So I found out there's no pixel art creator/editor/drawer for android. Naturally I had to write one. 72 hours later: Pixelesque.
Backend is done with Processing, and all the android buttons were made with the app itself.
100% free
Market: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.rj.pixelesque
Source: https://github.com/rjmarsan/Pixelesque
You can edit, export, share, etc.
I'm super interested in feedback; ease of use, feature suggestions, etc.
Hey, thanks for working on this. It is a very good start and a good idea since it can be a quick few minute diversion while waiting in line, on the bus, etc.
Additions that would be cool to see-
ability to choose the size of the canvas and be able to add or remove rows/columns.
see a preview of the picture quickly while creating it
have an optional coordinate system (a la excel) to keep track of space, symmetry, etc
(far off thought) social aspect! Have browsable creations from other artists, ratings, tagging and sorting, etc
silentheero said:
Hey, thanks for working on this. It is a very good start and a good idea since it can be a quick few minute diversion while waiting in line, on the bus, etc.
Additions that would be cool to see-
ability to choose the size of the canvas and be able to add or remove rows/columns.
see a preview of the picture quickly while creating it
have an optional coordinate system (a la excel) to keep track of space, symmetry, etc
(far off thought) social aspect! Have browsable creations from other artists, ratings, tagging and sorting, etc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good suggestions. The preview and coordinate system seem totally doable. As for the first one, do you mean resize things, or making new ones? I thought the 'new' dialog did a good job of choosing custom sizes.
The social part is certainly something I had thought a lot about, but don't have the time or skill to write the server/browser side (anyone want to help?)
awesome!! i am huge into low-res pixel art (weird, i know) so i am very excited about this. just got a warranty replacement on my phone so i have to upgrade to 2.2 again before i can install but i'm definitely going to try it out.
as for quickly resizing to look at the overall picture: in a pixel program i use (GraphicsGale) as well as photoshop and whatnot, you can set a little "preview" window of your image to see how it looks zoomed out. it really helps being able to glance over and see the image to make sure it's all coming together and the composition is right, and as it might be bulky doing something like that on a phone it would be equally useful to have a quick "zoom out/zoom in" button to look at the overall image. i'm guessing that's what the other guy was saying - but like i said, i haven't gotten to install it yet so i have no idea if this kind of thing exists yet!
lauu said:
awesome!! i am huge into low-res pixel art (weird, i know) so i am very excited about this. just got a warranty replacement on my phone so i have to upgrade to 2.2 again before i can install but i'm definitely going to try it out.
as for quickly resizing to look at the overall picture: in a pixel program i use (GraphicsGale) as well as photoshop and whatnot, you can set a little "preview" window of your image to see how it looks zoomed out. it really helps being able to glance over and see the image to make sure it's all coming together and the composition is right, and as it might be bulky doing something like that on a phone it would be equally useful to have a quick "zoom out/zoom in" button to look at the overall image. i'm guessing that's what the other guy was saying - but like i said, i haven't gotten to install it yet so i have no idea if this kind of thing exists yet!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The preview is an excellent idea.
I'm slowly starting to realize I have more ideas than space on the screen. Is there anything that's less necessary, or confusing about the UI? I'm debating having a quick popup on startup explaining how to use it, but i sort of hate those apps.
Someone mentioned to me having the bottom bar of tools swipe side to side like launcher pro. Don't know if that's 'intuitive' or most people wont notice it.
rjmarsan said:
The preview is an excellent idea.
I'm slowly starting to realize I have more ideas than space on the screen. Is there anything that's less necessary, or confusing about the UI? I'm debating having a quick popup on startup explaining how to use it, but i sort of hate those apps.
Someone mentioned to me having the bottom bar of tools swipe side to side like launcher pro. Don't know if that's 'intuitive' or most people wont notice it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I finally got around to updating my phone to get pixelesque, and I love it. The UI to me is simple and straight-forward; if you're looking to downsize, the pencil/hand tools could probably be combined. It helps having the single-pixel option but I don't think it's totally necessary. I'm impartial to the whole "side-swipe" thing; if you add more options/icons yeah it could come in handy but for now I personally like it as is. One thing that could attract a lot more pixel art enthusiasts could be the option to begin with a canvas of large pixels (like it has now) or smaller (maybe half-size?) pixels, for better detail. Again I don't know **** about app development so I have no idea how difficult changes like this are
But so far I love it! I'll update here with some pixel art if I ever get the time
lauu said:
One thing that could attract a lot more pixel art enthusiasts could be the option to begin with a canvas of large pixels (like it has now) or smaller (maybe half-size?) pixels, for better detail.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You and silentheero have mentioned the same point. Is this an extension to the "New" dialog, or something I'm missing?
Also, I'm almost done with making a 'fill' brush and some geometry brushes 'circle, rectangle, line'. I think I'll try to implement a live preview as well as a color picker for the next release (probably in a week or so), along with any more features you guys can think of.
Thanks so much for the ideas guys.
New update, added a preview on the bottom, brushes (fill, rect, circle, and line), and upped the single image size to 64x64. Performance also has increased quite a bit.
No color picker JUST yet, still working out exactly how I'd like to implement it. Ideas? Thoughts in general?
rjmarsan said:
Someone mentioned to me having the bottom bar of tools swipe side to side like launcher pro. Don't know if that's 'intuitive' or most people wont notice it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried if I could swipe the tools
rjmarsan said:
No color picker JUST yet, still working out exactly how I'd like to implement it. Ideas? Thoughts in general?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How about holding the finger down on a pixel picks its color?
