Request PNG's (For Docks) Here...

By dreamsINdigital
in Tips, Tweaks & Customization

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mikegraphik

Posted
Posted
Geez! its been 7 hours since i posted my first set of pngs and there hasnt been one post since then other than mine :(

I guess im the only one who is at home on new years :cry:

I'm going to bed. I hope to see some comments when i wake up

You?re becoming better and better!!! Nice work hyperb0le:DD

Happy New Year!

Mikegraphik

Rookie

The Iconfactory

Posted
Posted

Just a few bits of information, since they are relevant to this thread and touch on points brought up by different posters...

- Although the development of Whistler icon suite was naturally a large team effort, with many talented people involved in the design and decision processes, the fact remains that I am the artist who designed (at my estimate, based on what I have seen of the system) 70-80% of the finished icons, and was responsible for realizing the look and feel goals, since my designs were picked out of the many initial graphic directions. These designs then went through many stages of variation, and some of them are quite a bit different stylistically from what was used in the end.

- I worked on the XP icons for approximately 7 months.

- All icons I created exist in scaleable vector format.

- Freehand 8 was used to create the master icon files.

- Photoshop was only used for compositing and assembly.

- No 3D software was ever used by myself in the creation process.

- All my Whistler icons were created on a 266 original iMac and a PowerMac G4 400.

- Many Whistler icons deliberately reference the icon design of the renowned Susan Kare and the work she did on the original Windows icon suite. I did this in hopes of creating some transitional continuity for Windows users.

- an attempt at "playfulness" was a goal of mine in the design, as many people often accused the Windows GUI of being "cold" compared to the Macintosh's "cuteness".

- contrary to popular belief, true OS X icons make very little use of "glassiness". Photorealism is the main intent, with "glassiness" being merely one aspect of the Aqua GUI widgets. The majority of OS X system icons have none of this effect. It's merely a highly-overused effect, preferred by many hobbyists who seem to slap it onto anything, whether appropriate or not. The OS X icon guidelines are detailed here:

Aqua HI Guidelines

True Aqua icons are not easy to make, and the style takes some time to master, but it is very rewarding when you do (the business about being "emotive" you can take as you please). The Whistler style was designed to be much easier to re-create. Somewhere on Microsoft's site is the downloadable style guide, although I am not sure where.

- Obviously, I cannot release any of the master files, as I am strictly bound by our agreements with Microsoft, so there's no point in asking. :)

- As always, I encourage people to respect copyrights, and to learn and understand how they work.

Hope this information is considered useful...

Dave Brasgalla

The Iconfactory

Collaborator

mikegraphik

Posted
Posted (edited)

Thank you for your words and encouragement. It?s a pleasure to "meet" you personally here.I don?t know exactly if these "recreations" we are working on "break" some copyright rules, however we all try to respect and give the credits who deserves it. I know your released work very well, i think it?s an inspiration for all those that work with icons or graphics.The World of Aqua "series" is pretty impressive. The transprency and reflection effects aswell as the gradients and colors used become "globally" very complicated to achieve (the aqua folder in the WoA3 is a good example of that).I?m a huge fan of your Work. Can?t wait to see your next aqua set.

Happy New Year for you and you family aswell as to all Iconfactory Team.

Mikegraphik

[EDIT]Here is the link for Microsoft Icons Style Guide [EDIT]

Edited by mikegraphik
Rookie

The Iconfactory

Posted
Posted

No problem! Actually, I am rather impressed at the amount of effort going into re-creating the icons. It's interesting to watch people recreate them using entirely different toolsets. I'm happy that people like them enough to go to the trouble. I don't mind mentioning that I was one nervous guy when it came time for Xp to debut. I figured if people hated the icons, I'd never hear the end of it...

As far as the legality of all this goes, I really don't know. It's all copyrighted, certainly, but it's not my copyright to protect. We were hired, and MS owns the rights.

As far as World Of Aqua goes, they take me quite a long time to do. More than ever, now that I am refining my technique. If it makes you feel better, the WOA3 folder took me almost four months to do, with a whole lot of going back and starting over! I'm still not sure I like it! It just always bugged me that Apple's OS X folder icon throws all the HI guidelines right out the window... I'm constantly trying to come up with a good one that adheres to the rules.

I'm making the final icons for WOA4 as I write this, so you don't have long to wait. The set is not large, however there is some pretty maniacal stuff in there, so I think folks will enjoy it...

Thanks for the Holiday wishes, and the same to you and yours!

Dave Brasgalla

The Iconfactory

Mentor

Darran

Posted
Posted (edited)

When it comes to 'legality' Apple are much more protective than Microsoft, Microsoft just get annoyed when people try and turn their PCs in to Macs. But i've never heard of people trying to change their Mac into a PC (now that I would like to see! :rolleyes: ).

Oh and I like your new sig Mike! :D

Edited by whistlerxp
Veteran

Binary

Posted
Posted
When it comes to 'legality' Apple are much more protective than Microsoft, Microsoft just get annoyed when people try and turn their PCs in to Macs. But i've never heard of people trying to change their Mac into a PC (now that I would like to see! :rolleyes: ).

Oh and I like your new sig Mike! :D

It's happening, there are now watercolor and luna themes for OS X. But they dont look as good with the widgets on the other side imho. They need a new OS X version of Kaleidoscope :)

Chris

Mentor

Darran

Posted
Posted

I can see why they'd want Watercolour ti was the best theme Microsoft ever made but luna? :wacko: Though I much prefer the icons of XP to those of previous versions.

mikegraphik can you possibly make a poof with the paper going in to the recycle bin? :)

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