Tag Archives: making of

Huge rise in visitor numbers

SP-StudioWelcome, all you new kids from TikTok!

Recently I have been getting a surprising number of reports about loading issues. Then I realised that this is connected to a sudden increase in visitor numbers around mid-February. Seems like SP-Studio.de became a popular TikTok trend! As happy as I am about this it brings problems. My server could not handle so many visitors and boosting it is expensive. I created a help page asabout this. Update: I changed something on March 7th so the loading problems got better.

Want to help improving the SP-Studio / server situation?
You can make a small donation via PayPal or Patreon. ❤

Big SP-Studio Interview

SP-Studio Interview with Janina HimmenRead the interview here…

A couple of weeks ago I was asked by Starter Story to talk about my story, and now the article is live. It might be the most detailed piece I ever wrote about the SP-Studio, and there’s also some advice for you if you want to launch your own project. So I think it is an interesting read. 🙂

starterstory.com is a website focused on entrepreneurs and their launch of new business ideas. The SP-Studio is kind of a special case here, because earning money was never its main focus. But because of the audience I was able to reach with it it still counts as an success story.

Stupid eyes

ProblemsThis is a rather personal post, but I think I should write about it so you know what’s going on.

During the last couple of months I noticed problems with my eyes and unfortunately it is getting worse. The good news is I got special screen glasses now and my doctor could not find anything I need to worry about… but the bad news is nobody has an idea how to actually fix this or what exactly caused it. My eyes always were bad but it feels like they got a lot worse lately. In the past I reached 100% eyesight with glasses, now it’s 80% max. This does not sound like a big problem, but I work with tiny pixels…

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The amazing new LOCK function

The amazing new LOCK functionThe new SP-Studio comes with a poweful feature that has not been a part of the old version. It’s worth exploring, because I know you will love it: The new LOCK button!
This button in the item menu lets you lock / unlock any item. While usually items in one category automatically replace each other a locked item is not replaced anymore. If you select something else from the same category it will be placed in addition to the first item. If they share the same space on the stage they will stack on top of each other. Here are some examples of the possibilities this new function offers:

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Launch day: December 21st!

Launch day: December 21st!Important announcement: This is the release date of the new SP-Studio!
DECEMBER 21st 2020
During today’s Twitch livestream I also showed a preview version (work in progress) of the desktop layout with its optimized user interface. On big screens the new SP-Studio will use the available space better to let you see more thumbnails without scrolling. The stage will be bigger as well, making it easier to edit your picture. The main category icons are always in view in the top menu bar and a second bar with tabs opens for the subcategories. Of course everything runs directly in your browser, like the mobile version. Lars does a great job in optimzing the design for different screen sizes, and I am looking forward to sharing the final version with all of you.

Join this special livestream

SP-Studio Twitch live streamTwo months ago I revealed the mobile version of the new SP-Studio in a special livestream. Now it’s time for the promised second part of the reveal! This time we will have a look at the big version, show new awesome features Lars coded and I will tell you about the actual release date. Of course I will also reply to questions and feedback from the chat, so I’d be very happy to see some new and old faces! 🙂 You need to register on Twitch to use the chat. This is the time and place (check your local time here):
https://www.twitch.tv/zwergimbikini
Saturday, 21.11.2020, 18:00 UTC (19:00 CET)

More freedom with colors

sp-studio.deI already promised more freedom when it comes to recoloring existing items, and now I want to show you a little preview of what this actually means. 🙂

These are some of the t-shirts which only had one standard color scheme in the old SP-Studio. In the new SP-Studio they will have up to two custom colors which you can combine in any way you want. I feel like this is a huge step forward to more creative freedom when it comes to shaping your own characters. It’s a lot ot fun to play with the colors and your characters will look more unique because of these options.

New SP-Studio: Transparency

In about two months the new SP-Studio is supposed to launch! So I set up an extra page to collect all information about it in one place: THE NEW SP-STUDIO

In addition I can announce one new feature I haven’t talked about yet:
You will be able to save your image as a png file with transparency! Lars made this possible in the new SP-Studio. You can remove the background and only save the character. Then you can paste it onto your own backgrounds or easily combine multiple characters in a programm like Paint ot Photoshop. The transparency even works partly which means items like fog clouds or glasses will keep their look. Transparent png files where wished by many SP-Studio fans over the years, so I am very happy about this new feature.

New SP-Studio: item options

The new SP-Studio item optionsWhile we are working on the new SP-Studio I want to show you another preview of the current state of development. Let’s have a look at the new item menu, because I did not show it in the last blog post. Back then it was not finished yet, but Lars worked a lot on it lately and had some great ideas on how to improve it. You can click on the image to zoom in.
As you can see every item will have a name now (English / German). It appears in the upper right corner of the item options. I hope this will come in handy for users with bad eye sight who use screen readers – or if you are just confused about what I wanted to draw. 😉
And of course there are the buttons with different item options.

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New SP-Studio: mobile version

Today I want to show you the new (and very likely final ;)) design of the new SP-Studio’s mobile version. I already showed this to my Patreon supporters and in my Twitch livestream last weekend, but now it’s finally time to share some screenshots in this blog as well. So let’s have a look at what Lars developed for us, because I can’t wait to show this to all you!
Please remember: This is work in progress. I like the design very much and many functions are already implemented, but there is still room for changes until launch. For example a new font is very likely to be used. But everything you see in these screenshots is actually running.

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