Favorite Quote: Become who you are...
Favorite Movie: Psychological, futuristic, thrillers
Favorite Book: Science, philosophy and arts/design
Favorite Bands: Two steps from hell and Osdorp posse
Favorite Songs: tinyurl.com/senzoundz
Favorite Photoshop Tool: Clone stamp & blending options.
How did you get your PSC nickname?
Senz comes from my graffiti tag to put on the wall. Otaku means fanatic manga fan. And the < and > symbols where used from the html/javascript tags.
What is your real name and age?
Jorrit Lageveen, my birth date is 1982-05-07
Where are you from and what do you like best about being there?
From the country where the mirihuana and the hookers are legalized for some reason, The Netherlands. I like dutch pride for some reason, relatively small but where represented on the map, like England in a way.
What do you do to keep the bills paid?
Got my own business, I run a one man company in Webdesigning, Hosting, Desktop Publishing, and some other digital services.
What do you do in your spare time?
Photoshop, Illustrator, Drawing, Graffiti, Football, Gardening, Watching movies, Chess, Poker, Wikipedia and hanging out with family and friends.
How did you find PSC, and what do you like most about the site?
Other members told me all about it, I actually learned and improved over here, check my first entries...
If you could change one thing at PSC, what would it be and why?
Well, I would made it responsive (for all types of screens), also the font and its size, and the voting-system could use some upgrading, the structure is okay though. But in addition to other photoshopcontestwebsites PSC is the best one.
Is there any other information about you would like to pass on?
Like there aren`t enough questions to answer ;) Okay... Every PSC-er knows how nice the 'eureka' moment feels, (when you have a great idea for manipulating the source image) that's really great!
How many hours per week do you spend on PSC?
I spend about 4/5 hours photoshop each day. But thats also for my work, and most of the time its little editing like; resizing, cutting, brightness/contrast and some picture puzzling creating a website layout. Its more a task for the customer. But for PSC is more fun, in the beginning when I became member It was like insanity and 2 post on one day was normal for me (really berserk) more quantity than quality, I learned a lot over here, actual I begun over here with my low Photoshop skills. Now I try to post more quality entries. Guess I spend average 25 hours over here a week (including creating the entries).
What other sites, not Photoshop related, do you like to surf?
Haha, there is not enough space over here to put all my favorite urls. As a web designer/visitor I'm using the World Wide Web a lot. For company use I like sites for logging domains (visitor info) the internet news and script/application site. And for personal use e-commerce sites like eBay and Marktplaats and some other online shops, Also information sites like wikipedia about several things, administration and bank accounting, The rest is multimedia and fun of course.
What tools do you use to chop?
A nice 27' screen and a smaller screen, with Windows 10, Illustrator and Photoshop of course.
What gets your creative juices flowing, how do you create a masterpiece?
Nicotine and Caffeine for some brain-'creactivity' and sometimes Google images for inspiration.
What inspires you?
Especially other PSC users, worth1000, other photoshoppers (like tutorials) and Google image search.
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?
Go with the flow, but organized. I title the layers and sometimes group them, otherwise it can be quite confusing when you look for a particular layer.
What style of chop do you prefer to create?
All source (well developed) are usually great, but an overall combination of originality, fun and execution are the best chops I think.
Filters, brushes and techniques: Which do you use, and not use, and why?
I really rarely use masks and unsubtle filters, I prefer skills / handcrafting. :)
When do you know that you have it just right, or is it constant changes up until, or after, you post?
When its worked out, after the 'eureka' moment, done is done! Sometimes entries could use a update, for example, when someone notices a shadow could be better.
What is the limit to what you will chop?
There is no limit in photoshop... bloody or religious can be great chops. There are limits imo, it can be too sick or too cheap (lame) or bad-taste, working out ideas like that is a waste of time.
Are there any tips and/or tricks that you would like to pass along to less experienced choppers?
Learn from better or other choppers, for example, try the same ideas with a different source image, create it with your own style. And just watching is often half the job.
What is your favorite type of source image, and why?
A difficult question... when its 'eureka-compatable' Sources with great details and good quality are usually good to go.
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'm not a big (gif)-animation fan, sometimes they're nicely executed or funny. Thereby, a chop can be great with or without external images, it's not necessarily needed.
What is your preferred resource for outside source images?
Google image search is the best one on the internet I think.
In your opinion what makes a good chop?
A great idea (very) well executed, when I can see the effort or the attention paid.
Do you have a system to get things started?
First, you have to make sense and have an idea to work with of course. Mostly I listen music when I'm choppin, good for inspiration and for keep it going.
Have you ever completed a chop and then decided not to enter it in the contest? If so, why?
Not really, I've canceled some entries because they didn't worked out properly though, or they where simply to late for a contest.
After you finish your chop do you just post it or seek opinions of family and/or fellow choppers first?
After finishing a chop I post it, the best opinions will come from fellow PSCers I think.
If some one finds a fault in your work do you change it or stay with what you posted?
Sometimes I update, when it's not to much work and it is a improvement, and when the psd-file is still available and workable.
What qualities do you look for when deciding to vote on a chop?
Very diverse; idea, theme, originality, effort, execution, fun or just overall.
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 usually don't vote for cheap filter-work or ideas, like putting the source in a (painting) frame, or when it looks like a collage pasted together without proper exposures and perspectives.
Time is always a factor, how much time do you spend on a chop and how much time is too much?
On average I spend 4 to 6 hours on a chop, but I did a couple of 20+ hour chops, spending 'too much' time on a chop is when it doesn't work out, you have to keep that in mind.
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)
It differs, sometimes once a day, sometimes once an hour, depends on how the voting expires.
What chop of yours did not do as well as you expected?
The sea serpent (http://photoshopcontest.com/view-entry/206197/sea-serpent-upd.html), I spend around 15 hours to recreate the serpent, I expected it would end up at least second place.
What do you consider your best chop so far?
I don't have just one best chop according to myself, for example some are just for fun and some are art like or with a lot of effort, but overall The mechwarrioress (http://photoshopcontest.com/view-entry/200267/the-mechwarrioress.html) is one of my best I think.
What do you consider your worst chop so far?
One of my worst chops (there are many more) is the cyboraffe (http://photoshopcontest.com/view-entry/74184/the-cyboraffe.html), it's one of my first entries where the idea behind it is clear, but the development is very poor.
Who is your favorite chopper out there and why?
There are more, like: marcoballistic, anfa, ReyRey, billtvshow, Claf, vicspa, Sjitske etc... They have always great ideas and the entries are always top notch!
What do you NOT like to see in a chop, and why not?
Lazy beginners work or bad taste
What is the best chop of all time?
Not particular, but http://photoshopcontest.com/view-entry/165537/r-10.html is one of the best chops around here.
Do you have any other PSC related comments to add?
Yes, this list with all the questions is very long, but I made it! :)
