CadDog
Hi everyone,
I was wondering if there a program to create or modify new or existing skins.
I'm looking for one that I could adjust the re-condensed vdj 8 skin.
My old vdj 7 condensed main mixing area is smaller and I was hoping I could adjust VDJ 8 to be about the same size.
From the top of the screen to where the search screen begin is about 2 3/4" tall.
I have tried other skins and a couple are great but after so many years of using the old one it is hard to switch.
Finding where things are take time which is keeping me from going forward with VDJ 8.
The Re-condensed is the same as my old VDJ 7 and I can easily work with this on but I just want a smaller head area.
I'm more into finding my music than mixing life. Wedding are about finding the song and playing it as it (somewhat).
Writing code isn't problem but location (or address the location) on the skin is. I know I can't just fix the png the way need it. lol
Any help is welcome.
Thanks
I was wondering if there a program to create or modify new or existing skins.
I'm looking for one that I could adjust the re-condensed vdj 8 skin.
My old vdj 7 condensed main mixing area is smaller and I was hoping I could adjust VDJ 8 to be about the same size.
From the top of the screen to where the search screen begin is about 2 3/4" tall.
I have tried other skins and a couple are great but after so many years of using the old one it is hard to switch.
Finding where things are take time which is keeping me from going forward with VDJ 8.
The Re-condensed is the same as my old VDJ 7 and I can easily work with this on but I just want a smaller head area.
I'm more into finding my music than mixing life. Wedding are about finding the song and playing it as it (somewhat).
Writing code isn't problem but location (or address the location) on the skin is. I know I can't just fix the png the way need it. lol
Any help is welcome.
Thanks
Posted Mon 25 Apr 16 @ 3:18 pm
gstrib
CadDog wrote :
Hi everyone,
I was wondering if there a program to create or modify new or existing skins.
I'm looking for one that I could adjust the re-condensed vdj 8 skin.
My old vdj 7 condensed main mixing area is smaller and I was hoping I could adjust VDJ 8 to be about the same size.
From the top of the screen to where the search screen begin is about 2 3/4" tall.
I have tried other skins and a couple are great but after so many years of using the old one it is hard to switch.
Finding where things are take time which is keeping me from going forward with VDJ 8.
The Re-condensed is the same as my old VDJ 7 and I can easily work with this on but I just want a smaller head area.
I'm more into finding my music than mixing life. Wedding are about finding the song and playing it as it (somewhat).
Writing code isn't problem but location (or address the location) on the skin is. I know I can't just fix the png the way need it. lol
Any help is welcome.
Thanks
I was wondering if there a program to create or modify new or existing skins.
I'm looking for one that I could adjust the re-condensed vdj 8 skin.
My old vdj 7 condensed main mixing area is smaller and I was hoping I could adjust VDJ 8 to be about the same size.
From the top of the screen to where the search screen begin is about 2 3/4" tall.
I have tried other skins and a couple are great but after so many years of using the old one it is hard to switch.
Finding where things are take time which is keeping me from going forward with VDJ 8.
The Re-condensed is the same as my old VDJ 7 and I can easily work with this on but I just want a smaller head area.
I'm more into finding my music than mixing life. Wedding are about finding the song and playing it as it (somewhat).
Writing code isn't problem but location (or address the location) on the skin is. I know I can't just fix the png the way need it. lol
Any help is welcome.
Thanks
There is not a dedicated program for creating skins to my knowledge. Check out the following link for some information on developing or modify skins for VDJ.
http://www.virtualdj.com/wiki/Developers.html
Posted Mon 25 Apr 16 @ 4:56 pm
the SOUND INSURGENT
Yeah it is to bad that only a few are creating skins anymore.
To bad the skin creator tool doesn't work anymore.
Hopefully we get something soon....
To bad the skin creator tool doesn't work anymore.
Hopefully we get something soon....
Posted Mon 25 Apr 16 @ 8:27 pm
PhantomDeejay
the SOUND INSURGENT wrote :
Yeah it is to bad that only a few are creating skins anymore.
To bad the skin creator tool doesn't work anymore.
To bad the skin creator tool doesn't work anymore.
You're using this phrase on almost any skin related topic. Could you explain me why ?
No-one ever stopped someone from creating a skin. Also the vast majority of old VirtualDj skins was created prior the "skin creator" tool was developed/released.
Finally there's a big difference between "quantity" versus "quality"
When I visit the skins download area I prefer to see 10-20 quality skins, than 200 "I just changed pic of the mixer" skins...
In the past when more skins for VirtualDj were created, most of them just used pictures of real hardware. And you had tons of skins by just changing the picture of the gear.
I'm sure there are good reasons why we have less skin submissions these days than in the past. However these reasons are NOT what you think they may be.
Creating a skin (without the skin creator tool) is easier and more efficient than it used to be in the past for example. So "complexity" is not a reason people stopped submitting new skins.
The absence of a V8 "skin creator" tool has also very small impact if you take into account how many skins were actually developed using that tool versus the total number of new skins and the number of skins created (in total) for VirtualDj 8.
We have less skins for other reasons and I will name you a few:
1) We decided not to allow skins resembling real hardware unless they have something unique to offer. We don't need 50 skins "CDJ-2000NXS & DJM-900NXS". We took this decision in order to encourage our users to be creative. We still approve "hardware-alike" skins though when they have something unique to offer (as an example the XDJ-RX skin for VirtualDj 8)
2) We decided not to allow skins resembling other software. We don't need 50 "Serato-alike" or "Traktor-alike" skins. This decision was made both for encouraging people to be creative, and to help brand recognition of the software. Not to mention copyright issues that could possibly arise if we encouraged our user to clone the GUI of a competitors software.
3) There is a great "shift" on how people act today versus 10 years ago. Most young people now have the tendency to ask everything to be given ready to them. Like feeding them directly in the mouth. 10 or 15 years ago there was a different attitude. People craved to be creative, they wanted to experiment
and they wanted to create something unique by their own. That doesn't apply only on skinning. It also applies on music as well. If you take a look how music evolved the last decades you will see that from 90's up to mid 2000's you had a lot of experimental sounds, experimental rhythms and patterns, a lot of bands looking to create their own unique sound. Last 10 years (and especially last 5 years if I may say so) most the music produced is just a copy/paste of sounds found on various "packs". Young artists want to take 50 sounds they found ready somewhere on the net and create their own track. But they don't mind anymore to make their sound/music "unique".
I don't know where you stand from musically, but take a look "Prodigy" versus "Guetta" or versus "Pitbull". Prodigy as a band always wanted to change their sound and produce unique results/tracks. On the other hand, most of "Guetta" songs produced the last 5 years are just a copy/paste of the same sounds...
Same thing applies here. People come and ask for various skins / skin concepts / skin modifications, but they are not willing to experiment and create something new, something unique, something on their own. That's why you really have far less skins than in the past. Only a few users now feel the need to express their artistic side by creating a new skin.
And some of us just try to fill that gap with our own creations. I will speak about myself, but I'm sure other users like Dan and Fruit would agree.
I created the #Silversleek 2 skin starting from the basic tools/layout I wanted for my own needs. Then upon this base I created a lot of alternative options and layouts just to cover the needs of other users that don't want to get their hands dirty... From all the possible layouts #Silversleek 2 offers I still use only one, the same I was using from the very first day I created the skin. The rest was done because of the absence of other people wanting to create other skins / skin modifications of my own skin offering different styles and layouts. Also as a skinner I'm limited by my own imagination. I'm pretty sure that if more people wanted to express themselves and they wanted to modify #Silversleek 2 (even in its "simple" form) today it would have 5 or 10 more different layouts that my mind would never think of them...
