Under The Spotlight - Xiandi

This edition of Skinning Community Interviews is special it is the second time I have interviewed this amazing artist and skinner.

This edition of Skinning Community Interviews is special to me, for a couple of reasons. This is the 20th interview, spanning almost 3 years, and it is the second time I have interviewed this skinner. Xiandi (aka Cynthia Schiller) is an amazing artist and skinner. She lives in a quiet town called Walled Lake in beautiful Michigan, USA, and since the last interview she has become a Master Skinner at Wincustomize.com, a mentor to many new skinners and a grandma. " /> Enjoy!

How long have you been skinning?
Xiandi: “About 5 years now. I started skinning seriously around July 2007.”

What type of skins do you prefer to make?
Xiandi:   “Windowblinds first, but I can also skin Winstep Xtreme, Rainlendar, Objectdock, Sysmetrix, Xion, CursorFX, and I’ve made a few wallpapers and Iconpackages too.”

What sites are you a member of?
Xiandi: “Wincustomize (where all of my skins from the beginning until now have been uploaded), Deviantart, Skinnalicious, MaxStyles, Winmodify, and here at Skinning Community Forum of course. I try to become a member of all the skinning sites out there, but I only upload my work to a few of them.”

How did you get started in skinning?
Xiandi:  “ I was given an old PC from a friend (Windows 95), and I really didn't like the way the icons looked. So, I found where they were stored, and started changing them using the paint program. They were horrible, but I didn't know that yet (laughs). I showed them to my brother (you may know him as Noiram) and he encouraged me to keep at it. He told me about a website called Wincustomize.com. I checked it out, started downloading things. I made a few icons and a couple wallpapers, and published them there. I got a positive response form the community. That was all it took, I was hooked!”

Who are your favorite skinners?
Xiandi: “Wow, there are so many! I actually posted something about this on Wincustomize describing my skinning heroes and why. Take a look: http://forums.wincus...page/2/#replies “

Has anyone of them, inspired you to make a skin or wall?  If so, elaborate a bit.
Xiandi: “ Oh yes. I made a couple themes that were inspired by Skinhit’s Iconpackages. The man is a genius when it comes to icons. He made one icon called Organic and posted it, and I fell in love with it. It was so simple in style and so rich in texture. When his Iconpackage was complete, I wanted to have matching skins for other programs and he was kind enough to give me permission to make and publish them. He also made an IP called Test. It was clean looking and a really lovely blue. I made matching things for that too and published them. Jim (aka RedneckDude) has also inspired me a few times. I’ve made skins to match some of his desktop X themes and wallpapers. Pressurized and Mezzanine were a couple of those. I’ve also made themes to match Murex’s Desktop X works. The MRX4 Reloaded theme is one of my most popular ones. He is a guy with some serious Photoshop skills, and he has taught me quite a bit about the ins and outs of PS. There are so many people that inspire me to make skins. There are so many talented artists out there!”  " />

Of the skins you made, which is your favorite?
Xiandi:  “ Organic is still one of my favorites, that one will always be special to me for many reasons. I’m also really proud of Armageddon. That was probably the hardest theme I have made to date, but I love the way it turned out. That whole suite of skins was collaboration between Murex and myself that was a blast to put together.”

Do you have anything you are working on now?
Xiandi:  “ I’m between skins at the moment. I just finished up a theme called Roux. My dad wanted a “red one” and that is the result, he loves it.”

What skins are you using right now on your desktop?
Xiandi:  ” A mash-up of different skins actually, my desktop usually looks like this between projects because I look over skins from others and change them out fairly quickly. At the moment I have Roux Winstep on there, a flower wallpaper from one of Snowman’s photos, and a work in progress Windowblinds from 2of3.”


Thanks, Cyndie!!


Skinning Community Sites:
WinCustomize Gallery:  http://www.wincustom.../2863552/Xiandi
deviantART Gallery: http://xiandi.deviantart.com/