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Arty Farty Missions

Posted: Thu Oct 24, 2002 2:05 pm
by Matt Darcy
....for all you arty types here is your misson.Create a winamp 2 skin.Create a winamp plugin in a Starfleet ThemeCrearte some more high res big back drops for me, I crave a new background.Create some windows Icons.(or a linux theme if you feel cocky)let the challange begin........

Arty Farty Missions

Posted: Fri Oct 25, 2002 12:53 am
by Bradster
Question:Do Windows icons use a 8-bit alpha channel yet? Or are they still using 1-bit masks?update: I'm working on 128*128 icons for Mac OS X and convert them to Windows format. I'll have to custom tailor them a bit more if the alpha doesn't work, though. Windows icons use sizes 16*16, 32*32, and 48*48, right?(Edited by Bradster at 3:10 am on Oct. 25, 2002)

Arty Farty Missions

Posted: Fri Oct 25, 2002 3:09 am
by Bradster
Here's a snapshot of my first six icons on Mac OS X:

Arty Farty Missions

Posted: Fri Oct 25, 2002 8:55 am
by Matt Darcy
Very nice, you certainly like your Mac.

Arty Farty Missions

Posted: Fri Oct 25, 2002 11:44 am
by AndyThomas
Presumably you've seen the wallpapers that are available on SFXB? I only mention them because they're not very well flagged - have a look at this page:http://www.sfxb.co.uk/ivs/stftgallmisc.htmlI've never tried doing a full theme for Star Fleet and I'm more Mr Text than I am Mr Art. BTW, Brad, those Dai-X images are, strictly speaking, the copyright of a professional artist. If you start distributing them could you acknowledge that in the readme file or similar? His details are in the Manga Max article.As far as your query goes, I doubt Windows icons are that sophisticated. The only one I've ever done is a small .ico format X-Bomber which is supposed to display if you bookmark/add SFXB to your favourites. Not sure if it'll display:

Arty Farty Missions

Posted: Fri Oct 25, 2002 1:13 pm
by Bradster
Quote Quote: from AndyThomas on 12:44 pm on Oct. 25, 2002BTW, Brad, those Dai-X images are, strictly speaking, the copyright of a professional artist. If you start distributing them could you acknowledge that in the readme file or similar?Yes, I was already considering how I should handle that. I'll definitely give complete credit where due and make it very clear who made the original prints. I'll check your pages for the name and might e-mail you later if I think I need more details.As for the Windows icons, I have just stumbled upon a feature of my secondary graphic app that allows exports to Windows .ico format. Though, it appears to have two versions: one is "Windows .ico" and one is "Windows XP .ico". The XP format fortunately does include a full 8-bit alpha channel. Both save in 16, 32, and 48 pixel sizes. I'm just not sure if the XP format is backwards compatible with the 9x format.So, if one of you has a few spare minutes to test these two icons and tell me if the XP format works fine, that'd be a great load of help.http://brad.project-think.com/starfleet ... .icoThanks" target="_blank">http://brad.project-think.com/starfleet ... .icoThanks in advance.

Arty Farty Missions

Posted: Fri Oct 25, 2002 2:38 pm
by AndyThomas
This is what they look like in Windows XP. Both versions look identical, but it looks as if there are colouration issues - perhaps the Windows palette isn't the same as the Mac's?

Arty Farty Missions

Posted: Fri Oct 25, 2002 2:57 pm
by Bradster
Hmm. It appears that the XP format *supports* 16-bit color with an 8-bit alpha, but Windows doesn't actually display any more than the 8-bit color and 1-bit mask. Interesting. Maybe Microsoft was thinking ahead and adding this to be supported in a future service pack or even Longhorn? Eh, who knows...Anyhow, yes, the default 256 color table for Mac is different. I've tinkered with the format and i think it should display better now. Try this file:http://brad.project-think.com/starfleet/Barry-2.ico

Arty Farty Missions

Posted: Fri Oct 25, 2002 11:16 pm
by Bradster
Here are a few more I made this afternoon: