Interesting fact: I noticed that many of you at customize are useing wallpapers from other sites ... Why? Are those who make wallpapers at customize so bad or what?
weird question...but actually yeah...imo there's hardly a handful of good wallpaper artists on custo atm...also I generally do not only eat 1 kind of food
Maybe that's not so weird question from my point of view ... I don't do skins, themes, etc. just wallpapers and maybe icons. More feedback from you guys would be nice.
i can agree w/ mad. also, most of the time i end up color modding an existing wall or going the route of making my own in photoshop when all i want is a clean, minimal wall.
i use stuff from my as many places as possible ... custo always seems to be my starting point though, if I see something I like on Custo such as VS, i'll search around for other apps and skins to go with it if there aren't any here
i kinda just use whatever strikes my fancy. sometimes it's a wall from custo or some other site, sometimes it's just a photo. a lot of the time, i end up finding a piece of art that i like and modding it to be a wall.
i think it would be great to see more walls on custo getting use in screenshots, but for each shot we see, there's probably hundreds of desktops we don't see using a wall from here. :)
Thats a good point Fenris. Wallpapers is easily the most popular section on the site. Even though the popular screenshots utilize the trendiest styles (right now I'd say its desktopography-ish walls, including artists like manhico and kol..), its amazing to see what 'regular' people pick out as their favorites.
I'm with you though motorist. There are a few ways we can work on this is: - make browsing Custo easier/faster/better - invite more of those artists to Custo - help newer artists learn... perhaps we can get aeiko or someone to make a tutorial on how to make a "desktopography" wall
Yeah, for the most part I usually modify a wallpaper. Or use a photo and make it into a wall, I really like the ultra slim uber minimal type deals.
BUT that being said, some of the best wp designers are on here, as already listed. As I see it, I don't see THAT many wallpapers being used from DA. Maybe photos, but not fully made WPs.
The fact that customize users are going to other sites and using wallpapers from those sites, should be a challenge to the wallpaper creators here at custo to step up their game. ;)
I was expecting something like this or should I say that my next step would be what Mark said. I would be delighted to read How to tutorial about "desktopography" wall. And must agree with FrostedFlames about a challenge (I'm ready to except that challenge!). And must agree with Scfce. I find dA also very unpleasant even annoying ...
when i pick something from DA is because i'd seen it featured on Pimpmydesk, Resource, or any other of those blogs. They have a nice sight for cool stuff, so i don't have to sunk into that inmense collections of bad submissions to get 2 or 3 great ones.
i just love that site i mentioned above. something for everyone really. But i know their are artists here too that are highly skilled at graphic design. i just like options. i think you'll find some cool ones there motorist.
try browsing devart on dialup sometime. yeesh. and the hundreds of animated smilies messes with my mind. not to be mr killjoy, but man, i hate smilies. and, to be a total geek, their css code is atrocious. there, i said it.
I think for any (custo organized) contest should be used wallpapers (artists) from custo ... I'm a member since march (I know ... short but active membership) and must say that some screenshots could be much much better with another wallpaper ... see wallpaper must be a cheery on a layered cake! Some of mine last submissions of wallpapers was really inspired by some screenshots from friends at custo ...
anyone and everyone can join the gsm forums, we have a new suite we're slooooooowly thinking on right now. anyone who wants to contribute ideas, please do.
I'm going a bit off topic here and hope you don't mind.
My DA account is:
I'm interested in meeting new friends, maybe joining an artgroup, doing collaborations, and more. Also here on Customize.org. I've been member for such a long time here and still like the site and visit it often.
To go ontopic: I think most people are searching a wallpaper that fits their mood / interests / style and it doens't really matter where they find it. But they will return sooner if they find it many times on the same website :).
@lamplighter (Mark): I'm with you though motorist. There are a few ways we can work on this is: - make browsing Custo easier/faster/better - invite more of those artists to Custo - help newer artists learn... perhaps we can get aeiko or someone to make a tutorial on how to make a "desktopography" wallWould be very nice as soon as possible ... Can I help with something just say it!
As far as I am concerned DeviantArt and Custo are terribly hard to browse. I would love to see a highest rated for this month, week, etc... categories as viewing by date means you have to drag through tons of crap, while viewing by rating means you have to drag through tons of wallpapers you have already seen.
Comparing just the wallpaper collections in dA and Custo, I think the biggest thing is the fact that dA is categorised. Here, you can't really find what you're looking for (tags don't work if people aren't forced to use them, it's too difficult to find something by colour), since everything is just bunged into one block.
Although dA's system is quite buried, once you've found your category, time and browsing by favourites, it's pretty easy going (even more so in dA4, IMO). Considering that there is so much crap [submissions] in dA, they've done a decent job. Maybe you might find a nice vector in the multi-display section instead, but at least you can narrow down the search in one way.
