What is happening to the skinning community?

Anyone else concerned?

from JoeUser Forums

So where do you see the skinning community going?

I was doing a quick round up of the classic old sites and where are they now?

Skinz.org hasn't had a new news item since October 11th!

People aren't submitting news on Skinbase.org nearly as much as they used to.

Deskmod.com hasn't put their libraries up yet.

LotsOfSkins and ArtUproar seem to not be getting new news on them.

Customize.org seems to be doing well and deviantART is doing well.

If you haven't heard of these sites before, please check them out. They are all very good sites that deserve to be visited as well.

community
10,212 views 18 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I think it becomes more and more difficult to keep track of all the skinning sites out there, so in difference to former days I only focus on the 2 main sites WC and da as well as a german site I am mod for. I only look at other skinning sites occasionally just to find the mass content (and the present trend of lacking self moderation) doesn't attract me anymore...

At the beginning of Wincustomize and a bit later on I uploaded works to 7 (!) different skinning sites. I don't do that anymore...
Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Most of those sites are ghost towns. Skinartistry Skinzone however is live and rockin!
Siege of Centauri
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Maybe people are waiting for the next "fad". I mean aqua still has a community, but nothing really new or innovative is coming from there. Aero is virutally non-existant anymore.

I say we get a couple of us together, and let's come up with the next skin fad.
Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Aqua(water)...Aero (glass)...How 'bout Pet Rocks IR would be the man to create a WB skin based on rocks....

My time is spent pretty much at Skinartistry and WinCustomize. It's just to time consuming to be bouncing from site to site. Every once in a while though, I'll breeze through sites looking for visual styles (WindowBlinds and MSStyles)
Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top
So Long Live WC .............. :????????????????????
Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top
The less popular sites tend to be the more 'advert' driven ones that bombard you with pop-ups. I think that's the main reason for their decline.
Reply #7 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Why not try Art n Skins: http://www.artnskins.com/news.php
Reply #8 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I think Hippy is right with his statement on the advertising. I also think that different sites are slowing developing in different directions. Some sites seem to be happy to not focus on news so much and just be a place for people to upload their work. These sites are pretty much running themselves now with the downside being less member interaction.
Reply #9 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I just don't find much of interest at those other sites. WC has what I need. And as you mentioned Brad, the other sites mostly tend not to be updated often. If they aren't getting new content often enough it doesn't give anyone much reason to go there.

Posted via WinCustomize Browser/Stardock Central
Reply #10 from WinCustomize Forums Top
A lot of skin sites (or related) crashed and burn. I remember SkinIt and Skinzone. There were a couple of others too. I thin what is happening now is that its either consolidating or the sites that do come up now are more focused on a piticular.

Skinartistry Skinzone is one. Anoter one is on Modblog run by Solution Designs.

Me, personally, I only really go to 2 sites. dA and WC. I might go to Skinartistry Skinzone more and will be going to Deskmod when it returns in a few months (the owners are currently working on Modblog).
Reply #11 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Oh and in some ways, I am opening up a site for artists but its doesn't have a deep focus on skinners but is clearly there celled eSource Magazine. When Deskmod comes back and combines it power with Modblog eSource will have is skin area as well (but its focus is on current events and entertainment)

I think that lead back to what I wrote earlier, skin sites are becoming more thought out and focused on a specific type or theme and slowly branches out from there.
Reply #12 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Once a mariner finds that perfect boat, he invests his efforts and time and passion into that particular craft of his dreams. He may still look at other boats, and even distantly admire some, but his heart is in his own vessel. People told me to upload some of my stuff on other sites and it would be accepted immediately; but my heart is here. Here is where there are so many good people that I already know. Here are the best skinners (although some are on other sites too, they are all here). Here is where I want to spend my time.
In case you missed my point,
I like it here!
Reply #13 from WinCustomize Forums Top
There are other sites? .....
Reply #15 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I believe that skinning community seems to follow the pattern of modern world societies,after all it is a virtual society,only that is in a place where no law is imposed,there is no law to set boundaries.However societies are always built based on prototypes or in other words they just follow the example of another.Well the modern world (maybe you can call it New World Order)is built upon the absence of middle class.There are the mass productive,richer and biiger ones and there are the small ones,the low-production ones.Also there are the fortunate ones,the elit as it is called.Well based upon this model,the root the skinning society has been on is forming as such: The big sites(DeviantArt and Wincustomize) are going to be bigger and stay on-top for many years to come.The small sites are going to just crawl down and die or live in a transparent way,since they'll have nothing new to produce.In the smaller sites there are both the mini-communities and the individual artists sites.Also there are going to be some elit groups of artists(Depthcore,Pixstudio)whose sites will be a closed society for elit members the master of skin-crafting.Their value is recognised both as aesthetic and economically lucrative.Well i don't mean to be a prophet,i don't have such abilities,yet judging from phaenomena within the Net,if something does not changes rapidly around here,the route has been set.I'm just glad WC is in the survivors zone
Reply #16 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I actually hope that sites such as Pixtudio, Essorant and Skinplant do well in the years to come. I think that the initial 'community' shock is over in relation to paying for skins and I would love to see these sites (and hopefully others) earning full time incomes one day for their top quality skins.

I just wonder if skinning would be the same if it were not a hobby, but a job. Would it be a dream job?
Reply #17 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I see a drop off on this site....seems like fewer skinners and, fewer new ideas. Maybe that's par for the course. I do wish, though, that Stardock would come out with software (or tell this clod which software to use) that could change the resolution of skins/walls to match my laptop's 1440x900 res. I love Tiggs' Cabal, but when I try to change the res to 1440x900 with pix resizer, it's a dismal failure.

Can anyone help?
Reply #18 from WinCustomize Forums Top
For a wall...just crop a 1600x1200....for Cabal there'd be no issue doing that...