RF Easy Menu Creator Project Thread

[bernie]

Sorry vrage, I like Jurieyl's better. It has more polish to it and fits the program better.

My thoughts entirely.

[LtForce]

Here's my feeling...Instead of competing with Steven's product, why not help Steven out? Steven can setup a project in SourceForge for you guys to share code and the both of you can share your ideas and maybe combine your application features into a more complete product.

I thought about it, but I can't program with VB

[paradoxnj]

What are you making yours with? It has a .NET icon.

[LtForce]

C++

[steven8]

LTForce's is VC++.NET and mine is VB.NET. I have tried C++, VC++, VC++.NET and I just keep getting confused, no matter what real programmers say about how once you learn one you can get them all. So, we have separate projects. It's okay, as we go along, we may each see things about each other's project that we could incorporate in our own to make it better. Either way, I believe the community will get a valuable tool.

Now, about the splash screen submissions. I have had this idea in my head of an organic-type background overlain with a mechanical foreground from day one, but I have to say that Jurieyl's submission so far has the best feel to it of them all. It is a direction I had not thought of going, but I feel it fits the bill quite nicely. As the project is far from over, I would be more than happy if others feel so inspired to post more ideas. Thanks everyone!!

PS- I've taken Jurieyl's idea, and tweaked it a tad myself. I don't know if I like it better or not:

[Juryiel]

I'm not sure how well that background works, it's a bit too complicated. If you like it, try putting it behind the blue background, and then make the blue background transparent. Well, you need the photoshop layer file for that, I can give it to you if you have photoshop. I went ahead and did what I suggest but with a different background. You said organic, and what's more organic than.... proteins! Err.. not sure I like the result better, but it's your choice so I'll just put it below

[Juryiel]

Here, I added a textureizer background like you had, and did my suggestion above.

[steven8]

Here, I added a textureizer background like you had, and did my suggestion above.

Yep, this one is it unless someone blows me away with a different design. Thank you so much, Juryiel, and everyone else for your hard work!

[steven8]

Here's the new splash in 'Progress':

[Juryiel]

Here's one more background (last one I promise), only because my personal tastes are that the texturizer/canvas filter is a big overused and cheap when not trying to make things that look like paintings. It's still up to you what you use, but I like this last one the best.

Program is looking sweet!

[Agentarrow]

Very, VERY nice Juryiel. keep up the good work

[Agentarrow]

Well, I based something off of your idea, but I decided that yours was better.
Here's how far I got though: ==Edit== No background yet, but I'll keep going if Steven likes it enough to consider it, (add background, RF logo, a few other things )
==Edit#2== and EMM2 was my favorite, I liked the bubble background.

[steven8]

Here's one more background (last one I promise), only because my personal tastes are that the texturizer/canvas filter is a big overused and cheap when not trying to make things that look like paintings. It's still up to you what you use, but I like this last one the best.

Program is looking sweet!

Thanks! I am a painter so I am quite fond of the canvas look. I just liked the way you used it a whole lot more, so we're in there with that!

[Juryiel]

I'm glad you like it AA

I'll give you a couple of tips if you still want to work on yours. When making the types of lines like you see on mine, and what I'm assuming you're trying to do also with your white lines, use 45 degree angles to change directions instead of 90, it makes it look all technological because circuit boards tend to do that often (though definatly not exclusively).

Add a lot of little useless details. Just go on google image search and search for the types of images that have the feel you're trying to achieve, then see what sorts of things make them feel that way, as far as the small details go. Then make similar things, but don't copy directly.. that way you'll still feel like it's your work! And avoid symmetry when you're making details. The whole point of little details is to break the symmetry of the general layouts. That way, layouts are still nice and organized due to their general symmetry, but are not bland due to the assymetry of their details. And you might accidentally find new and better looking details (those boxes on mine are actually just two or more corners flipped on themselves either vertically or horizontally, and were discovered by pure accident when I was trying to duplicate my first corner to put on all 4 sides). Anyway, little details make or break a these types of things.

Also, mind your colors. Depending on the style, things either need to pop out or be muted and colors are an excellent way to do this (and for more complicated images, so are 'scanlines' and other such techniques as you may have noticed ) . The desaturate/saturate tools, contrast/brightness tools, and hue tools are your best friends.

One final thing, nothing I make ever looks good when I first make it. It's always crap, invariably. That's where lots of patience and trial and error comes in, adding/removing details, changing colors as mentioned above, and positions of things will eventually produce something that looks good. That's when you stop, and pretend you knew what you were doing all along But in all seriousness, I've never once made a creative picture (one that I did not copy, like the watch for example is a copy of a real life watch) that came out as I had imagined it at first. Not even this RF Menu splash looks much like what I was imagining, but don't tell steven8!

Well, I hope this helps

[Agentarrow]

Thanks for the advice. I'm new to this sort of stuff, having a psp trial for less than a week. I'll buy the full version eventually.