August 31st, 11th Issue

This week, we have interviewed...


FEDORA_GIRL

fedora_girl, or Daisy, is probably one of the older blogskinners around, in terms of age and maybe experience? But her style has not really changed much right from the start. The quality of her skins have always maintained that high level too, and she is also kind and constructive with her comments. Learn more about this friendly blogskinner through this interview, enjoy!

1. How about some background info on yourself first?

I'm 20, live in the Philippines, & pound my brains to death daily getting a Chemical Engineering degree. I'm a child of God, and that gives my life meaning.

2. How did the name fedora_girl come about? Do you like fedoras?

My father collects hats, and had a fedora I was fascinated with. Still have it, in fact. Well, I needed a new internet name in high school, and that hat --- and the name --- was the most original thing I could come up with. Now, most people know me by it so I guess I'll never change it. :D

3. Why/How did you start blogskinning?

I guess it all started with my uncle putting Photoshop in my computer. It seemed like a waste of space if I couldn't use it, so I learned from books and tutorials on the internet. About the same time, I tried changing my blog's design with skins other people made, but was too picky about what I wanted. So I started blogskinning last March 2006.



4. Do you think a skinner's success can be measured by the number of SOTDs he/she has gotten, which is what many people think today?

Having an SOTD is cool, but there are so many great skinners out there who don't have any because of circumstances (they submit when not much people are online to see it, or have no screenshots). So no, I don't think so.

5. I especially like your drawings and flash-animated blogskins. But you don't watermark your images. Are you ever afraid of image theft?

Of course! I don't watermark though because I feel the skin was made for other people to enjoy, not for my name to be printed all over it in large letters. I do put my name in every skin's image, but it's really small. :)

6. What about rippers? Have you encountered any? How did you deal with them?

I have encountered a few, but I deal depending on the situation. If they made the skin but it looks so much like mine, I'll mention the similarity in a joking way. If they copied the whole thing, I'll let them know I'm upset about it and work on it from there.

I try to be careful about accusing people as rippers though. That's a serious accusation, and they might just not know any better.



7. What inspires your blogskins?

Hm. That would be song lyrics, stock photos I find, very beautiful brushes, and ideas I want to bring to life.

8. What about your flash-animated blogskins? What inspires them, specifically? Most of them contain a punchline, did you think of them on your own?

They're inspired by unusual stock photos. Like when I saw the shrimp photo I used in one of the skins, I said "Hey, that looks like a boat!" And yes, I usually think up the line on my own. I guess I just want to make people laugh. :D

9. I read in your blogskins profile that you don't like to rate. Care to elaborate on this? Do you think this has anything to do with the way the rating system works on blogskins.com now?

Well, I think ratings are good things since they show people whether they can do better. But sometimes, people just rate well because the skinner is their friend. Some skinners also demand five stars for skins that aren't quite five-star material then get angry if you don't give it to them. Some people will also rate you down for not answering their skin requests or just because they don't like the topic you skinned about.

I just don't think it's very objective, and I don't want to be part of the drama.



10. Enough about blogskins! A little more about your personal life now. According to your blog, you're in university now, right? Isn't it hard to manage your time between your studies, social life and blogskinning?

Yes, I'm in university and it IS sometimes hard to manage time between the things I do. I also spend a lot of time doing stuff at my church, playing the violin, and working occasionally. I guess it involves doing the more important things first. Like I'll study an hour before blogskinning. :D

11. I also read on your blog that you don't really like watching TV. Could you elaborate on this?

I don't watch much TV because I feel the shows give me wrong ideas about real life. Like a show might imply you have to be pretty or handsome on the outside to be happy, and that's just not true.

I also realized that when I totaled all the time I'd spend watching TV every week, it was a large amount of time I could spend doing other things. I could be going out with my family or blogging instead of staring at that screen. :D

12. I think you have a unique blogskinning style! Personally, what do you think is your blogskinning style?

I have no idea. I can describe my newer skins as simpler though, and more detailed.



13. How has Blogskins.com changed you?

I made a lot of friends on that site that I wouldn't have met otherwise. I also really improved on my blogskinning by going through skins made by great designers. :)

14. Any Blogskinning tips?

Three things: a) If you have no more ideas or get stuck on a certain design, do other stuff for a while. Talk to a friend. Walk the dog. Something. When you finish that break, you'll have a clearer idea what you want to do. b) Keep improving. Don't ever think you know everything about skinning because there's always something you haven't learned. c) Have fun. That's the most important thing.

15. Anything else you would like to add?

Don't forget to have a life in the real world! ;)



16. [Randomly Generated Qn] I'm quite curious about your url ( http://rocktheposer.blogspot.com). What DOES it mean? Any special meaning behind it?

It took such a LONG time to think of that URL. I guess I've always felt like I'm a poser with people thinking I can do more than what I can do. But what they're really seeing is God behind me making everything rock as much as it does. Without Him, I don't think I could do anything right. :D

17. [Randomly Generated Qn] Do you like corn soup?

Haha, sure. But I like cream of mushroom better!

18. [Last Randomly Generated Qn] Do you like travelling?

Yes, I do it as much as I can. It's fun to learn about how other people live in different places.



That's all for this week, watch this space for more updates next week!

Elaine

Labels: fedora_girl, interview