Of course, there's little logic behind what I'm saying, because a site like with a poor category system works so well. I think that's based on the quality of submissions, however.
If I had to call the shots, I think I'd (for the wallpaper section, at least): - Introduce Categories/Sections Would it mean ripping apart a lot of the architecture behind the wallpaper section? - Get old submissions tagged so they show up in searches and increase the volume of tags (reducing the number of useless ones). - Larger previews (160 -> 240?) and lay them out in a single column. It's easy to miss a good submission in the corner if I just want to look over them quickly. Perhaps even mimic IFL and have quick download and love/like buttons. - Quality control Depending on whether you want a totally open community, or one which has restrictions. - Power Browse should have date criteria (and limit one 'category' criteria!). - Implement searching: a search by Artist's Notes will help a lot in trying to find a new wall if it's impossible to retag all of the old submissions.
Conclusion: a good wallpaper is more difficult to find here than at dA; the wallpaper, skins and screenshot sections have different needs and should be designed accordingly.
I'd like to agree with most of that. And a search is going to be implemented as they've said multiple times.
BUT I'd have to disagree on the wallpaper fact, at least BEFORE (evo) there was always a better selection of wallpapers at Custo and not DA. But now there's been a large influx of complete and utter crap being subbed here.
So now you have to wade through a little to find the good stuff. But the big guys still reside here, J3, C72, Ether, etc. For some certain types of wallpapers, of course you do end up going to Deviantart -- and that's because of the art factor.
Conclusion: It's not eaiser to find a good wallpaper at dA, they just have better categories. You still have to wade through a lot more crap to find a gem.
I've uploaded so many different wallpapers from very different aspects, styles, etc. but still can't dig you ...
@Pyro: that sounds like you only see J3, C72, Ether ... they are the best but how can you say that every thing they do is awesome! (J3=illustration, C72=3D, Ether=Photography). Sorry it's a bit late for me can't think in English any more ... Not sure if this is what I wanted to say ... Sorry friends :)
But the big guys still reside here, J3, C72, Ether, etc.
Notice the bold? It was an example. There's some really good artists at dA, of course. The problem is that it's ART Not all artistic wallpapers translate into making good shots. You need one with room to show stuff ya know?
That's why I said you can get some good pictures there and make them into a wallpaper. Basically like getting stock photos and turning those into a wallpaper.
The only difference is that I take photos by myself and make them as wallpaper ... I cover all processes ... even make some illustration out of them ...
I kind of miss the old custo rating system... you know, 1 - 100. It was way more brutal, left less room for error cuz no one wanted to get chewed out for bad art.
It was very subjetive. What for some people could be a 100, for others would be just a pile of shit. The love like is much more effective in the way that love - 100 like- 80-99 not showing anything - 0-79 Bunch of love = bunch of 100
I just wish it wasn't so black n white. I wish it was more like grades, A B C D F... Same idea as the love like system, but more choices. I feel like there's no one else left to impress because no matter what place I finish, I'm always gunna get a blue ribbon, even if I'm last. Maybe it's just me...
mailmerge - great advice, and I certainly agree with you.
As Custo and dA show, its difficult to make an easy, quick and intuitive navigation system for hundreds of different categories. Since Custo is focused on customization, it allows us to do things like packs, bundles, colors and ingredients. I think we are the first site to really push forward on that front. Obviously, we still have our work cut out for us, and the wallpapers section is at the top of the list.
Once Steve and I fix some of the more glaring issues, I plan on creating a usability survey that everyone can fill out.
But before that, we as a community need to figure out the whole quality vs quantity issue and really decide the what path the site takes. I hope to have a post up shortly about that, so get ready to put your thinkin' caps on ;)
I'm not up for quality control, I think overall if you just create more controls for finding or recognizing the higher quality submissions you'll be better. Don't start telling people there work isn't good enough, no mater how i look at it, it won't go down well.
Really this has been talked to death. But quite frankly there is such a thing as universal crap -- something so bad everyone recognizes it as terrible.
IN FACT, back when they deleted your sub if it sucked, it made this site elite. It made it so people were afraid to sub here, unless they knew it was dang good.
And if you got it deleted, you knew you had to work harder to get better. It forces you to grow, and get better, and submit better stuff.
In conclusion: it is the superior way to be, and everyone misses it.
...so how did we pick this convo up from a month ago? lol.
well, i agree with pyro.
@rtbox: people just need to get over themselves, to be honest. if they want 'acceptance' rather than improvement, just tell them to post on devart? -shrugs-
And Relik that is extremely true. People are trying to submit on here like it's DevArt. With poems and crap. What they listened to. Etc, etc. Looks like a dA sub and everything.