Conclusion:
Please remember that the ability to skin the GUI of VirtualDj is a privilege (it's the only software that allows that) and that the absence of many skins should not really worry you. The absence of quality ones should be what you should worry about. Finally if you feel there's nothing out there that covers your needs, be brave, go ahead and create it by yourself!
Posted Wed 04 May 16 @ 9:39 am
kradcliffe
The other thing George is that the sense of "community" has all but gone. This forum is a totally different place to the way it was when I started visiting here in 2008.
A good lot of the skinners back then have either moved on and some have became Atomix staff (paid or unpaid).
On a personal level, why should I take tens of hours out of my time to create something that would help promote VDJ and make more money for Atomix with nothing in return. The community over the years put so much in to VDJ (Cstoll, JPBoggis, DJFormat etc) and ultimately made it what it is but the company and it's attitude has changed. But of course being a staff member you will see it completely differently.
A good lot of the skinners back then have either moved on and some have became Atomix staff (paid or unpaid).
On a personal level, why should I take tens of hours out of my time to create something that would help promote VDJ and make more money for Atomix with nothing in return. The community over the years put so much in to VDJ (Cstoll, JPBoggis, DJFormat etc) and ultimately made it what it is but the company and it's attitude has changed. But of course being a staff member you will see it completely differently.
Posted Wed 04 May 16 @ 10:49 am
the SOUND INSURGENT
Not sure why I'm always singled out but whatever.
Sure I can and have created skins in the past but with the change made to 8 the learning curve and working 60/70 hours a week plus gigs didn't leave me much time so I asked people such as yourself, Dan and Bob for help even Groovin has helped me.
My problem which I have said in the past (v7) is that without the skin creator I don't know how to figure out where to place things. No where in the skin wiki does it tell you how to do this. No one here has every really given me an answer that made sense including yourself.
This is why the Skin Creator was so great plus that dude made alot of money from "donations".
So now that I myself have stopped making skins I use quality skins such as yours (SliverSleek), or Bobs or Dans. And yes there are still many crappy looking skins here, sure they have a ton of options but just look like doo doo.....
My whole point in saying that (which was only twice if I'm not mistaken) was there was is a need for a tool. Hell even trying to make a simple change can lead to trouble.....
So ill just sit back and wait for SS3 and hopefully it'll come with a companion skin for the wireless app.
Sure I can and have created skins in the past but with the change made to 8 the learning curve and working 60/70 hours a week plus gigs didn't leave me much time so I asked people such as yourself, Dan and Bob for help even Groovin has helped me.
My problem which I have said in the past (v7) is that without the skin creator I don't know how to figure out where to place things. No where in the skin wiki does it tell you how to do this. No one here has every really given me an answer that made sense including yourself.
This is why the Skin Creator was so great plus that dude made alot of money from "donations".
So now that I myself have stopped making skins I use quality skins such as yours (SliverSleek), or Bobs or Dans. And yes there are still many crappy looking skins here, sure they have a ton of options but just look like doo doo.....
My whole point in saying that (which was only twice if I'm not mistaken) was there was is a need for a tool. Hell even trying to make a simple change can lead to trouble.....
So ill just sit back and wait for SS3 and hopefully it'll come with a companion skin for the wireless app.
Posted Wed 04 May 16 @ 1:26 pm
PhantomDeejay
kradcliffe wrote :
On a personal level, why should I take tens of hours out of my time to create something that would help promote VDJ and make more money for Atomix with nothing in return. The community over the years put so much in to VDJ (Cstoll, JPBoggis, DJFormat etc) and ultimately made it what it is but the company and it's attitude has changed. But of course being a staff member you will see it completely differently.
On a personal level, why should I take tens of hours out of my time to create something that would help promote VDJ and make more money for Atomix with nothing in return. The community over the years put so much in to VDJ (Cstoll, JPBoggis, DJFormat etc) and ultimately made it what it is but the company and it's attitude has changed. But of course being a staff member you will see it completely differently.
