TEKNIDERMY - ISSUE 7: November/December 2001

An interview with Xymantix
by kenray

Xymantix' skins run the range, from familiar rectangular formats to smooth organic shapes. So, is Xymantix a programmer's skinner, or a skinner's programmer? You decide...

Tek: Please tell us a bit about yourself, your name, occupation, where you're
from and what you do in the real world...

Xymantix: My name is Nick Decker, and I'm the engineering supervisor for a software development company. Although my job is based in management, I still like to do some coding! I first learned to program in high school, and spent many an hour on my trusty Commodore 64. I eventually graduated from college with a BS in Electrical Engineering, but decided that I'd rather work in the computer industry. I've been with the same company ever since.

Tek: Does your family know that daddy is really Xymantix?

Xymantix: Nope - my kids are too young for that. Although, I do have a "XYMANTX" customized license plate for my car, and occasionally refer to myself in the third person in hopes the name will catch on :) No luck so far, though. My coworkers can barely remember it let alone pronounce it!

Tek: You have a heading on your site for music...is that "music I like"
or "music that I make"?

Xymantix: I'd scare people off if it was the music that I make! Although I enjoy playing the guitar and synthesizer, I only play along with my CDs. The section was meant to be a "What Songs/Artists I'm currently listening to" thing. The radio stations here are somewhat lacking, so it's supposed to be an area to introduce others to groups and styles that I like in case they might like them too.

Tek: What kind of stuff do you listen to while you are creating your art?

Xymantix: I like a lot of music, from 80's hair metal to grunge, from shoe-gazing to brit-pop to alt-rock. It varies depending on my mood. My playlist is always full though!

Tek: We can see in your skins that you have a very broad range, style wise.
Some of your work is very "mechanical", and some of your skins
are very organic (black banana comes to mind).
Which came first for you - programming side or the arts side?

Xymantix: Definitely the programming side. I had been programming for years before touching a graphics program. POV-RAY was my segue into the artist world - it allowed me to programmatically and mathematically design a scene in three-dimensional space, and the computer did the hard work of making it look good!

Tek: Much of your skinning work has a very"tactile" feel to it.
You've got a real mastery of light and surface, reminiscent of someone like Bill
Bart.

Is that the result of a calculated, purposeful intention, or is that just
"the way you like things to look"?

Xymantix: Both, actually. Towards the end of my POV-RAY stint, I spent most of my time perfecting textures instead of modeling. My goal was to come up with a rendering that was so realistic looking that it would fool people into thinking that it was a photograph. I tend to do the same thing now with PhotoShop when making skins.

Tek: Are you using or doing anything unusual, anything that would
surprise the rest of us? And what programs do you use to make your skins?

Xymantix: Just PhotoShop! One of the things that I do most of the time is to construct a surface that's a composite of several layers. I use the blending functionality a lot to combine them to add a highlight here, a bevel there, and so on.

Tek: You created a program called "Clockulator", which is probably one of
the most customizable apps I have ever seen, just "options galore".
Is clockulator the result of a "programmer who skins" or is it the product of
"a skinner who programs"?

Xymantix: Probably a skinner who programs, but then again I've been accused of being a closet control freak! I like to be able to control as many aspects as possible. That's one thing that's great about skinning - you have the opportunity to control the look, the function, etc.

Tek: Do you intend to get Clockulator out for the public soon?

Xymantix: Probably not very soon because I tend to shift hobbies a lot. Right now I'm in more of a graphics phase, so that's what I'm spending more of my free time on. The other issue is that I've still got a lot of plans for it. I'd rather not release it until it's closer to what I ultimately want it to be.

Tek:Who are some of your influences, both now, and as you were first developing as a skinner? (feel free to "shout out" to your faves).

Xymantix: Probably my first skin was a lousy WinAmp one that I never finished. After that I did three Sonique skins in a row. But I really started skinning in earnest after playing with LiteStep and getting my hands on every Dangeruss skin I could find! I'd say that Treetog is my current favorite - everytime I see his latest offerings the phrase "Sheer Genius!" pops into mind :) Talk about oodles of talent...

Tek: You say on your site that you didn't enjoy skinning winamp, because
it is just "too complicated" <correct me if I misquoted you>, but you enjoy
skinning Sonique, which many of us just can't get into for the same reason...
What's the difference between the two, as far as complication is concerned?

Xymantix: Even through Sonique isn't a walk in the park, you still have some really great artistic control - especially with things like the volume control. Oh - let's not forget that all-important word - Freeform! While I admit there are a lot of good WinAmp skins out there, it's really tough for me to think outside of that little box. You've got to be really talented to come up with something novel. I prefer a less constraining skin spec since I have much more creative freedom!

Tek:What is your favorite program to skin?

Xymantix: Right now it's QCD Player. It's sort of like the love child of CoolPlayer and Sonique - with the best qualities of each! Freeform skinning, multiple modes, detachable sections, animated controls (knobs, sliders, trackers), control mapping - it's sweet! I've only done a couple of skins for it so far, but I've already got 3 in progress.

Tek: Is winamp the least?

Xymantix: Heh! Probably, mostly because I invariably end up off a pixel here and a pixel there. My hat is off to those who do it - I don't have that kind of patience. Although I do have the patience to render an analog gauge animation in 3 degree steps - so go figure...

Tek: Are you working on anything skin-wise, at the present moment?

Xymantix: I've got two themes that are about 75-95% done right now. One of them is actually for my company! We have a Java-based language called BBj that is skinnable via the popular UNIX themeing paradigms - GTK+ and KDE. I also have some great concept skins that were going to be Sonique, then WMP, then CoolPlayer. Hopefully I'll get them done in QCD!

Tek: In closing, I have one final question....boxers or briefs?

Xymantix: Ha - I thought about this one before when reading past Teknidermy articles! Let's just say that it depends on whether or not we're trying for another child ;)

Our thanks to Xymantix for making time for this interview.