Favorite Quote: Just let it tumble out, like circus freaks man.
Favorite Movie: LOTR: Return of The King
Favorite Book: Lone Wolf #28: The Hunger of Sejanoz
Favorite Bands: James Taylor, Rascal Flatts
Favorite Songs: Love Me, More Than Words, Fire&Rain
Favorite Photoshop Tool: Liquify If You Know How To Use It
How did you get your PSC nickname?
When I originally came to PSC, I was looking for places to promote my website, billtvshow.com, so naturally I used the name billtvshow. However, PSC quickly got the better of me, with it's highly addiciting nature and I have been here ever since.
What is your real name and age?
Stephen Fox, 24
Where are you from and what do you like best about being there?
I am from the foothills of North Carolina and the climate is very nice. We get a good variation of weather (hot, cold, snow, rain, etc), but rarely any very bad weather (tornados, hurricanes, etc).
What do you do to keep the bills paid?
I am a GIS Technician, which, for the lay person, means I do digital mapping.
What do you do in your spare time?
Singing, PSC, Golf, Basketball, & Geocaching are the core 5 right now. I also spend time with Web Design, Trombone, Baseball, Football and watching the heck out of ESPN.
How did you find PSC, and what do you like most about the site?
I saw photoshop contests on FARK and decided to do a search on photoshop contests and PSC came up first. What I like most about PSC is the adrenaline rush you get when you are in a heated race for the top spot in a contest. It's both stressful and fun to watch.
If you could change one thing at PSC, what would it be and why?
I get to help change things all the time as a mod, so there's not much I can say. A ton of the stuff I've suggested has been implemented.
Is there any other information about you would like to pass on?
I really like to sing. You can listen to / download my songs at: http://www.billtvshow.com/music.shtml
How many hours per week do you spend on PSC?
Propbably an hour or two a day when I'm just doing voting and mod stuff. When I have a pic up or am doing other stuff, I'm on significantly more.
What other sites, not Photoshop related, do you like to surf?
Digg.com, Stumbleupon.com, Youtube.com, Geocaching.com, Facebook.com, and my website.
What tools do you use to chop?
Most often I use my work laptop for chopping, which is a Toshiba with a 1.6 GHz processor, 1.5 GB of ram, and Windows XP Pro. I use Adobe Photoshop CS2 or CS3 beta for chopping.
What gets your creative juices flowing, how do you create a masterpiece?
Anytime I see an advanatge pic, I immediately get tons of ideas, but I never have time to implement them. However, on occasion I will get some free time or an idea that is too good to pass up and I will chop. I spend about a minimum of 4 hours on a chop and have spent as much as 20+ in the past. It is though this amount of effort and intense detail work that I create "masterpieces".
What inspires you?
I have my own moments of brilliance, but I also like to look back through very old entries and bring back some of the themes and quality chopping that was seen at PSC in the old days.
Do you have a system? Does a chop have to be done a certain way following steps or are you a messy chopper and just go with the flow?
I am messy, jumping all over the place, but I get all the details done. Occasionally I will post a PSD, but I have to clean it up significantly before posting it.
What style of chop do you prefer to create?
I like to do a nice, wide variety of chops. I'll do all-source, hefty composites, humor, and I often find myself resorting to chops involving animals or advertisements.
Filters, brushes and techniques: Which do you use, and not use, and why?
Most filters are good to use, if you know how and when to use them. I like using liquify sparingly to bend parts of sources. I use the various blurs quite frequently and I often like to add a touch of noise to my entries, which helps to make sources of varying levels of quality and pixelization to appear more coherent.
When do you know that you have it just right, or is it constant changes up until, or after, you post?
I usually have a good idea of how I want a chop to end up. When I get all the small details worked out, it is "just right". Sometimes I even make a checklist of things to complete if it is a very complex chop. I rarely edit an entry during a contest, but if it really needs to be done, then I will do.
What is the limit to what you will chop?
I wouldn't overdo such themes as listed in this question, but it can add some diversity to your portfolio to press the limits occasionally.
Are there any tips and/or tricks that you would like to pass along to less experienced choppers?
There are several key mistakes that less experienced choppers make: 1 - Improper mixing of sources of varying quality without blending them together is a big one. 2 - Lack of attention to shadows. Learn to do them right from the start. 3 - Not fully knowing your tool. The more you learn, the more efficient ways you can learn to do things. 4 - Incorrect perspectives. Some of the best choppers on the site have a very hard time getting perspectives correct. It is one of the most difficult things to do correctly. Use common sense and learn as much as you can. *
What is your favorite type of source image, and why?
I used to really like the "white background objects" sources, but you don't see those much anymore. I am also very partial to road signs. Those usually make for some very interesting contests. Otherwise, I don't really care as long as the quality of the pic is decent.
There is often talk about how the source is used and to what extent it should be. What are your views on all sources, outside source use and animations?
As one of the key people who got "all source" started, I can tell you that the original and correct reason for doing an "all source" is to show that you can use nothing but the source and create a coherent, clean chop in a very creative fashion. However, it has since become, essentially, a way to say "hey, look at me, I did a lot of work", but at the same time failing to do a good, clean chop. A few people still do it right, but the vast majority do not. As for using outside sources, metalic used to do vast, impressive composites. Now, hardly anyone does them. I have seen Meaty pull off a successful one somewhat recently, but "all source" is the status quo. Don't be afraid to do a composite, but make sure you integrate everything properly and show your sources, so that the work will also show. As for animations, I've never had a problem with them actually.
What is your preferred resource for outside source images?
I usually go to Google Images first, however, I will also check out sxc.hu and occasionally buy images at istockphoto.com.
In your opinion what makes a good chop?
This is hard to discuss, because not all styles require the same things. I think the best way to describe it is that it needs to be clean and consistent within the style that you are attempting. There are certain universal things that generally need to be followed. Those are mostly the things listed above in the section about mistakes new choppers make.
Do you have a system to get things started?
I go stare at a pic and once that one good idea pops into my head, I just run with it. I think the start is the hardest part. When you begin chopping, it sometimes feels like it will never look like what you want, but eventually you should reach a moment when you can tell it is all coming together and then it becomes very easy to "get into it" and finish the job.
Have you ever completed a chop and then decided not to enter it in the contest? If so, why?
I've never completed one and not entered it. The farthest I've ever got into a chop without entering was about 50% complete.
After you finish your chop do you just post it or seek opinions of family and/or fellow choppers first?
I like to get the opinions of other choppers. I have a very select few that I get to look mine over and I appreciate them very much.
If some one finds a fault in your work do you change it or stay with what you posted?
I think there's a certain amount of strategy involved in this. Since you get bumped to the bottom of the order if you edit, there's a lot of motivation not to edit during contests so that you don't get missed by people who vote in the default order. However, there are certain times when the errors that people catch are just too prominent and you just need to update it, even during the contest. However, typically I will try to fix errors that people found if I didn't already fix them during the contest.
What qualities do you look for when deciding to vote on a chop?
Some member prefer not to vote for filtered chops or animations. Is there any particular style/type of chop you won't vote for?
Time is always a factor, how much time do you spend on a chop and how much time is too much?
We all love to get votes. Now are you a constant vote checker or do you just let it go and check once a day? (be honest)
What chop of yours did not do as well as you expected?
What do you consider your best chop so far?
What do you consider your worst chop so far?
Who is your favorite chopper out there and why?
What do you NOT like to see in a chop, and why not?
What is the best chop of all time?
Do you have any other PSC related comments to add?
