whipped up last night over a few Timbits.' Your attention to detail shows.

Despite the skin's graphics were created in OS X, it's really sad that Windows has become the hotspot for cutting-edge GUI design. It's like you've grown some sweet produce that can't be consumed in it's own country.

Will Panther open up OS X to GUI designers?

kingskel · May 6, 2003, 01:36 PM

Sir! That is impressive. Congratulations on your skills and efforts.

milhouse · May 6, 2003, 01:45 PM

bbx, damn fine work!!

silverghost · May 6, 2003, 02:20 PM

Great work!! I use Maya for my modeling(not for gui work though) and ive got to say thats some cool modeling.

Keep up the great work, lets just hope that future versions of OSX allow more freedom in the theming area.

aloha

swiz · May 6, 2003, 02:25 PM

Although I prefer simplistic looking interfaces for the apps I use, your talent and execution of this look is undeniable. Very rad!

NetworkShadow · May 6, 2003, 02:28 PM

Make an Audion face of it!!!!

phillryu · May 6, 2003, 02:43 PM

Haha I guessed it right!

BTW... god damn that looks nice. I'm wondering if your theme will look anything like this?

Cerbero · May 6, 2003, 02:59 PM

Wow that's.. Just incredible. Your attention to details really shows. Great job!

NetworkShadow · May 6, 2003, 03:21 PM

Am I the only one who wants the Winodws Media player 9 for Mac OS X? Even if our OS looks nicer, our apps are more ugly than a lot of Winodws apps. Where are skins for iTunes?!

gdiddy · May 6, 2003, 05:01 PM

Whoa.

Very nice.

gdiddy · May 6, 2003, 05:07 PM

Do you think this "Earning a Living" excuse will make us forgive you for not getting your newest theme finished? Not even providing us with screenshots?

Oh, next we'll hear about the wife and baby!

Billy, this whole money/family life thing is slowing you down! Where is the Mackarana theme?

bbxstudio · May 6, 2003, 05:37 PM

I'm wondering if your theme will look anything like this?

Do you think this "Earning a Living" excuse will make us forgive you for not getting your newest theme finished? Not even providing us with screenshots?

The new theme (it's called MIRAI now, I'll have updated teasers and previews soon) doesn't look like this (the high contrast here wouldn't work for a system-wide UI), but the attention to detail and overall polish are even more anal... you'll see - it'll be worth waiting for.

NetworkShadow · May 6, 2003, 05:44 PM

I want MIRAI and new skins for Aution!!!

I hate the Mac Windows Media player, I want 9 ported to Mac.

I've been looking forward to you're next theme ever since I got OS X when it first cameout.

bbxstudio · May 6, 2003, 05:52 PM

Wow - thanks for the props guys

I'm really pumped now... giving me lots of steam to pour into the new theme. Thanks again for all the positive feedback - I really am touched.

Gatorzx2 · May 6, 2003, 06:01 PM

Wow! Quality work right there.

Really looking forward to the preview of your theme.

allap · May 6, 2003, 06:54 PM

Originally posted by NetworkShadow:
Make an Audion face of it!!!!

He probably can't because the T3 skin was made for and thus belongs to Warner Bros (or whatever company paid him). right?

NetworkShadow · May 6, 2003, 08:22 PM

He could ask them about making an official Audion face too... That shouldn't be a problem since it's free for download as a promo for the movie.

bbxstudio · May 6, 2003, 08:32 PM

Originally posted by allap:
He probably can't because the T3 skin was made for and thus belongs to Warner Bros (or whatever company paid him). right?

Correct - it's not mine to port... I was hired by a company called SkinsFactory to provide the art, they did the coding and selling. The movie studio owns it and they've got an exclusive deal (I'd imagine) with Microsoft. It's locked up tight, I can't even distribute it - only show it as a portfolio piece. So no Audion skin unfortunately.

NetworkShadow · May 6, 2003, 08:53 PM

NOOO!!! There's no way to get it on a Mac! That's not fair!

Maybe you can make it up to us though in you're new theme? You said somthing about new skins with MIRAI didn't you?

smeger · May 6, 2003, 10:43 PM

Wow - that's some seriously beautiful work! Nice job!

x user · May 6, 2003, 11:06 PM

Wow, i'm not much into the 'complicated' look. But I have to repect the artwork that went into that. How much you get paid for that? By the hour or job?

n8x · 11:29 PM

That is the most elaborate and insane skin I have ever seen! Heh, I upgraded my VPC to WinXP so i could try this out.. The little animations are gorgeous, and I love the whole opening effect.

Amazing peice of work, I can't wait to see your fabled Mirai, BBX!

intastella · May 7, 2003, 12:40 AM

I love the skin, especially how in the initial "unlocking", the texture rotates but not the lighting. Is it really the texture rotating? I can't actually tell what I'm seeing moving on the surface.

Also, what was the theory/idea behind the secondary "iris" opening? The straight joints morph into curved surfaces as they pull away. Is that based on the liquid metal Terminator? If so, why not push the liquid metal aspect in the animation?

I think it is a really invintive approach, just wondering what the thinking behind it was. Don't get me wrong, it's brilliant.

