he's well known, he's well loved by all of us here in at Blogskins.com.
he's..... [drumroll]

be intimidated. haha well i was at first when i had first met the guy. turns out he's a very fun-loving fella and it was my pleasure to have the opportunity to interview him. (: and being my chatty chatty self after warming up to him. you'll see a lot of my reponses as well!

* * *

HELLO! would you mind if we do the interview now?
Sure

Tell us a bit about yourself.
I'm Wang Guan. WOW. currently a J1 student at ACJC. I am doing Art as one of my subjects, inspired to become a designer in future. I'm straight-forward and LAME, and friends think i'm retarded and funny.

You sound like a simple guy.
Of course :D
OH and i also want to direct a film in future.



wow, a designer AND a potential director, you must be very into the arts scene.
yah i totally regret taking triple science cause i am so NOT a science person. I am not even doing the sciences now!

How did the name LIONHEART come about?
Oh. In P6, i was obsessed with Final Fantasy 8. And Lionheart is like Squall Leonhart's limitbreak. And i totally love it. it's been stuck.

So why/how did you begin blogskinning?
Because i have been blogging for VERY LONG. since sec 1. and i have been designing since. But i only became interested after seeing the newspaper report on skinners. that one that featured Anne? So i thought, HEY, i can do that too... so i joined.



There was an article? Any way to trace it? i would love to read it.
hmm... i don't know.


diaos. Ok. So what inspires you?
My emotions. I do whatever i FEEL and like. it's like automatism in art. if i want to do something ABSTRACT, i will do it. if i want to do something EMO, i will do it.

So i suppose you took the Creative Arts Programme [CAP] in Secondary School?
NOPE. i'm doing H2 art only now.

WHOA! everyone! we have a natural talent here!
haha. i guess art is one thing you can master yourself. sometimes you need guidance. but definitely no need for courses in art. just try out stuff and explore yourself. i mastered photoshop myself. :D just gotta have passion.



What are some difficulties you face when Blogskinning?
coding? i'm always having coding problems.

doesn't everyone.
yeah... and it's hard sometimes. BUT there are fellow skinners to help me!
like javier, kat, jeanette, eric, rachel, anne and people like that

looks like you know a lot of the skinners personally huh.
yeah some old-time good skinners.
basically all the old skinners have left.

And you're joining that legion of old skinners? [sobs]
basically i AM old.

How has Blogskins.com changed you?
must be smarter.
must learn how to take critisms
must learn how to keep changing yourself
and adapt to demands
and of course you get to MAKE FRIENDS

Any Blogskinning tips?
don't be afraid to try new stuff.
and always have a STYLE.
cause people will know you for your STYLE.
like heroine. you see the skin, and you immediately know it's her work.
it's a STYLE.




You were the previous FC. How did it feel?
felt great.
and that's why i left
and i can tell you why most skinners left after becoming FC

ooh. SPILL.
it's like you've worked your way to the top, and there's nothing more you can achieve. like becoming an olympic champion, nothing else bigger for you to win. so you just wanna quit because your career basically ends here. you've made your spark, now it's another person's turn to shine.

So you've had your fair share of the spotlight.
yeah

So does that mean LIONHEART's not coming back anymore?
well, not anytime soon. sometimes i really feel like submitting, but i just dun feel like it? HAHA. maybe one day you may not know it, i may just come back.

We'll all be looking forward to that
:)

Oh yes, we have not heard much news on j3tflame. how is he?
oh he died.
no lah, he's busy with work as well.
he's in ACJC with me too

So how's your current social status? [randomly generated question]
relationship: i'm attached! to my lovely girlfriend... YY :D
friends: i've got a great bunch of friends in JC
my old SJI peeps
my zaobao friends
church friends
having fun all around.

ok i guess we're about done. any last words?
Blogskins really needs to be improved. the format is so messy. i prefer the old format. TOO MUCH ADS. SO MUCH EXTRA THINGS FLYING AROUND. template is totally gross. plus the forum thing. why must the latest reply go on top? all the old threads are going right up. and SOTD quality is seriously not as good as last time. wow, i'm so critical. Myles seriously needs to do something to the site. cause it seriously sucks now.

* * *

okay that's my interview with LIONHEART.
haha he's leaving us. but perhaps, just perhaps, he'll be back.


glenboyy

May 16, Wednesday 2007

Hey all ! I apologise for the late update, but here it is ! :D An interview with Magnette, a very well-known and well-liked skinner in the BS community.

Hey ! Tell us more about yourself ! (:

Hi. i am jeanette and you call me nette for short. i am a year 2 undergrad at the National University of Singapore. i enjoy playing sports, listening to music and i love spending time with my family and friends. :)

Ooh. NUS ? Is life stressful ?

Pretty much. Workload is extremely heavy and there are a lot of projects, essays and tests during the semesters and it can get really stressful at times. but i am on holiday right now so i am feeling good at this moment. :D

How did the name Magnette come about ?

