Start Skinning............

Well what do you want to start skinning?

Different folks will go about the same project in different ways, and different skinnables, may be approached differently. Listen to elvee and tell us what you want to skin.

Yes, i forgot, i am thinking mainly about windowblinds skins..... for WinXP

BH

Well Aleksyandr has a excellent Windowblinds tutorial http://www.aleksyandr.com/

And you can also try here at WindowBlinds.net http://www.windowblinds.net/skinning/

SkinStudio https://www.stardock.com/products/skinstudio/ is a tool for making WindowBlind Skins

I found another tutorial at Spoono.com http://www.spoono.com/tutorials/skins/window_blinds/

Yes, thanx, I have been there already, but i am asking you skinners what "you" do when "you" start skinning WB SKinz ......
Can I make a big picture etc. to use with startbar and cut and paste those pic where they belong, I know about that stretch and tile func. in Skinstudio and that I cant use the whole pic....

Object Desktop Owner!!!

Ahh! Clarification Well sorry friend i can't help you there as i have never skinned WindowBlinds, but asking that question to ten different Blinds Skinners and you will probably get ten different answers. I have heard some skinners say that they would take an exsisting skin, open it up and take a look at how it is put together. That way you can get a rough idea of what you can and cannot do.

Ok ;o)
Thanx Sir Elvee... for your time and effort to try help me

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

for skinning a windoblindskin, i use skinstudio...

And a Merry Christmas to you too

Hey Styl SKinner...
Yes i will use SkinStudio too , but what technics do u use, on the startbar, do u make a big picture and copy and paste the parts in smaller pics : like "task-leftpannel.bmp" .......

BH

How about sizing the graphics to the size you want and work from there.

I start with the main things, like the frames, backgrounds, and then work gradually to the more detailed things like treeview and buttons, fonts and font colours.

I am a bit backwards, hehe
The first thing I "must" skin is that big "startmenubar" menu with "all programs" and userpic and name.
But I understand what you guys are saying...
I have making graphics for years , for homepages,3D and stuff..... so its just time before I start doing this skinning stuff... looking forward to serve you my first skinn.
But the negative part is that I am a "perfectionist" kind of dude,hehe
I must make the perfect skin before i publish the skin

wish me luck....
Thanks Dudes!!!

Happy 1day of Christmas

BH

Well, I wish you luck bholmsen. Remember whats perfect for you might not be perfect for someone else. So just do it until your happy with it and upload it.

Thanx!!!

BH

I have several skins that I have needed to have the specific size for the start menu to work right. (in pixels) I start with a 392 wide x 488 High rectangle.
Top Panel 392 x 68
Program List 196 x 392
Places List 196 x 420
More Programs 196 x 28

There are times I adjust these figures but it keeps me from having to do alot of tweaking to get the sections to line up correctly. And I am the same way, most of the time I come up with an idea for the start menu and then work from there.

I use Windows XP. When I begin a new skin I always start with the taskbar and start menu. Once I have them exactly as I want them then I base every other bitmap on the bitmaps I used in those 2 things. I find it easier that way, to keep consistancy in the look of the skin........but that's just me.

Yes motion, I think we think like on those topics
Are you making the startmenu as a big picture and copy & paste later in where they belong, in smaller pics?

BH

I'm one of those who likes to take skins apart, to see how they were put together, and go from there.
I would never have thought of starting with the StartMenu/Tasksbar stuff, coz I seldom see them on my machine. Now that you guys have mentioned it, I may try that route.

Yes Cyberjack, that's how I do it. One large picture of the Start Menu and then another one of the Start Bar. Then I cut and paste.

Good
Then I will start skinning.... expect one skin this christmas

THanx again dudes!!

CJ

One way to get an average start menu size is to open the start menu and make a screen capture image of it.
Cut that up for the parts.

Putting a large image in the start menu is hard because ppl's start menu are different sizes with large and small icons and the number of programs in the list varies, etc.

Find a stretchy image.

Yes Delicious, you are thinking absolutly right,hehe
I am working on the "biiiiiig" picture right now, and the ONE "big" thing is : Use the "TILE" function as much as possible
So I am make that picture so that i can tile and strecht as much as possible.....

Thanx

Does anyone know if windowblinds checks the screensize, iconsize and fontsize that is set? Or is the start panel the same on different screensizes. Or does it only display the start panel right on the default settings?