FEATURES I WOULD LIKE:
1) A textured background, so it is possible to distingush between a black pixel and a transparent one.
2) The ability to swich to fullscreen mode in the settings.
3) I can't save the file. I simply cannot figure out how to get a .png file out of the program. Export seems just wierd, I don't want to save at some other resolution than the one I draw in.
4) How about a simple in-game help text? I uninstalled Pixelesque once because I didn't discover most of the features (multiple canvas sizes, drag, zoom, auto-saved colors)
5) It would be nice if it was possible to import a high-res bitmap in the background, which I could trace as pixel-art. Then I could sketch naturally, either using a physical pencil, or another drawing app.
... Besides that, the app is perfect! Good work.
kasper hviid said:
How about holding the finger down on a pixel picks its color?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like that a lot. I'll just have to make sure to put a short help guide when the app starts.
kasper hviid said:
1) A textured background, so it is possible to distingush between a black pixel and a transparent one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup. Haven't done this one yet out of laziness, but I should.
kasper hviid said:
2) The ability to swich to fullscreen mode in the settings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How exactly does this work? Would the bottom and top bars just go away, and you hit menu again for them to come back?
kasper hviid said:
3) I can't save the file. I simply cannot figure out how to get a .png file out of the program. Export seems just wierd, I don't want to save at some other resolution than the one I draw in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah... for now you can dig out the actual .png from the program folder (that's all it uses to save the images itself), but I should add an 'original size' to the export menu, if that works?
kasper hviid said:
4) How about a simple in-game help text? I uninstalled Pixelesque once because I didn't discover most of the features (multiple canvas sizes, drag, zoom, auto-saved colors)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Definitely. coming soon.
kasper hviid said:
5) It would be nice if it was possible to import a high-res bitmap in the background, which I could trace as pixel-art. Then I could sketch naturally, either using a physical pencil, or another drawing app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was actually thinking of making this a 'paid' feature, as it's a pretty intense. Not sure if this app is at a point yet where anyone would buy a paid version.
kasper hviid said:
... Besides that, the app is perfect! Good work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot man. Thanks for the feedback too. I pretty much make this app based off what people here ask for. The only other feature I've been thinking that you didn't mention, is a way to shift and resize drawings.
rjmarsan said:
Yeah... for now you can dig out the actual .png from the program folder (that's all it uses to save the images itself), but I should add an 'original size' to the export menu, if that works?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would be nice!
rjmarsan said:
How exactly does this work? Would the bottom and top bars just go away, and you hit menu again for them to come back?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would think of something like "stays fullscreen untill it's turned off again in the settings." I really like discrete minimalistic interfaces, so my ideal Pixelesque would probably be something like this:
img805.imageshack.us/img805/3075/pixelesque.jpg
I have removed everything, sized down the icons and removed the icons background, and added a bit of drop shadow.
After Chrome came out, Firefox copypasted its minimalistic GUI. So having less GUI must have some value. But I'm more fanatical about it than most.
rjmarsan said:
I was actually thinking of making this a 'paid' feature, as it's a pretty intense. Not sure if this app is at a point yet where anyone would buy a paid version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Making it a paid feature sounds reasonable, since it is more geared towards more ambitious users.
Another method would be to have a high-res sketching layer with a few basic sketching tools: Sketching pencil, larger pencil at the size of a "final pixel" and eraser. Colors won't be needed. That way, the sketch could be drawn to fit a certain pixel size, and the artist won't waste time with too small details.
A FEW SMALL IDEAS:
Ability to turn the grid off
Two-finger shortcuts like Menu+screentouch or Pencil+screentouch. Could be used to turn preview on/off or eyedropper.
Toggle small/large/both by clicking the preview
For some reason, the semi-opaque square at my finger "feels" sluggish, since it jumps to the current pixel.
Will definitely be trying this. Used to "draw" on my old ti-82 all the time.
Sent using Tapalk.
People invent fantastic and simply things sometimes...
maybe a dialog to save when exiting should be added ?
or some mechanism that saves the last made image automaticly when exiting ?
I love pixel art but never got into it but as a person who never done it... I think the ability to import a picture in the background and create pixel art over it is an awesome idea.
It shouldn't be only in the pro version since I think this single feature will let everyone try it out and create pixel art.
Perhaps free version is limited to 16 colors vs 256 of pro + more tools.
Just the ability to import a picture in the background and use 16 colors to recreate it (don't need tools really just a pencil tool) = free.
Pro should have more tools, ability to resize grid, upload options (Facebook?), and more.
G2x - 2.3.7 CM7
Transformer - 3.2 Revolver OC/UV
maepchik said:
People invent fantastic and simply things sometimes...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much. I really appreciate the comments people leave.
1immortal said:
maybe a dialog to save when exiting should be added ?
or some mechanism that saves the last made image automaticly when exiting ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I spent all lunch discussing your comment. I think what I'm going to do, is it will automatically save right before the app quits. That way you can open an existing image, edit it for a while, save it as something else, but don't lose your original. However if you edit it and quit, you don't lose your work. Is that a fair tradeoff?
player911 said:
I love pixel art but never got into it but as a person who never done it... I think the ability to import a picture in the background and create pixel art over it is an awesome idea.
