Newbi needs help please...

They are actually made in various sizes, and some are adjustable, but only the skinner really knows unless he specifies a size, it's all guess work

Morph, I have opened up the .bmp's in Photoshop to learn what sizes and resolutions other skinners will use. I find that opening up others skins is probably one of the best ways to learn those kinds of basics. But, that's where the easy part ends......

p.s. Just make sure you open up the goooood skinners' skins.

The most common resolutions are (w x h): 800 x 600, 1024 x 768, 1280 x 960, 1600 x 1200, arranged by most to least common. Although 800 x 600 is still the most common resolution in use by the general public, 1024 x 768 and 1280 x 960 seem to be the more popular of those who comment regularly here.

As for sizes of certain elements, dabe gave you some sound advice when she suggested you take apart some skins you like and see what makes them tick. In the long run you'll learn more than you might expect by doing it that way, and the truth is, there are very few skinning tutorials out there that are current with the software versions available.

You mentioned Sysmetrix specifically, and that would be a good one to start with. Neither the graphics nor the coding is so complex that it will make you crazy, and there is a pretty good manual that comes with the software. The skins are easy to examine, they are all in your Sysmetrix/Themes folder. Take a look at the graphics with your program of choice, and open the .ini files with Notepad.

Thank you all very much, starting to get the hang of it......somewhat. Very useful hints, thank you. Will keep ya updated Another question, all these "glassy" and "metal" looks are done with gradients and thats it? Or is there like a technic to get such a high gloss glassy look.....any tips would be much appreciated.

Most people use 1280*1024 instead of 1280*960 - the latter is a very odd size. While you can resize 1280 down 960 for use as wallpaper, you cannot do the reverse without causing the appearance 'artifacts'