Haha. It was a nickname given to me when i was in primary school. i have been using it ever since for every account i make over the internet. i guess i am still using it out of convenience and it is easier to remember. i dont really like it though but i think it is unique enough. (:

Has blogskins changed your life in anyway ?

Yes, it has. Firstly, it will be the wonderful friends that i have made through blogskins. it is pretty cool to have friends that share the same passion with you on blogskinning. i have gotten close to some of them and it is pretty awesome.

Secondly, blogskins have taught me to be more open to criticisms. i struggled with that a lot initially.i have this motto now : " life aint a beauty show. i seek, i learn and i grow. " Blogskins provided me with wonderful memories but i went through a lot of crap too. With insults, criticisms, wars and so much more, i have really become stronger ever since. you cant please everyone but this is life. i have to be open to everyone's opinions so that i can learn and grow from. :D

When did you start skinning and where did your inspiration come from ?

ooooh. another long story. i had the blogskins account ever since year 2003 but i have never used it till last year. i used to be a noob at blogging and some of my friends werent that helpful in teaching me how to edit my html templates. it was in circumstances like those that i had to force myself to learn and i got better. After that, i started helping people who werent that good in their htmls and eventually, i did my first blogskin for my friend. it was then that i realised that i had a passion for blogskinning and started contributing to the blogskins community. (:

mmmm, my inspiration comes from God and songs that have touched me in a certain way. my skins are pretty much based on how i am feeling. yayy. :D

Any dreams for the future ?

i am an aspiring Geographer and i want to work for the Singapore Tourism Board in future.i want to venture out into missions too. i want to learn to see the world under the eyes of God's creation. :D

What's your take on homosexuals ? .____. Random, I know.

Haha. Actually, i am pretty much okay about it. i have been in an all girls school for the past 10 years and i have seen alot of them in my school. that is why i find it easier to accept lesbians over gays. But i still think that it is wrong even though i dont discriminate them at all. i would like to think that it is a passing phase and eventually, they will get out of the whole homosexual thing. (:

Have you got any tips for new skinners ?

1. Be true to yourself.Continue skinning because you enjoy doing so and do not do it out of the fame involved. Sure, SOTDs and Top 15 rated should be aims to motivate yourself but at the end of the day, it does not matter if you dont get them. as long as you have enjoyed the process of doing skins, i think that is all that matters. Do not get caught up in the popularity contest because you may end up losing yourself in the process of doing so. Stay true and keep blogskinning as a way of improving and keeping your passion alive. yayy. (:

2. Humility is the key.i think it is an important aspect that every blogskinner should have including myself. No one can be perfect in doing skins. And i think staying humble is a good way of telling yourself to keep improving. :D

Anything else to add?

errr, blogskins rock? yayy <3 i hope i didnt sound so philosophical. i had fun doing this interview. :D

And that's the interview with Jeanette. Do take care, and watch out for the next interview ! :D

Vanessa.

Labels: interview, Magnette

May 04, 2nd issue
Hey all, Blogskins Press brings you our second issue so far! Thank you all for the lovely support, it is appreciated a lot (:

I know that this is the exam period, and most of you are probably mugging now. But it's the weekend, take a little break!

This week, we interviewed sweet-melancholy over msn:

My first impression over msn of sweet-melancholy is that she's quite shy. Then she became really talkative, telling me really weird but funny stuff in between questions. (No offense xD) Before that I already knew that she was quite a nice person from her comments etc, but I was a little afraid she might be a dao kind of person. It has been really nice interviewing her, that's all I can really say :)

How about some background information on yourself first?
Hellooooo, I'm Kathleen, but most people just call me Kat. Anyway! I'm 14 and studying in RGS, my CCA is Chinese Orchestra, I play the Zhong Ruan! :D

Raffle's Girls' School? ._. Smart!
No, I'm not. Okay maybe a little, if not that would mean I'm retarded o_o But I'm a normal girl, y'know! Undergoing similar problems etc. I think stereotypes are stupid, somebody should just altogether ban them. o_o



How did you start blogskinning?
It’s quite a long story xD

I started last year, roughly around March. I got the idea when I was down with food poisoning. It was my second day resting at home, and I was pretty much recovered, and the idea just suddenly popped into my head. “Why not I try my hand at blogskinning?” And so I did.

I was kind of a silly girl back then. (oh yeah, my first account was InnoCenTxX, but it has long been deleted already) I would spam poor Blogskins.com with 3 skins a day, and they were very sloppily put together. I still remember my first skin, oh my gosh so embarrassing! It was an utter disaster, my codes were completely screwed (seriously).