It shouldn't be only in the pro version since I think this single feature will let everyone try it out and create pixel art.
Perhaps free version is limited to 16 colors vs 256 of pro + more tools.
Just the ability to import a picture in the background and use 16 colors to recreate it (don't need tools really just a pencil tool) = free.
Pro should have more tools, ability to resize grid, upload options (Facebook?), and more.
G2x - 2.3.7 CM7
Transformer - 3.2 Revolver OC/UV
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a really tough time with making a paid app. I've never done it before, as it feels really mean. On the one hand, I want the paid app to be for hardcore users who want the 'power tools' that are tough to implement and only benefit them. On the other hand, I don't want to purposefully lobotomize the free version to force people to upgrade... The image as a background is a handy feature, albeit a bit of an intense feature. I think I can work it in the free version, or alternately just may give away the pro version to you awesome xda guys.
rjmarsan said:
I spent all lunch discussing your comment. I think what I'm going to do, is it will automatically save right before the app quits. That way you can open an existing image, edit it for a while, save it as something else, but don't lose your original. However if you edit it and quit, you don't lose your work. Is that a fair tradeoff?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
fair enough
you're doing a great job, thanks for all your time and work !
rjmarsan said:
Yeah... for now you can dig out the actual .png from the program folder (that's all it uses to save the images itself), but I should add an 'original size' to the export menu, if that works?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where is the Program folder? I can't find it on my SD Card.
This App is FANTASTIC. It's perfect for making my Rockbox Artwork. My suggestions so far are:
1) An easy way to export my created art in one go, rather than one at a time. The current way isn't that good for me. I see no point in having the option to export in the current Low, Medium and High resolutions. Like, what's the point? I'd just like to see it export the image(s) I've created in their existing size and be able to chose from one/many or all to export at once. ie transfer them to my PC.
2) The ability to Play the created files as an Animation or Flip Art. ie Let me choose a list of files I've created (all the same grid size) and the order I wish to see them shown and the speed. Similar to this:
https://market.android.com/details?...51bGwsMSwxLDEwNCwiYWlyLkJyaWRnZUludmFkZXJzIl0.
Check out the Vimeo link there.
3) The option to save them as bitmaps,preferably with colour options ie 2 colour Black and White.
4) I'd like to see the "Save As" option in the same Menu as the "Save". If I'm creating multiple files in succession, it would be nice to only have to tap the menu once and not click "More".
5) The option to choose Preview Size. I'd like a larger preveiw that what's there now.
Thanks for the great free app. It's a lot of fun.
---------- Post added at 07:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:53 PM ----------
rjmarsan said:
I spent all lunch discussing your comment. I think what I'm going to do, is it will automatically save right before the app quits. That way you can open an existing image, edit it for a while, save it as something else, but don't lose your original. However if you edit it and quit, you don't lose your work. Is that a fair tradeoff?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd like this option.
Related
Is there anyway to make better use of the real estate available on the homescreens? The current setup with so much space between icons/widgest seems like a colossal waste of the real estate the higher res N1 screen offers.
IMO, it also detracts from the aesthetic appearance of the homescreens. Especially coming from an iPhone.
I'm hoping this is a legacy issue, due to previous phones having lower res screens and google wil fix this.
So you want them closer together so you can't see your desktop? It's not a "legacy problem", that's how it has always been. There may be a home replacement that will do what you want though.
I think a major effect that seperates the iPhone and android ui is android's spacious desktop. I may be misunderstanding you but it sounds like you're asking why the android desktop isn't more like iphone's cookie cutter application squares, which are somewhat claustrophobic in my humble and often stupid opinion. I personally like the desktop feel of android. Feels like I've got a computer in my pocket...
DMaverick50 said:
I think a major effect that seperates the iPhone and android ui is android's spacious desktop. I may be misunderstanding you but it sounds like you're asking why the android desktop isn't more like iphone's cookie cutter application squares, which are somewhat claustrophobic in my humble and often stupid opinion. I personally like the desktop feel of android. Feels like I've got a computer in my pocket...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 Agreed.
Never run out of screen icon space again. Place 3 icons in the place of 1. Pay version has up to 16 icons in the place of 4!
Now with MyBackup support!
v2.2: Fast AppList, Preview mode, Redone Backup/Restore, Config all from main app!
Update your ratings to 5!
Contains: 1x1 (2x1 & 4x1 in pay version)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.androlib.com/android.application.com-reeyees-moreiconsfreewidget-xjED.aspx
The space between icons is what expresses the live wallpaper & impresses me & others ...awesome looking!
DMaverick50 said:
I think a major effect that seperates the iPhone and android ui is android's spacious desktop. I may be misunderstanding you but it sounds like you're asking why the android desktop isn't more like iphone's cookie cutter application squares, which are somewhat claustrophobic in my humble and often stupid opinion. I personally like the desktop feel of android. Feels like I've got a computer in my pocket...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+2 Agreed.
I think they could have a fifth row
OrganizedFellow said:
http://www.androlib.com/android.application.com-reeyees-moreiconsfreewidget-xjED.aspx
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome widget. Paid for it the second I found out about it.
djnutz said:
Awesome widget. Paid for it the second I found out about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Been using it a while on one screen you can potentially have 60 apps or so!!!
Mwhahahahahha.........
Because if you add more rows, and then rotate the phone, you will not have enough room without rearranging your home screens.