Don

bbxstudio · May 7, 2003, 02:35 AM

Originally posted by intastella:
I love the skin, especially how in the initial "unlocking", the texture rotates but not the lighting. Is it really the texture rotating? I can't actually tell what I'm seeing moving on the surface.
Also, what was the theory/idea behind the secondary "iris" opening? The straight joints morph into curved surfaces as they pull away. Is that based on the liquid metal Terminator? If so, why not push the liquid metal aspect in the animation?
Don

The idea is that the reflections and lighting wouldn't move on a totally reflective surface as it travels along a continuous plane (as you slide a mirror from side to side, the reflection remains stationary - only here the mirror is the curved plates of the iris gliding across the surface of the glass). The second anomaly you mention was unintentional - the iris is the only 3D element in the whole thing (it was originally airbrushed but it turned out I would have to airbrush over 80 frames individually so I faked it in Form?Z/Strata and ran it through a series of post-rendered actions in Photoshop to make it match the airbrushed main body)... the iris is actually made up of segmented 'cups' or hemispheres - the straight edges look curved as they slide away because they're sliding around the curved surface of the glass, the effect is exaggerated because the cup assembly scale was decreased along the depth axis prior to rendering so that the lighting and environmental gradient were as consistent as possible with the pre-existing airbrushed elements. Complicated, but you asked

bbxstudio · May 7, 2003, 02:43 AM

Originally posted by x user:
Wow, i'm not much into the 'complicated' look. But I have to repect the artwork that went into that. How much you get paid for that? By the hour or job?

Confidential of course, but seeing as it took 8 weeks (not steady but close) to pump out everything, it would have to be per job and not hourly (otherwise I'd be rolling in the dough).

If you're asking because you want to know if it's possible to make a living from this sort of thing, I'd say it's very possible but it doesn't pay out as well as illustration or photography does because there's no rights transferred or usage attached (the copyright laws regarding interface design are stupid that way). Pays out about the same as straight print or web design does, I guess.

iconizer · May 7, 2003, 09:10 AM

Really Amazing!!!

I'mDaMac · May 7, 2003, 02:16 PM

The design is awesome. What was your inspiration for the design? Would you mind sharing the technique you used to design this and which programs you used?

Great work.

bbxstudio · May 7, 2003, 03:22 PM

Originally posted by I'mDaMac:
The design is awesome. What was your inspiration for the design? Would you mind sharing the technique you used to design this and which programs you used?

Great work.

Thanks! - the design was inspired by top-secret pics supplied by the movie studio of what the female terminator's head looks like with all the skin off (gasp!)... it's 99% Photoshop, started out with tiny thumbnail sketches, blew one up and fleshed it out with mechanical pencils, scanned that and used it as a template in illustrator to build vector masks (lots of pathfinder booleans in there), brought those into Photoshop and started airbrushing - Photoshop file (just for the metal surfacing) topped out at 216 layers, merged that, did some tonal adjustments and then started building in controls and animations - the screen and startup iris sequence were built in seperate files and composited later. All told the final optimized file I supplied for coding had over 600 layers! Each animation frame for each element has it's own numbered and masked layer... it almost drove me insane.

NetworkShadow · May 7, 2003, 03:34 PM

Wow crazy.

wreks · May 7, 2003, 04:12 PM

you've already got plenty of praise so..

[enter devil's advocate mode]
It definitely looks cool, but I don't think it's good design... what's the point of all that metal, does it do anything or is it just there for looks? Form should follow function, right? You've got a lot of form that doesn't have any function.

Spatially, the eye candy part is taking up more room than functional part. Maybe you could have incorporated the buttons into some intuitive places within the metal, rather than cramming them all in the center. As is I'd have a hard time finding the right button to push. That's my critique, it looks cool but I don't think it would be easy to use. I couldn't do it without looking.

Of course my itunes controller is synergy, I don't even use an interface just the keyboard commands. So who am I to say anthing?

KoL · May 7, 2003, 04:58 PM

WOW thats awesome bbxstudio

daftpig · May 7, 2003, 05:17 PM

I know I hardly post.

But... I must say I haven't set my eyes on something as beautiful as this for a long long time!

Great work... you pple always keep me happy.

EDIT: I wonder when I can, if ever, get to such a level of design proficiency. I'm not formally trained.

::maroma:: · May 7, 2003, 07:06 PM

Excellent work bbx. I am truley jealous that I cannot get this for OS X. But this also just makes me want your new theme even more. Keep up the great work! And get paid!

Nebagakid · May 7, 2003, 10:27 PM

fhqwhgads!!!!!!!!!

That is so so so awesome

i am really jealous of your awesome work, that isr ealyl really really really NICE

makre more thingies like that!

mrtew · May 7, 2003, 11:30 PM

That looks really cool! Is there any way someone can post a quicktime capture of what the animations look like in motion for those of us that don't have any access to Windoze computers (or have no administrative access to work computers and are thus unable to install anything at all on them).

bbxstudio · May 7, 2003, 11:36 PM

Originally posted by wreks:
you've already got plenty of praise so..

[enter devil's advocate mode]
It definitely looks cool, but I don't think it's good design... what's the point of all that metal, does it do anything or is it just there for looks? Form should follow function, right? You've got a lot of form that doesn't have any function.

Spatially, the eye candy part is taking up more room than functional part. Maybe you could have incorporated the buttons into some intuitive places within the metal, rather than cramming them all in the center. As is I'd have a hard time finding the right button to push. That's my critique, it looks cool but I don't think it would be easy to use. I couldn't do it without looking.

Of course my itunes controller is synergy, I don't even use an interface just the keyboard commands. So who am I to say anthing?

They're all good points - one of these cases of a client fixating on something early on to such an extent that attempts to address the issues you mention proved impossible once the ball got rolling. Besides, these things are pure eye-candy - an attempt (that seems to work) to call attention to the source property or promotion. I'm generally much more anal about form vs. function myself

SteevAK · May 7, 2003, 11:54 PM

Wow, that is amazingly cool.

Now back to themes for you!