Okay I think I’m digressing. ANYWAY! After submitting about what, 70 skins, I was ready to start anew. That was around May? So I created my sweet-melancholy account and deleted my InnoCenTxX account. I must say, it was a really new start. I became more critical of my work, I didn’t submit everything I made. I was so pleased when I got my first SOTD, I never DREAMED I could even make it that far in so short a time. And the rest, you can figure out on your own, anyway I have crapped enough o_o

You're the FC. How did you feel when you first found out?
I thought Blogskins.com was screwing up. It was really coincidental, because right before I visited my profile page, I went to li0nheart’s profile page, so I thought that somehow it had lagged so much they thought I was the FC.

I was/ am tremendously honoured that Myles (and Kelli!) thought that I was good enough to be the FC. I was so shocked and elated my hands could not stop shaking for quite a while xD Then I saw the typos. And I laughed, because it’s just really funny, don’t you think. And there is the huge typo still, smack on the front page for everybody to see it xD



What does being FC mean to you?
It means being a good role model to other blogskinners etc. I’m sure you’ve heard about these stuff before. Basically, I feel that I have the responsibility to maintain a high standard (which I really hope I have!) of blogskinning at Blogskins.com, and maybe maintaining the peace and harmony at Blogskins.com? I really don’t know… Maybe just being me, and not pretending to be someone I'm not.

What is your take on being FC?
It’s tough, really. Because you’re under everybody’s critical eye. And it’s quite hard to tell who really likes you as a person and who is sucking up to you. But on the whole, being the FC has been a really good experience, and I can say this with a fair amount of certainty.



Any blogskinning tips for the others?
(uh yeah, these tips don't just include the technical aspect of blogskinning)
1. “If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again”.
Seriously, it works. Giving up is just the worst thing you could do to yourself.

2. You don’t have to have photoshop to be great.
There are a handful of great blogskinners who don’t have photoshop at all. Their skins are still of high standards, and generally well-received. You have to use your creativity you know?! Think out of the box!

3. If you seem to be copying the blogskinning trend, don’t visit Blogskins.com for a while, maybe 2 weeks or a month.
Originality is the best blogskinning policy.

4. Don’t become blinded by the popularity game.
Stay true to yourself. I know that this sounds so cliché, but it’s true, VERY true. Make skins because you ENJOY doing so, not because you want to become popular, by gaining the most SOTDs and dishing out the most 5 stars ratings.

5. Brush spam may be the way to start, but it is NOT the way to go.
Brush spamming is not true art. I’m not saying that using brushes is bad, OF COURSE NOT! I myself use brushes, but I try to moderate it. By becoming too dependent on brushes, you are taking away your creativity y’know?! I mean, brushing is so simple. Upload brushes, brush brush brush, ooh it looks pretty, upload blogskin, ooh everybody thinks it’s pretty so I shall brush spam forever and let my creativity seep away. It’s a sad case when such a thing occurs, you know.

6. Original images, or original codes (or both) or nothing at all.
Seriously, if everything in your blogskin is copied from somewhere, it can’t really be called YOUR blogskin anymore. It’s what? A collaboration? o_o And that is quite stupid. The very least you can do is have original codes! Referring to others’ is fine! As long as you have their permission to do so! But once you’ve had enough practice, you should stop, yep.

That’s quite a lot already, so I think that I better stop here xD

How has Blogskins.com changed you?
Blogskins.com has made me more open to criticisms. I can now accept criticisms and work on it. I have also learnt how to respond to difficult people. (e.g. flamers) Blogskins.com has taught me some pretty important values, like integrity. And I’ve become more sociable now; I used to shut myself off from the rest of the world most of the time, but after interacting with so many different people, I realize how nice it is to have friends, yea.



How did your username come about?
It came from a book, I think. I saw it and thought melancholy sounded really cool (even though I’m still unsure how to pronounce it xD) and ta-dah!

What inspires you?
My emotions. How I am feeling at the moment I am blogskinning really affects the overall mood of my blogskin. You can’t make me do an emo blogskin if I’m feeling happy, really. The effects are just disastrous.

Music also inspires me a lot nowadays. :D



What are some difficulties you face when blogskinning?
Colour combination, GAH! So difficult at times!!
And multi-browser compatibility, this is a tough one. Sometimes it works in FF and screws up in IE, or vice versa. And that is HORRIBLE!!!!!!
Inability to achieve the desired effect I was hoping for is something that I find difficult too… I mean, I can just see the desired outcome in my head, and I just can’t achieve it! That’s very frustrating ):
And when codes screw up and you don’t know what’s wrong? That’s pretty horrible too!
And lots of stuff, really.

Randomly-generated question: Do you like cheese?
Funny you should mention CHEESE. I used to LOVE cheese like nothing else on Earth. I could eat them whole, three or four a day, and not get sick. Now I eat a little and I feel like puking. But melted cheese is the way to go!

That's all for this week, look out for the next issue soon!
`Elaine

Labels: interview, sweet-melancholy