4 rows in landscape dictates the 4 rows in portrait mode.
muncheese said:
Because if you add more rows, and then rotate the phone, you will not have enough room without rearranging your home screens.
4 rows in landscape dictates the 4 rows in portrait mode.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But at the time of the phones launch and still, the home screens are portrait only unless you install the hacked mod.
Other android devices (droid/cliq/etc) support landscape views.
They're not doing seperate os's for seperate devices.
OrganizedFellow said:
moreiconsfreewwidget
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thankyou for that, solves my problem for now
DMaverick50 said:
I think a major effect that seperates the iPhone and android ui is android's spacious desktop. I may be misunderstanding you but it sounds like you're asking why the android desktop isn't more like iphone's cookie cutter application squares, which are somewhat claustrophobic in my humble and often stupid opinion. I personally like the desktop feel of android. Feels like I've got a computer in my pocket...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The aesthetic bit was just a secondary comment. I may well get used to liking the android layout as much, it may just be that i'm used to seeing the iPhone desgin/layout.
However, the bigger point for me was that I am unable to have anymore icons, despite the higher res screen. Which is particularly annoying when you can see all that space going to waste. It definately looks like another row would fit cofortably.
Only 5 home screens and limited folder functionality, make the problem worse for me.
Which brings me onto my second question, is there a simple app to skin folders and allow you arrange icons as you wish? If this were possible easily, I wouldn't need more homescreens. I don't want to use a new theme as I like the current one for now and would like to use it for a bit while I get used to the phone.
OrganizedFellow said:
http://www.androlib.com/android.application.com-reeyees-moreiconsfreewidget-xjED.aspx
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does the widget work with Bettercut? Am I able to customize the icons?
muncheese said:
Because if you add more rows, and then rotate the phone, you will not have enough room without rearranging your home screens.
4 rows in landscape dictates the 4 rows in portrait mode.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, so the height and number of rows is fixed so that they can be mapped without any manipulation to landscape mode. Which from rough measurement appears to be the case.
I guess the issue is not so much with icons/shortcuts which can be easily rearranged as they are 1 x 1 units. But moreso with widgets which may not be rearrangeable with a simple rotation. I.E. You couldn't fit five 4 x 4 widgets in landscape without altering the widgets dimensions.
Guess the simplest ways around it would be to prevent rotation if you select more then the standard 4 rows. Or enable scrolling of the home screen in Landscape.
Anyway, thanks for enlightening me.
5to1 said:
Which brings me onto my second question, is there a simple app to skin folders and allow you arrange icons as you wish? If this were possible easily, I wouldn't need more homescreens. I don't want to use a new theme as I like the current one for now and would like to use it for a bit while I get used to the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try Apps Organizer.
so in another thread (which was closed and pointed here) similar to this, there was the following instructions
Edit /system/build.prop and change this line:
ro.sf.lcd_density=240
Try using 160 instead of 240. I don't think it allows you to fit more on the screen, but definitely changes the effective resolution.
which I used to increase the resolution of the system, it is BEAUTIFUL...but it doesnt map to well with the nexus tray, wondering is someone could point in me the right direction to get the tray to look better, maybe another value in build.prob that needs changing or....?
I would like to see a 5th row, is there an app for that ?
I just recently moved from iOS to Android, and I like it so far but it looks kind of... cheap. I'm talking about HTC Sense specifically, stock/AOSP Android is well design but albeit dull to some (although I don't agree, I prefer the minimalistic design). Some of it is okay while other parts don't make a whole lot of sense or just look plain amateur. Most of all, I think it's way over exaggerated. I hate looking at the browser bar and seeing a heavily glossed bevel with a near near flat text input and a inset button. Why would a button be even inset?
Anyway, I like some of Sense's additional features, and since Cyanogen isn't stable yet, I'd like to re-design Sense to be more subtle and just better designed. I'm a well established UI/UX designer but always have a lot of work on hand. So if someone who is knowledgeable with the graphic files that make up Sense (preferably in the new Froyo build) and is willing to identify and send the files (preferably in a zip of organized folders so I could just re-design and leave as is which could then be easily turned into a usable update file by someone), I'd get started ASAP.
The EVO is fine as is, but improving the appearance of Sense would go a long way in calming my OCD mind Attached is a quick example of how it would look like. It's the "to" contact bar in the HTC messaging app - the top is default, the bottom is my redesigned version.
My main beefs with the default graphic are:
a. It's too glossy making the outset depth of the bar appear high, problem is that a flat element (the text input box) is laid on top of it thus making it look weird and unnatural. Plus it makes it look like cheap plastic.
b. The button is inset. Why? Have you ever seen a inset button? Maybe once or twice. Looks more like a active selection than a button. the lighting is also off and just plain looks terrible.
c. The corners are rounded, but why? It looks out of place and loses fluidity with the rest of the layout. One thing I noticed is that HTC likes to throw in rounded corners in just about everything they can.
Like I said, this will be a very subtle theme but I think it will help make the stock Sense theme better. So if anyone wants to help identifying the files or knows a known resource (which I doubt since Froyo must have changed things a bit), just PM me.
I second this request. I wish I could help.
I totally agree with you in that the Sense theme needs to be more subtle.
I have always wondered why it has taken so long for someone to come up with this theme.
that would be nice
I like the idea!
Heres what I have so far.
In framework-res, I have included everything I think you will need. You'll have to let me know how much theming you intend to do. ie buttoms/selections (everything with a stock gloss?) or not.
