I thought it might be nice to do a little laundry and unfold a fresh new thread about an old topic.
A DARN History of "CynnSocks"
A few years ago, long-time member Cynn started playing around, making fun caricatures of other PSCers in the form of small, simple "sock puppets." They became VERY popular, and JMH created their own
page, and even added each one to the chat code. If you type [sock:username] and that user has an official sock puppet, it will display in Chat. Yes, "regular" Chat, too, not just AdvantaChat. This all started long before AdvantaChat was set up!
Demand for personal CynnSocks exploded! Cynn became, well... SOCKED! To help with the inundation,
sock laws were set up for earning a sock puppet made by Cynn. ReinMan became the Sock Cop.
As often happens to members of an online community, other interests called Cynn away, and the existing socks remained the toys of a few and the envy of many. No new socks were added for a couple of years or so. I was one of the lucky ones to earn a sock made by Cynn. Many people missed the boat at the time, and of course, we've had some turnover in membership since then.
There is probably more to the story of how Cynn FIRST started making sock puppets, but it was at least a little before my own time. If anyone would like to add details, please feel free.
In the intervening time since Cynn "moved away" from our little PSC community, the issue of her sock puppets and how to get one arose periodically. But until recently, nothing more came from it.
"CynnSocks" Today
The latest push, bringing the issue back to the forums for everyone's attention, can be credited to ScionShade. (My apologies if I am mistaken; this is just what I happened to observe.) This time, after a few starting hiccups, "CynnSock" production has gotten back underway! Marcoballistic proved himself a sock-making machine, with billtvshow, mightybeet, Grefix, and myself all joining in to help fill that last surge of demand. A couple of people even made their own socks.
Demand and supply may seem to have temporarily stalled, but I like the idea that this might remain an ongoing project for *active* members to continuously join in. And this is my current nudge to keep it alive. If demand happens to become too great and supply too little, then the Sock Laws or new rules can be considered. For now, there are no set "laws." A good guideline, in my opinion, would be to see some evidence that the requester has been an ACTIVE member for at least a month.
There is no formality in requesting a sock puppet nor in the order in which requests may be filled. Neither are there any promised time frames within which your new sock puppet will be completed or added to the Sock Page! But a polite bump of this thread once in a while is not a bad idea, either.
A Few Guidelines (according to little old me)
If you create a sock puppet for yourself or a friend, remember it must be approved and/or might be re-worked at the sole discretion of a sock-puppet-chat-code gate-keeping Mod (for instance billtvshow) before it will become official and added to the
Sock Page. Certainly you can tell one person's style from another, but ideally, every sock will "belong" to the set and at least be reminiscent of Cynn's Original CynnSocks. That said, GO FOR IT, if you want to try it yourself! The art of the very small isn't as easy as Marco makes it look, but I've found it a lot of fun to learn and practice!
Tips: A little color goes a long way! • Avoid pixelation; smooth / anti-alias is ideal. Brushes are better at this than the pencil. • Every sock has a smooth black or dark gray outline. Billtvshow taught me the trick of using a dark gray 1-pixel stroke, set to "inside" as an effective means to achieve a "Cynn-style" outline. • Nearly every major color block is also outlined, even if very subtly. • MightyBeet taught me that adding a little noise helps give the soft, fuzzy look like that of the original CynnSocks. • I've had better luck in working in actual size with 300% magnification than in making a larger sock and shrinking it down, but your mileage may vary. • The finished sock puppet needs to be on a transparent .gif. • I believe I remember Grefix said 100x100 is the maximum sock size, but keep in mind most are MUCH smaller and, indeed, avatars can only be as large as 70x70. • Lastly, remember these are "sock" puppets. Some of them are intricately accessorized and finely detailed, but your best bet, especially when starting out, is to aim for simple, and keep it, well, sockish.
