dragonjo8

Well....sort of. First a little background...

I am currently using a PDA based carputer solution. It works pretty well, however, I must admit I'm starting to get an itch to implement an in-dash system (ala scott_fx's). After seeing Scott's work (and a lot of other's work on this forum) I'm giving serious consideration to having a go at it (I know....I must be out of my mind).

My wife's Navigator has a built-in navigation/audio system that works really well (one of the better OEM solutions I've seen) and has a nice interface. My goal is to design a system, for my Vette, that has a similar OEM feel. After lurking around this forum for a while and evaluating different front ends, I decided to download Centrafuse, as it has the closest feel/look to my wife's system.

While the default Centrafuse skin is very nice, I was looking for something with a little more flair. The Brushed Aluminum/Metal skins by emdzey01 are very cool, however, not exactly what I was looking for. A new skin (in progress) by proximo is more along the lines of what I had in mind. Unfortunately, it seemed like he (she?) was taking forever to get it finished. I got tired of waiting, so I decided to use the screenshots he posted as a starting point and try to finish it.

Well....after messing around with it for a couple of days now, I can see why he's taking so long. What a pain in the a$$!!!! The fact that I have less than optimal photoshop skills doesn't help. Thankfully, some of you out there have lent a helpful hand. Specifically, mercury7 for the awesome automobile logos and rpm_vr4 for not chastising me too hard because I didn't use the search function to answer a configuration question (which he graciously answered anyway....can't say the same for shakes ....just kidding shakes, I guess I had it coming). At any rate, this skin is definitely a work in progress and is not at all complete. In fact, some of the screens are from emdzey01's Brushed Aluminum skin. I hope he doesn't mind. I also hope proximo doesn't mind the main screens I borrowed from his design. BTW if anyone wants to finish it up, by all means, please do!!!

One other thing, if anyone likes what they see, please let me know where I can have the files posted. It's over 6MB.

Without further ado, here are some screenies of the hybrid skin:







Here's a Photochop of what it I would like to implement in my Vette:

MP3Car.com

 

lostreception

NICE!

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xdjxklusivex

looks sick

aoLhaTer

Very nice design, really like it

The CF skin is nice but not really clean and professional looking; this however is much better

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dragonjo8

Me too!! However, I can't take full credit. As I stated earlier, I had a lot of help. The only pieces of artwork that are mine are the buttons on the bottom. I spent most of my time editing the .XML files to get everything to line up/work.

If I get some more time, MAYBE (and that's a big MAYBE) I'll finish it up so it doesn't use any of the screen art from the Brushed Aluminum skin. We'll see....I am kind of hoping someone with better Photoshop skills will do the artwork. I can work on editing the .XMLs as I pretty much have a handle on it now. Anyone interested?

lostreception

if you released it as is id be greatful as it looks just fine now

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dragonjo8

That is my intent, I just need somewhere(one) to host the files for me (it's over 6 MB in size). Know of any free services that accept files that large? Please advise.

mercury7

Glad to see my logo came in handy. I can help you finish the skin, if you want me to. What else needs to be done?

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MP3Car.com

 

tj!2k4

i can host it for you. send me an email with your address if you want me to host it.

lazy_g

Looks great!!!! i love it!

Any change of making the skin with different car logo's? like mazda...

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liquid_smoke

pretty damn sweet. likes a lot.
could this be the first real skin for CF

dragonjo8

A lot, actually. I just took care of the stuff that I will mainly see on screen. I don't really plan on using the EQ stuff, etc. I also didn't touch the dialouge screens. When you get the skin, you'll see there is a lot left to do, however, if you are good at Photoshop, which you obviously are, it should be relatively easy, just time consuming. As long as you keep all the screens that need to be done at the same dimension, I can tweak the .XML so everything lines up.

As I had indicated earlier, the skin is far from finished, however, it is very usable in its current state. The screens from the Brushed Aluminum skin actually look ok when combined with this skin.

If you do decide to finish it, post the files when you're done.

The skin will be posted very soon as tj!2k4 has offered to host it. Look for the link shortly.

dragonjo8

As I had indicated earlier, my skills at Photoshop are novice at best. I know a lot of people save the working files as PSDs. This is necessary so layers can be easily edited later. Unfortunately, I have trouble with layers (I don't know why, I just do). It seems every time I do something then want to make a change using, say the clone tool or a simple paste, or a color change, it won't let me (I know I just don't have the technique down). My technique for dealing with this is to do a merge. Once you do a merge, you can't go back and select individual objects. Most of my PSDs would be useless. I'll get the hang of it someday. I simply don't do enough graphic work to warrant my learning how to use Photoshop properly. More and more, though, it seems I am going to have to.

To answer your question, the only place you need to change the logo is in the upper left hand corner. You can do a cut to remove the image, then use the clone and smudge tools to paint the blank spot the cut creates. I know this is not very elegant. If you look closely, you will see I didn't really do a good job with the repaint. Good enough, I suppose. The main logo for the startup (splash) screen and the main screen can be obtained from mercury7. He makes awesome logos and I believe there is one for Mazdas. Take a look here:

http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/cf-skins/56160-centrafuse-1-4-logo-requests-posts-here.html

I hope this helps.

tj!2k4

Download the Corvette skin here

Unbranded screens for Corvette skin

The second link contains ONLY the unbranded screens, so you will need to download both .zip files in order to obtain a complete, brandable skin.


Instructions for the second file are as follows:

Drop the 'blank' from the file names, paste whatever logo you
want, then put the files in the 'screens' folder.

Don 944 LA

Thanks TJ , fast download 111k to S.D. ( with my EDonkey hogging 40K down )

I will use this when I build a system for my Sister ( 02 Camaro )

@ Dragonjo8 , Nice looking skin !!!!!
Thanks for sharing with the rest of us.

MP3Car.com