I will continue to dig up more of what you need once I hear how deep you're looking to go. I included the taskbar icons because those will need to be changed to fit whatever the taskbar changes too so they will match. Obviously I have yet to include the signal ones along with 4g, as well as the individual app status bar notifications.
I'll wait to hear back before I progress much further.
Again, very nice looking.
Edit: Updated my post to add more.
I want to fix as much as possible. Anything you send, I'll theme. I'll commit to that.
But at the least, I want to redesign buttons and major UI elements like the example I showed. I definitely would like to redesign selections -- I'm not sure why they are "crystal-like", I much prefer a AOSP-like selection but of course in green for Sense.
I'll look through these and see what I'll do with them.
Award Tour said:
I want to fix as much as possible. Anything you send, I'll theme. I'll commit to that.
But at the least, I want to redesign buttons and major UI elements like the example I showed. I definitely would like to redesign selections -- I'm not sure why they are "crystal-like", I much prefer a AOSP-like selection but of course in green for Sense.
I'll look through these and see what I'll do with them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, don't know if I edited my post before or after this, but I added more to the framework-res folder with an updated zip. It now includes everything from there you should/could need from that particular file. See what you can do with those. I'm not 100% sure if any of the files used in froyo have changed (what gets used in those folders and what doesn't) so bare with me. But for the most part it shouldn't be that difficult to dig up the rest of the important stuff.
I just pulled it now so it should be the latest files.
I just pushed that sense folder to my work server, once something is in there, they get done. I'll update the folder as I get more items.
barnacles10 said:
Ok, don't know if I edited my post before or after this, but I added more to the framework-res folder with an updated zip. It now includes everything from there you should/could need from that particular file. See what you can do with those. I'm not 100% sure if any of the files used in froyo have changed (what gets used in those folders and what doesn't) so bare with me. But for the most part it shouldn't be that difficult to dig up the rest of the important stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright so this is what I'll do. I'll theme these current files and when I'm done I'll post some previews and then you or someone else who is willing can send a new batch of files. That way it can be done in waves and can be easily managed.
So I'll finish these and post back soon.
Award Tour said:
Alright so this is what I'll do. I'll theme these current files and when I'm done I'll post some previews and then you or someone else who is willing can send a new batch of files. That way it can be done in waves and can be easily managed.
So I'll finish these and post back soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, well this has totally got me pumped, so I went through and did more for you. I've included the other files out of ease, so what I have done is labeled all the folders which have new files (new from that one posted above) and added "contains new" at the end. Then within each folder i have created "new" folders for what I have added. That way you don't have to go through and figure out what you have done and whats been added.
This should keep you busy as I'm done for the night. This is a lot of the major stuff though. I will report back with anything else I find later on.
Award Tour, just curious, do you have experience with .9.png's?
Barnacles, I noticed you pulled stuff out of framework-res, did you toss him the stuff from com.htc.resouces.apk too?
nebenezer said:
OP, just curious, do you have experience with .9.png's?
Barnacles, I noticed you pulled stuff out of framework-res, did you toss him the stuff from com.htc.resouces.apk too?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah the second file I posted here has pretty much everything he needs to start. Most everything from resources, and framework as well as other stock apps
nebenezer said:
Award Tour, just curious, do you have experience with .9.png's?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not yet, but I understand them now I think. I noticed immediately that some of the files had to scale somehow and from your post just noticed that those files are the .9 files you speak of. I'll look into it but I'm just gonna assume that they have some sort of meta info in them for now. I'll work on those last so I can read up on the file format.
barnacles10 said:
Yeah the second file I posted here has pretty much everything he needs to start. Most everything from resources, and framework as well as other stock apps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome, sorry to interrupt, just wanted to make sure
Award Tour said:
Not yet, but I understand them now I think. I noticed immediately that some of the files had to scale somehow and from your post just noticed that those files are the .9 files you speak of. I'll look into it but I'm just gonna assume that they have some sort of meta info in them for now. I'll work on those last so I can read up on the file format.
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Click to collapse
Yeah they have invisible guides that tell the OS where to stretch the image to suit whatever purpose it needs.
When you open, edit and re-save them the guides disappear so you'll have to redraw them. You will find plenty of info on .9's.
The search bar you did looks much better than Google's version, I'm sure this will end up being a pretty sweet theme
This is no small undertaking or I would jump in on it and help out.
There are tons of people here who are more talented and experienced than I but if you have any questions you're welcome to pm me.
Hey guys. I am up for the night and addicted to flashing **** so let me know if you need a beta tester.
Once you finish what's there feel free to send them back to me and I can throw em back where they need to go and make a morph for the changes to test them out.
ok so are those .zips flashable? any screens of what you have done? it looks nice on the first picture
magicalan said:
ok so are those .zips flashable? any screens of what you have done? it looks nice on the first picture
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I only spent like 20 minutes on it today during work but I should do a hour or so more later tonite.
I finished some of the status bar but I was disappointed to see that the background image for a notification item was missing. I still designed it but if anyone knows how I can throw it in sense (maybe a simple file with the right name? maybe check a AOSP build because it should be in there) let me know.
Here it is for those that are interested, I will probably refine it further but this is what I got so far:
The aim, if you haven't already noticed, is to combine stock AOSP Android with a Sense-like look.
Award Tour said:
I only spent like 20 minutes on it today during work but I should do a hour or so more later tonite.