Let's take it back a few years then... I was not a staff member until 2 years ago. So:
Why should I take tens of hours out of my time to create something that would help other users to get the most out of their software ?
As you can see there are always two sides on the same coin. Before I become staff, I have created several skins. Others were somehow popular, others not. I never created skins and tools in order to get something in return. I created them to share with the rest of the community and help other fellow dj's around the globe do their job easier. To be honest when I started creating skins and stuff back in 2008 it never crossed my mind that I may become staff member one day or that making nice skins may help me to achieve such a goal. It was all about fun and sharing!
Back to present: As a staff member I have a specific job to do within the company. All 3 skins I created for VirtualDj 8 (including the forthcoming Silversleek #3) were made on my own free time. Which means that I still create skins more or less for the same reason: To share with other fellow dj's for nothing / for free. I don't expect to earn something from this. And yes I waste several hours on doing my skins. Hours that I could spend in other ways probably making some profit out of them... But it's not always about the profit. Trust me there's no bigger reward for me than seeing pictures on Facebook from various clubs/gigs where the dj uses VirtualDj with my skin. There's no bigger reward than knowing that another person choose your piece of work to do his job.
Posted Wed 04 May 16 @ 1:38 pm
groovindj
PhantomDeejay wrote :
it's the only software that allows that
No it's not. DEX from PCDJ can be skinned (and their method is very similar to VDJ). I have converted some of their skins to work with VDJ.
They have official skinning software which was released at around the same time as DEX 3.
There are also some lesser known DJ programs that can be skinned.
It would be nice if there was a simple official tool for creating or modifying skins. It's not easy for some people to understand all the XML stuff.
Posted Wed 04 May 16 @ 4:55 pm
CadDog
I just wanted to know if there a program which you can use to create skins.
I thought it would be nice to create one myself.
The code isn't a problem but match the picture would be.
I would need a code that was able to tell me the x and y to input for location (I think)
I just wanted to mess around a little and to see what i could create a skin which fit better the way I mix.
I'll the great skinners create the great one... lol
Thanks everyone for helping me out with a few small misunderstanding and problems I had.
I thought it would be nice to create one myself.
The code isn't a problem but match the picture would be.
I would need a code that was able to tell me the x and y to input for location (I think)
I just wanted to mess around a little and to see what i could create a skin which fit better the way I mix.
I'll the great skinners create the great one... lol
Thanks everyone for helping me out with a few small misunderstanding and problems I had.
Posted Wed 04 May 16 @ 10:24 pm
Dan (djtouchdan)
CadDog wrote :
The code isn't a problem but match the picture would be.
I would need a code that was able to tell me the x and y to input for location (I think)
I would need a code that was able to tell me the x and y to input for location (I think)
I still use the old skin creator for this.
It doesn't help for code - but object positioning it works well.
Posted Thu 05 May 16 @ 3:48 pm
the SOUND INSURGENT
djtouchdan wrote :
I still use the old skin creator for this.
It doesn't help for code - but object positioning it works well.
I still use the old skin creator for this.
It doesn't help for code - but object positioning it works well.
Is there any other way around this??
I don't think Bob or Phantom even use the creator, lol!
This has always been where I struggled as well. Finding the X/Y placement.
Posted Thu 05 May 16 @ 3:56 pm
Dan (djtouchdan)
You also do it in your graphic editing software.
I've just always used SC and its worked for me.
I've just always used SC and its worked for me.
Posted Thu 05 May 16 @ 4:15 pm
PhantomDeejay
Most photo editing programs have something similar... ;)
Posted Thu 05 May 16 @ 4:57 pm
the SOUND INSURGENT
What program is that?
Posted Thu 05 May 16 @ 5:32 pm
Dan (djtouchdan)
Its Photoshop by the look of it.
Posted Thu 05 May 16 @ 8:11 pm