Focus on Female Skinners: Interview with Lorenela
Interview by Kenray

Lorenela is a name familiar to almost anyone who uses skins. She has worked closely with SoftIni on their applications and had a profound influence on many other skinners.

Lorenela's primary language is French, and my questions to her were posed in English. I found her answers to be quite charming. I have resisted altering her answers for the sake of syntax. I hope you will enjoy reading them as much as I did....

Tek: How did you get started in digital art? Were you a "doodler" as a child?

Lorene: I always like making all forms of arts like painting, hand crafts etc...and I 'm also an electronic gadgets maniacs, so, since I while I played with Atari, Commodore, Nintendo and all these game console. And, one day, I had to buy a PC. This was the best occasion to buy my first graphic program (Painter), and a damm tablet. As I find Painter nice, I also find that was too natural electronic painting. So, I have switch toward some more technical graphic packages and plugins.

Tek:Did you study in University?

Lorene: Yes, I have studied at Unniversity and get my major but nothing related to computer or arts.

Tek:What is your system like (hardware, memory, monitor, etc.)?

Lorene: Haha, that is a surprise...I just change my comp for a PIII 933 but since a while I had a Pentium MMX 200 little boosted to 233 with 96 megs ram. 3 hrad disks, a Matrox Millenium video card and a 19 inches monitor. My best partner in all on this is my Logitech cordless keyboard and mouse.

Tek:Do you have a favorite program(s) you use to create skins?

Lorene: Photoshop by far!

Tek:What is your skinning process like (do you create sketches, and develop them, as in suites, etc.)

Lorene: Well, I am not a skeches fan. I think in a first move, I try to find an effect to give me the feel of real and touch. When I have a result, I try to imagine a shape where my effect will look nice at his best. After, I look where to add the controls of the skinned program. This is my main concern, I always want to keep a good functionnality regarding the program controls versus my skin. After this...I always jamm..hahaha... but I work around the things as long as I am not satisfied.

Tek: Am I correct in thinking you are now working with/for Softini?

Lorene: No, you are wrong. I don't work for SoftIni. Fern is a good friend of me since a while. He often ask me about his new ideas and aften follow my tastes as a user. It is why I like SoftIni application and like to skin them. But, at first, we are friend.

Tek: You have done the default skins for several programs.
Did those companies/developers seek you out for the job?

Lorene: Not really, no company have offered me any job. Sometime, I little agreement on the side but no job. I think they ask me to make some skins because I take care of the functionnalities in the program versus my skins. I always want controls well defined, easy to find and use and try to apply nice eye catching effects on these controls.

Tek:Is skinning/digital art your full time career?

Lorene: No, digital arts is a hobby...only a hobby :) I have no other reasons to make digital arts or any other form of arts. It is really a hobby nothing else.

Tek: Do you have a family (kids/husban/dogs, cats)?

Lorene: Yes I have a family and I am very close to them :) About pets...I am a fan..i have a lovely dog named "Roukie", you can see her in my web site. Also, I have a canary and fishes. In summer I have a water pond, so, I put my fish here in summer and in automn, I keep them in a big aquarium in my office.

Tek: Do your loved ones know about your prominence in the world of skinning, and do you know if they use your work?

Lorene: I don't think that I am really prominent in the world of skinning. But, I know a lot like my skins, they often send nice comments and appreciations. I think, users don't really use tons of skins, so, when they find non disturbing stuff, nice looking and easy to use with clear controls, they adopt one an keep it a while. So, people that appreciate my skinnig style, often they use it for a while. I think people really like skin with well defined controls.

Tek: Russ Schwenkler told us that he likes his surfaces to look "touchable."
Your work has a lot of that "touchable" quality...metal surfaces, fabric surfaces (as in Jeans amp), Alumina... where do you get your inspiration?

Lorene: As I say earlier...this is my fun...on the first move, I don't try to make skin, I try to find a nice looking effect that feel touchable. This mean, I work on circle shape, round shapes etc...just to try effects. Once it is found, I try to find a shape where this effect can be applied at his best. The skin is always my very last move.

Tek: I noticed you have used titles like "Apollo" and "Cydonia," are you a science fiction fan?

Lorene: Not really, I prefer true life by far. But, I always crack for an electronic gadget. So, I am inclided toward leds, metal, circuits and so on...

Tek: plesae tell us some of your favorite books/authors?

Lorene: Daniele Steel ! As you can see, I am not really a science fiction fan..haha

Tek: You get a lot of attention form the "boys," do you get fan mail directly from the Pictureland site? Proposals of Marriage?

Lorene: Haha, no, I never receive kinda mails. Am I supposed to expect proposals? haha

Tek: How do you take that kind of attention? Is it nice to be appreciated, or do you feel like they should be looking at your work more than your pictureland shot?

Lorene: Ho boy...PictureLand, there is a lot of nice looking women here! In true life, all women are well treated by men. Regarding PictureLand results, I think it's easier here than on the works place...because regarding my skin works, I often grab very bad feeling comments. I have to pass over this fact but damm, I aint that.

Tek:Can you tell us what you are working on right now?

Lorene: I have some fun with 3D, I find the results is more real than gradients. At least more easy to have real look. I am coming with some stuff for fans of real looking stuffs.

Tek: What programs are you planning on skinning in the near future?

Lorene: Since a while I want to jump in some WindowBlinds because I often receive emails regarding this. For WinAmp, I have stopped totally, I am waiting to see WinAmp 3. It is lot of job making a WinAmp skin, so I prefer to wait.
On other hand..i am working on a secret project, I can tell anymore ;( But, this is a real big thing that is coming soon :) and...always SoftIni stuffs, he is my friend and a correct guy.

Tek: What is your favorite program to skin? Why?

Lorene: SoftIni stuffs...not so complicated, I use these programs myself every days.

Tek: And your least favorite? Why?

Lorene: Damm, BoxSys ! I find this program usefull at a first glance and as I am
beta tester. There are some other features not yet include in it that I use a lot...Like
the phone CallerID... Oupps... ok Fern to tell it?

Tek: Do you have any tricks up your sleeve as far as skinning technique goes? Are
you doing anything that would surprise the rest of us?

Lorene: Effects...Effects...Effects...My main goal. So, you cannot imagine how many
little bmp's tests reside on my hard disks...For now, I think skin styles seem to bloat, I am searching for a new style...You will see the result soon :)

Tek: Do you have any any advice for us skinners?

Lorene: Well, I am trying for a new style...for sure this style will be more hard to execute...this will worth the efforts...May be I will be heavy criticized, may be not...But, I want a totally new style of skinning arts and forms...I try :)

My own advices to every one is: do not try to make a skin...try to find a good effect that will worth the change from standard interface. Try to find the best form for the found effects. And....most important..pay special attention to the controls of the programs, these one must be clearly defined and easy to use.

Tek: Please answer Fnads's Five

What skin do you wish you'd written?

I just want a totaly new style...Hummm, I try :)

What would you like to have on your laptop if you were stranded on an island,
e.g., skins, music, proggies, peripherals, games, etc?

Music and games :) Don't forget my heavy duty woofer! haha

{Have there been any skins that have made you laugh? Cry? orgasm?
Boxers or briefs? (or, which do you prefer on your man?)}

Ho God! No, I don't feel like that about my skin works...
but, something else to say about my man :) haha

List some sites you visit daily, weekly, hourly...

Every days, I visit Skinz, DeskMod and DeviantArt
On a regular basis, Adobe, Macromedia and plugins companies...
and...for sure "Technidermy" :)

Seeya friends :)

01-01-01