I finished some of the status bar but I was disappointed to see that the background image for a notification item was missing. I still designed it but if anyone knows how I can throw it in sense (maybe a simple file with the right name? maybe check a AOSP build because it should be in there) let me know.
Here it is for those that are interested, I will probably refine it further but this is what I got so far:
The aim, if you haven't already noticed, is to combine stock AOSP Android with a Sense-like look.
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Click to collapse
Looks good! Ill look for the notification bg image for ya when I get home tonight.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
magicalan said:
ok so are those .zips flashable? any screens of what you have done? it looks nice on the first picture
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Click to collapse
They are not flashable. Sorry for double posting but can't multiquote. They are simply folders. Had to zip them up to attach them is all
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Try to send me a new batch as well, I *think* I'll be done with this in a hour. If you can, send me the froyo ones.
Hi,
I know how to create an Action and assign a Tap or Double-Tap action to change an image, but if I am using a digital watch face and want to tap to change the color of the time display (as opposed to a background image), how would I go about doing that?
For example, if my default digital watch face shows the time digits in red, how can I set an action to change it to orange upon the Tap Action, then yellow, then green, etc.?
Thanks in advance!
-Swooperz
Swooperz said:
Hi,
I know how to create an Action and assign a Tap or Double-Tap action to change an image, but if I am using a digital watch face and want to tap to change the color of the time display (as opposed to a background image), how would I go about doing that?
For example, if my default digital watch face shows the time digits in red, how can I set an action to change it to orange upon the Tap Action, then yellow, then green, etc.?
Thanks in advance!
-Swooperz
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are a ton of watch faces out there that change their font color when you tap on the time digits. Surely someone knows how to create this effect in GWD. Alternatively, is there a way to view the xml from purchased or downloaded watch faces on my watch? Just to view the code for that action?
Thanks in advance!!
i was curious about the same thing.
so what i did was copied the .wgt file of a face that had that feature as it was being sent to my watch. root is needed to intercept the transfer from phone to watch.
renamed to .zip, unzipped and looked through the files.
its hard to explain but there is no special coding in the xml for this. it is basically using layers and a transparent png as a font.
i have never shared a gwd file so not sure if you can but i am willing to do a very basic time face and send it to you, if you would like. i will include all files so you can see what is happening.
let me know.
Hi Stealo,
That sounds awesome. I would love to see how this is done. I'd root my Note 8 but I don't think the Verizon Note 8 can be rooted safely. Anyone correct me if that is not right.
Anyway - yes, please do share whatever you find, Stealo, and let me know how I can help.
Cheers,
Swoop
Swooperz said:
Hi Stealo,
That sounds awesome. I would love to see how this is done. I'd root my Note 8 but I don't think the Verizon Note 8 can be rooted safely. Anyone correct me if that is not right.
Anyway - yes, please do share whatever you find, Stealo, and let me know how I can help.
Cheers,
Swoop
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok cool. i will try and get it done tonight, and post.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Ok, so i started writing a "how to" and it got way out of control, :silly:.
I cant take any credit for this, all i did was pull apart someone elses work and learn from it. The attached is my work but built in the same way as the other person did it. I hope this doesnt upset anyone. I will never share the original persons work.
I have attached all the files you need for this to work including my gwd file & tpk file. Im not sure if you will be able to import it into your GWD but give it ago. if not start a new face and rebuild it from the resources.
At any point you get stuck let me know and i will help you out.
Hi Stealo,
Thanks for posting this! Things have been crazy busy here and I have not yet had a chance to sit down and dig into this but I look forward to seeing what cool trickery lies in the scripts, etc.
Thanks again,
Swoop
Swooperz said:
Hi Stealo,
Thanks for posting this! Things have been crazy busy here and I have not yet had a chance to sit down and dig into this but I look forward to seeing what cool trickery lies in the scripts, etc.
Thanks again,
Swoop
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Click to collapse
hey swooperz,
nothing is scripted for this to work.
just layer composition and thats it.
if you need a hand or any explaining let me know.
stealo said:
hey swooperz,
nothing is scripted for this to work.
just layer composition and thats it.
if you need a hand or any explaining let me know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Everything worked like a charm! I got one error about the TPK needing to be rebuilt when trying to deploy to my watch (unsure of the issue), but I chose only version 3 and it worked perfectly. Maybe my watch needs to have OS 4? I have a Samsung Gear S3 Frontier.
Anywho - now I am going to learn how bitmap fonts work and how to convert a TTF font that I own, to a bitmap font. :good:
This is awesome! Thanks again for helping me get over this hurdle. It was a big one for me. :laugh:
Swooperz said:
Everything worked like a charm! I got one error about the TPK needing to be rebuilt when trying to deploy to my watch (unsure of the issue), but I chose only version 3 and it worked perfectly. Maybe my watch needs to have OS 4? I have a Samsung Gear S3 Frontier.
