News
A New Art and Skin Era at EF

Hello, EF! 

We’ve been hinting at this for a while now, but it’s about to get very real. On October 14th, one week from today, a number of site skins will be permanently retired. The skins being retired were chosen for a myriad of reasons, including age, appearance, and out of respect for the artist. 

In the endeavor to replace these skins, we looked at the existing color schemes and reached out to artists in the EF community to see if they would be interested in providing new artwork, and we’re delighted that all artists we approached were eager to help us beautify the site. Now, we’re ready to share what those skins look like in anticipation of next week. Not ALL skins are ready just yet—as with everything else, artists have volunteered their time and some haven’t had much of that to volunteer, so more skins will be added throughout the rest of the year as artists contribute their pieces and we have time to program them into beautiful new skins. 

Many members who access the site on desktop will also notice a dynamic change in how the skins take up the screen. The new skins have been built using the simple and simple dark templates, which greatly reduces the border/empty space. It’s a small thing but it does help modernize the look and feel of the site while allowing members to enjoy some of the amazing artwork provided by our group of artists. 

Here is a comprehensive list of the skins that are being retired:

  • comic
  • the time in between
  • smile
  • not-without-a-fight
  • spuffy1
  • heroes
  • elysian
  • drinking buddies
  • soft
  • kiss
  • big bads
  • called
  • mystery

And here is a preview of the skins that will replace them. Please note, the screenshots were captured off EF’s test site (where the Mods can play around with various changes without worry of breaking the actual archive) so some of the menu options will reflect EF Days of Old and not the archive as we currently know and love it.

So, without further ado…



  • Skin title: Everyday
  • Artist: Holly

  • Skin title: Everyday-light
  • Artist: Holly

 

 

 

 

  • Skin title: Out of My Mind
  • Artist: teragramm

 

 

 

 

  • Skin title: Where it Began
  • Artist: Irandamay

 

 

Again, this isn’t a comprehensive list. In addition to the artists who still intend to provide us artwork, there are two pieces of art provided by the existing pool of artists that have yet to be turned into skins. So keep an eye out for those, and please join us in thanking the artists who took the time to create something beautiful for EF. We’re so fortunate to have you in our community.



--Holly and the Mods on October 07, 2022 01:15pm 17 Comments
Comments

These new skins are fantastic! Many thanks to all the artists who contributed. There's so much talent here at EF. 

-- JayeMaru on October 07, 2022 04:29pm

Wow great new skins! Although fierce is my alltime favorite 🤩. 

-- Teuntje on October 07, 2022 09:15pm

Beautiful new options! I don’t know how I’ll choose a new one!

-- Stephaniem191 on October 07, 2022 11:34pm

Yay!! Exciting times! 

-- HappyWhenItRains on October 08, 2022 07:31am

Some beautiful artwork there! Hard to choose favorite art, although I am happy to see many of the skins are in softer shades than black or white. Those softer colors are easier on aging eyes. 

-- slaymesoftly on October 08, 2022 09:37am

Gorgeous new skins! So impressed and thankful for these amazing artists!

-- Sirya5117 on October 08, 2022 09:54am

I'm going to miss Drinking Buddies, but there are 3 or 4 there that I can see as possible replacements. So much variety, I'm sure that everyone will find at least one or two they love.

Thank you to all the resident artists for their skill and hard work!

-- All4Spike on October 08, 2022 11:20am

These are all beautiful.  Some of my favorite caps are used in these.  Nice job everyone!

-- teragramm on October 09, 2022 05:31am

Some shames to say goodbye, but I understand there have been big changes to technology, and it’s important to move the site with the times and make it more streamlined on mobile. Beautiful skins!

 

-- Sigyn on October 09, 2022 07:53am

We are so lucky to have such amazing artists... Thanks to all of them!

-- Pet35 on October 10, 2022 08:11am

Seriously not complaining. These are all beautiful pieces of work. But, I’ve had Smile as my skin forever and none of the new ones have the mustard background. 

Get a grip, right? Change…holiday… but, mustard (and cheesy smiles) *sigh*

Right, moved through depression and on to acceptance. Just need to pick one….

-- kerry220 on October 11, 2022 11:47pm

Hey all! I totally understand why some of you aren't entirely enthusiastic about the coming changes. The goal here was twofold -- represent the work of current members and modernize the site's look and feel, without overwhelming our system. We are trying to replace the skins we're retiring with those of like-color schemes. That was a consideration we made in reaching out to artists. And there are more skins coming! I just haven't had a chance to program the final two I have on my plate, and not all the artists we approached have had the time to create their artwork.

We appreciate your understanding and will do our best to accommodate everyone's preferences. 

-- Holly on October 12, 2022 04:36am

Those are gorgeous! Of course the old ones were as well. Can't wait to try them out. So many talented artists on EF!

-- Dynamite on October 14, 2022 09:51am

Liking the new skins but hoping to see one with the comic color scheme. It made it so much easier to read on my phone. 

-- Hrich2010 on October 15, 2022 03:28pm

We do have some light yellows coming, thanks to MillennialCryBaby. Stay tuned!

-- Holly on October 15, 2022 04:51pm

Our lives are filled with Hello's and Good-byes, thank you for such wonderful old memories and I am looking forward to the coming memories. Thank you.

-- Nana on October 15, 2022 05:59pm

I'm going to miss smile, but I'm glad I get to keep my other favorite, Trapped! all the other art is lovely, too.

-- sweetprincipale on October 20, 2022 10:58pm