To My Fellow Skinners

I was looking at the pages of a few skinners, the ones from my "generation". Not to say they weren't around before that or after it, but they are the people I think of most when I look back at that period a few years ago. They are the skinners I conversed with, collaborated with etc. Then I looked at some of the new skinners out there - name's I've never heard before. Sometimes I feel the standards of this art form have somewhat deteriated, or rather new and talented, potentially great skinners are taking up the art but are still developing their skills.

As I looked at these pages and skins by some of my favorite skinners and arguably some of the greatest skinners ever...I came to acknowledge something. I realised that we all had existed in a period somewhat like a Golden Age for WA skinning. The stuff we put out was amazing -pushed the standard higher. Each and every one of us. Each and every skin. Artistically worked through to the last pixel. Unique styles, colors, designs. I remember treasuring the critiques of certain skinners very much as well as always commenting and downloading every skin they make. I considered these people above the rest. People who perfected skinning as an Art form. Skinners that would be remembered years after.

I like to place this time somewhere around Winamp3's launch - cos I think some of the best WA2 skins came out around here. I remember staring at the fine details on skins by Kriptoner, Vida, Uriel, Peacemaker, Zkreso, 883, thk, intolerant3d, l-courni, jocpoc, jason, frezorer, c-spector and more. Many more of them after I joined Breed. I remember Monaux returnig to the art and making a couple AWESOME WA3 skins, and a couple WA2 aswell. i even remember Dj-Designs making a couple skins after a long time. Kriptoner's De-Reliction & Canicule and so many more, Peacemakers amazing organic-metallic looks sophia in particular for me, c-spectors skins which seemed to go from one awesome style to another, Vida was a god among skinners, I think he really influenced the way i skinned, he and 883 I felt brought some standards to skinning that remained for a long time. 883 had those awesome Bionica's, and Enkera skins. soooo many more greats by all of us!

I thought back through all this becos I felt a need to talk about this history. When I take the scope of it all in i feel we were all part of something really really big. We were at the forefront of WA skinning when WA was going through some of the biggest changes its had. We were the skinners everyone looked at to make the best new skins especially with WA going freeform. some of us made the skins that set the benchmarks in WA Modern skins, others perfected the Classic. i feel proud to have been part of such an amazing community.

I want you guys to know, wherever the hell you are, whether ur still skinning, or like me wishing you still had time to fuck around on photoshop, we not only lived through a Golden Age of skinning, but we all contributed to it like no other.