Favorite Quote: Keep'm coming
Favorite Movie: Too many
Favorite Book: also too many
Favorite Bands: Blof
Favorite Songs: Star spangled banner-Dixie Chicks
Favorite Photoshop Tool: Pen and layer masks
How did you get your PSC nickname?
Pa Means Dad in Holland and I'm the dad of Tim
What is your real name and age?
My real name is Vince Kerckhaert and I'm 42
Where are you from and what do you like best about being there?
I come from Holland and live in a small town Near Amsterdam. Mostly I think that we are stupid here, but in comparison to the rest of the world (I travel alot) we do allright.
What do you do to keep the bills paid?
I am a freelance ships technician. I repair, custumize and build everything aboard a ship what has to do with gas, water, electric, navigation, engines, hydraulics etc.
What do you do in your spare time?
If I can find any I spent it with my kids. Besides chopping, I read, play music, Sing, travel and do things around the house, to provide for all our 36 animals
How did you find PSC, and what do you like most about the site?
I found it by accident. I started for fun with photoshop and by googling I found PSC. It was for me the place to increase my skills.
If you could change one thing at PSC, what would it be and why?
That would be without any question the friend-voting-stuff. I just so dislike this aspect that I went away for half a year. You see it happen every day, people posting on the last second and still manage to be in the top 3 in one hour. Also half of the first ten finishers on an average day is pooly executed.
Is there any other information about you would like to pass on?
nah...
How many hours per week do you spend on PSC?
nowadays mostly 2 hours a week, but when I reaaly get into a picture i can extend to 20 hours.
What other sites, not Photoshop related, do you like to surf?
Mostly newssites and Blogs with funny content
What tools do you use to chop?
I work on a HP laptop. I think it is a paviloion ZD8200. It is nice that i can take it anywhere I like. It's equipped with Windows XP. Mostly I use photoshop CS2 (now the beta of CS3), imageready, Dreamweaver, FlashMX and jobrelated programs.
What gets your creative juices flowing, how do you create a masterpiece?
The time I THINK I create a masterpiece it is because i get inspired by an idea. Once I think I can make it, I'll do anything to make it as I wish. The real masterpiece (the one that everybody considers as a masterpiece) is yet to come.
What inspires you?
For me it is just the idea and the will to do something with it.
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?
Mostly I have an idea and than examine if I can establish it the way I want. I search for outside pics and sometimes look for a tutorial on a specific subject. After I made the first attempt I let it rest for a day or so and than start finetuning it. I like that part the most.
What style of chop do you prefer to create?
Mostly I try photo-real or funny, I don't like the blurry non realistic kinda chop, so I don't even bother to begin one.
Filters, brushes and techniques: Which do you use, and not use, and why?
Blur is my most used filter. I use the normal brushes and some special ones. I like to make my one brushes. For techniques I rely on divers photoshop dvd's like Deke McClelland and others. I try to implement as much as I can but but due lo the lack of time i;ve forgot more techniques than I can remember.
When do you know that you have it just right, or is it constant changes up until, or after, you post?
I never change after I posted. Till then I like to finetune it as much as I can and as long as I have time for it.
What is the limit to what you will chop?
I think for me the rules of PSC is the limit of what I chop. I will chop alot except if it is real aggressive against a religion or another group. Also everything invilving molesting children or otherwise is out of the question.
Are there any tips and/or tricks that you would like to pass along to less experienced choppers?
Practice, practice,practice. Look at the good things other choppers make and ask them how they did it. Don't be a copycat though. Make your own style. But if you chop till you drop, your skills will improve over time.
What is your favorite type of source image, and why?
My favorite is a clear source. Whatever object. If it is a busy source I never can decide wether to manip the whole source or make something out of an object.
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?
I do not like the copy and paste styles, nor do I like it when only a bunch of filters seems to be applied. I'd like to be knocked of my feet. A chop where the outcome is as unexpected as can be. Plenty of examples on this site.
What is your preferred resource for outside source images?
I like google for its speed but than switch to flickr or Bridge.
In your opinion what makes a good chop?
Clearness, astonishment, authenticity, humor, execution
Do you have a system to get things started?
Not much. Merely that it has to be silent and there need to be a bottle of scotch nearby.
Have you ever completed a chop and then decided not to enter it in the contest? If so, why?
Many times. Times that I like to work out a specific idea, but can't even get close to what I want it to be.
After you finish your chop do you just post it or seek opinions of family and/or fellow choppers first?
I just post it. I can ask my children, but they like everything I make. They never can understand that a lousy chop from Marco or Claf get so much more points than mine :-)
If some one finds a fault in your work do you change it or stay with what you posted?
When it is very obvious I change it. When I have the time and a good change to win or score high I change it. When I can learn something from it I change it...Yeah, I think I would.
What qualities do you look for when deciding to vote on a chop?
As mentioned above; Clearness, astonishment, authenticity, humor, execution. oh and for all my friends of course LOL.
Some member prefer not to vote for filtered chops or animations. Is there any particular style/type of chop you won't vote for?
I hardly ever vote for an animation, cause I don't think it has a place in a photoshop contest. Also I don't vote vote for filtered chops or when the perspective or cutout or shadow is way wrong
Time is always a factor, how much time do you spend on a chop and how much time is too much?
If you practice often enough you get quicker. If I am in the mood I spent a pretty long time on a chop. But on average I think 1 to 2 hours must be enough.
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)
I hardly check it. When I began here I lost an F5 button, but now I don't care anymore. This has everything to do with the earlier mentionded friend-voting-stuff.
What chop of yours did not do as well as you expected?
http://photoshopcontest.com/view-entry/106007/ode-to-psc.html
Didn't get as much votes as I expected. It has all I like in a chop.
http://photoshopcontest.com/view-entry/111971/obvious.html
Also a recent entry that took a lot of time
What do you consider your best chop so far?
There are many I consider very good. This one is my favourite cause i think that all the things are in place. It could be real, that what makes it my favourite.
http://photoshopcontest.com/view-entry/80699/display.html
What do you consider your worst chop so far?
http://photoshopcontest.com/view-entry/60232/display.html
I'm not proud of it :-(
Who is your favorite chopper out there and why?
I like alot of them, but if I have to choose it ould be a neck on neck race between Billtvshow and Claf.
What do you NOT like to see in a chop, and why not?
There is only one thing I NEVER want to see in a chop and that is .....................MANASS
What is the best chop of all time?
The one I like best, cause of it's unique change of source is;
http://photoshopcontest.com/view-entry/66794/display.html
Do you have any other PSC related comments to add?
Thanks for reading