Anywho - now I am going to learn how bitmap fonts work and how to convert a TTF font that I own, to a bitmap font. :good:
This is awesome! Thanks again for helping me get over this hurdle. It was a big one for me. :laugh:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i am using gwd 1.6.1 i think which lets you build for os 4.0 and lower.
the font in the example was the fortnite font.
very simple task but very boring to make, but you will only need to do once for each digit 0-9.
are you familiar with adobe illustrator or photoshop?
simply make the canvas the size you need with the same colour or pattern of the face, type a single number, adjust its size so it just fits height and width, cut it out so the number is transparent, save it as a png to preserve the transparency.
much more to it but like i said let me know if you get stuck.
regarding the background cut to make, i think i made it 200px wide and 80px high.
so that means you can fit 4 digits at 50px wide X 80px high, which is important for making the font.
stealo said:
i am using gwd 1.6.1 i think which lets you build for os 4.0 and lower.
the font in the example was the fortnite font.
very simple task but very boring to make, but you will only need to do once for each digit 0-9.
are you familiar with adobe illustrator or photoshop?
simply make the canvas the size you need with the same colour or pattern of the face, type a single number, adjust its size so it just fits height and width, cut it out so the number is transparent, save it as a png to preserve the transparency.
much more to it but like i said let me know if you get stuck.
regarding the background cut to make, i think i made it 200px wide and 80px high.
so that means you can fit 4 digits at 50px wide X 80px high, which is important for making the font.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Makes sense. I have Photoshop so will upgrade GWD and open the files up in Photoshop to have a look. Thanks again!
I got the set-up working with my own bitmap font and clickable button to change the colors - the caveat now is when a single digit shows up - the mask layer shows up from underneath the single digit, since it gets centered, and the mask is only half the width (one digit's width as opposed to two digit widths).
See my picture of both cases (still need to work out anti-aliasing artifacts).
Any ideas on how to work around that, yet still only use single digit hours?
EDIT: Just to be clear: my background is black, so other than the digits, there should be no purple color coming through as shown for the single digit of one.
Thanks,
Swoop
Swooperz said:
I got the set-up working with my own bitmap font and clickable button to change the colors - the caveat now is when a single digit shows up - the mask layer shows up from underneath the single digit, since it gets centered, and the mask is only half the width (one digit's width as opposed to two digit widths).
See my picture of both cases (still need to work out anti-aliasing artifacts).
Any ideas on how to work around that, yet still only use single digit hours?
EDIT: Just to be clear: my background is black, so other than the digits, there should be no purple color coming through as shown for the single digit of one.
Thanks,
Swoop
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hey swoop,
good to see you making progress.
just off the top of my head
at the the bottom of the screen is a time line. so you could make 2 backgrounds and have 1 apear between the hours of 1 to 9 and the other from 10 to 12.
read about the conditional lines,
https://developer.samsung.com/galaxy-watch/design/watch-designer/gear-watch-dev
to fix the auto centering maybe align your text to the right so a single digit will snap right when changing.
i use only 24hr time, not sure why but always have. if i get time i will try it out and see.
regarding artifacts, i generally use illustrator, which produces cleaner images. if you dont have illustrator you can dowload a free alternative called inkscape, i think, or an online vector converter.
i always make an image twice as large if possible then clean it up and scale it down. im still learning also, so what i do may not be right but it works for me.
in the mean time let me know if what i said is right.
Thanks, Stealo.
I have Adobe CS 6 with Illustrator, so will try that next as well as start working on a timeline-based position of the background. Great idea! That way, I can leave the single digits centered (I hope), which looks better in my design.
Cheers!
is It possible to change with double tap, one object's color that moves ? (such as the second hand)
stealo said:
i was curious about the same thing.
so what i did was copied the .wgt file of a face that had that feature as it was being sent to my watch. root is needed to intercept the transfer from phone to watch.
renamed to .zip, unzipped and looked through the files.
its hard to explain but there is no special coding in the xml for this. it is basically using layers and a transparent png as a font.
i have never shared a gwd file so not sure if you can but i am willing to do a very basic time face and send it to you, if you would like. i will include all files so you can see what is happening.
let me know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just found this thread.. may i ask you how did you intercept the transfer from phone to watch?
i have phone rooted, do i need root also on gear?
i'd like to do this to study some of watchfaces i bought, so i could learn to make them.
thanks in advance ^^
up @stealo
erghetto said:
up @stealo
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Click to collapse
hey sorry, dont use xda as much anymore.
You need to have a rooted device (phone/tablet) first, and a good file explorer, no root needed on watch at all. i cant give specifics as i dont use the devices anymore, i can try and point you in the right direction though.
what i did was monitor a folder in the WEAR app root directory on my phone, when i downloaded an app from the store it would store it on my phone for maybe ten seconds, then transfer to my watch.
Using your file explorer you can copy it and paste it to a new location before the transfer ends.
Rename it .zip, extract, learn and explore.
Like i said i am not 100% if it is still possible as i no longer use both devices. Please dont steal anybodies work though.
Good luck.
stealo said:
hey sorry, dont use xda as much anymore.
You need to have a rooted device (phone/tablet) first, and a good file explorer, no root needed on watch at all. i cant give specifics as i dont use the devices anymore, i can try and point you in the right direction though.
what i did was monitor a folder in the WEAR app root directory on my phone, when i downloaded an app from the store it would store it on my phone for maybe ten seconds, then transfer to my watch.
Using your file explorer you can copy it and paste it to a new location before the transfer ends.
Rename it .zip, extract, learn and explore.
Like i said i am not 100% if it is still possible as i no longer use both devices. Please dont steal anybodies work though.
Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info. I have root on my s8 so i could try, but wear app folder is a bit generic. Without knowing the folder's name i wouldn't know where to look.
Thanks again
erghetto said:
Thanks for the info. I have root on my s8 so i could try, but wear app folder is a bit generic. Without knowing the folder's name i wouldn't know where to look.
Thanks again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hey, sent you a pm.
mimmog said:
is It possible to change with double tap, one object's color that moves ? (such as the second hand)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I want to know the same thing. Basically I want to to double tap on say 3 o'clock area and have hour hand change images/color. How is this possible? Yes, you can change background defining itself as a buton and add "change image" action but how can you change other layer images by double tapping on another layer?
Hi
Our phone has curved corners, but the UI not as much roundy. Unfortunately, I'm not able to create nor a rom, neither any apps. I tried, but I feel like a dog who wanna learn to write. Therefore I did some examples with photo manipulation program for my desired look to match with the phone. As I always hide nav- and statusbar, for me it's even less matching, but I guess one could like the design with bars not hidden as well. I have done system UI changes, also some apps as examples. In the next few post I let you guys see them, and if any of you is able to build apps/rom, and share the same passion, please feel free to use them as an idea, I'd be glad to see them in real one day. I know that not everybody is a fan of rounded ui, but would be a nice option, if we could change anytime the radius globally, including apps. Also, this way other phone users could also match UI with different radius cornered phones.
All right, so I have no attach button in the app, not on the pc, so I uploaded a zip, all pics I organized in a folder, so it's even better, you can just swipe to see the difference, as I did put the original as well, just put your phone in full immersive mode while you watch. Also some status and navbar mods are included to taste, for those that don't hide them ever.
Some things, before you watch:
This is a prototype, I did not do it extremely well, so please exuse the imperfection.
This is a retouch of my recent ui (custom rom) for my style, I don't mean to criticise any creator.
I know the apps have nothing to do with the system, and I cannot wait that they all redesign them, only wanted to give a taste, how nice could be.
https://gofile.io/?c=cBpMPT
Edit
As soon as I uploaded, and answered to the only comment, the attach button has appeared, I'm able to upload
But I think that even easier with the other option, as here we can't swipe.
Deleted
Reserved3
Upload to Imgur
NateDev said:
Upload to Imgur
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Click to collapse
I uploaded a zip, cus it's important to see pics as if they were your phone, with fullscreen, not sure if it's possible with a picture from web directly.
Can you upload it again the website says the file doesn't exist.
Thank you
TheProNoob said:
Can you upload it again the website says the file doesn't exist.
Thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure, but gonna have a look on pc if I still have them.
Anyway it was nothing major, just the same stuff, like aosp, but nicely rounded, that matches and doesn't cut any corner awfully as it does. Plus some others, but I'll have a look still, plus I'm working on the next verzion, just don't rush it, as pointless, only doing it when I'm bored.
Also, many stuff you can reach with substratum, that helps a bit to reach the goal.
After switching to the Galaxy S10 phone, I noticed that the gallery photo editor application is robbed of its best features. it's so frustrating when these manufacturers just arbitrarily decide to screw up a good thing.
I constantly and I mean constantly use gallery photo editor and the eyedropper feature to select a custom color and then use the pen to edit out things in images I don't visible. I make them disappear by writing over them in the exact custom colors that already exist in the image. I choose that color with the eyedropper!
Now it seems you either have to overlay a text box over the top which flat out doesn't work because the new text box interface is so bulky and ridiculously lacking because it only has a very very few options. The NEW UNIMPROVED paint feature has ONLY 10 or so canned multicolor designs you can print with... WHO WANTS TO PAINT WITH MULTICOLOR DESIGNS? (KINDA DUMB, but okay)
1. Please don't tell me to go download it because I already look for it and it isn't there.
2. I already tried clicking the upper right corner and clicking advanced and then clicking the pencil to edit and then going through all the options inside that area and it's not there.
3. I've tried using the key combination to create a screenshot and several third-party apps to create screenshots in my efforts to find the eyedropper and it is not there.
4. Please don't tell me to go download Photoshop or some other app I don't want too; I just want my photo editor eye-dropper back!!
I use it constantly and I mean constantly 50 times a day! I take screenshots and edit out ads and things like text and hearts and stars to indicate the item is a favorite etc. using the eyedropper to select the custom background color and then the pen to write over the top of whatever it is you don't want visible makes it blend right into the background... THIS IS SO UNIMAGINABLY BASIC!
I be already spent weeks hunting for where the ability to add an image inside another image and finally was able to find it obscured in stickers area! I've searched and searched every possible conceivable section for any imaginable way they might have hid in the eye dropper and I just can't find it!!
I just want my eye dropper back! It's causing massive problems because I can't do what I need to do 100 times a day!!
Can someone within the limitations outlined above 1 through 4 please PLEASE tell me where the eyedropper went?!?
I'm in the SAAAAMMMME BOAT.
I manage several different social media accounts, and have used this feature FOR YEARS to edit out extraneous things. It was simple and easy.
Weirdly enough, it was there in November, so it kept my main sampled color as an option, WHICH IS THE ONLY WAY I can basically continue to do what I do. This has been a nightmare.
If you find anything out, PLEASE let me know.
I'll also do the same.
You mean this?
To do this?
Thanks ?
That option does not show up if you have selected the edit dialogue box to pop up after you screencap, as it used to.
But this is very helpful. THANK YOU!
It's on the color palette now
riggerman0421 said:
It's on the color palette now
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Click to collapse
where?? i dont see it. Can you attach a screen capture?
Here. Edit photo, scroll to the far right on the bottom tab for the color palette.