advanced skinning help please

from WinCustomize Forums

ok so I get the basics changing images and image sizes even made a size chart but I need help with this advanced skinning. example of what im talking about would be "one tribe" windows blind. I'm trying to create a non-square start menu and have no idea how to do it. how do you make customized sized frames for your start menu. like rounded menus or special designed tops for them. I'm completely lost can't find any info on this somebody please help. I have created three suites, wbs, icons, dreams, etc but want to get these wb's looking as I picture them before putting them online can anybody help me.

skinning
4,827 views 15 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top

tile the image in skinstudio.

Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top

ok perhaps im not doing something right tiling the image doesn't do anything to take away the white square that appears with the rest of the top image.

WindowBlinds - Free yourself of the default settings, customize your desktop.
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top

post a pic, please

Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I have created three suites, wbs, icons, dreams, etc but want to get these wb's looking as I picture them before putting them online can anybody help me.
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You need to contact the original skin author before uploading modified versions of these WBs

Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top

The best way is to open an existing skin and mess around with the graphics and settings. Choose a skin that's somewhat like what you would like to accomplish. Probably be best to make a copy of any skin you choose to alter, though.

Also, like gmc2 stated, it would be helpful for those of us who might be able to help you, if we could see a picture of what you're working on...

**disclaimer** it's never ok to just make a few modifications of someone else's skin and upload it as your own. ;)

Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top

ok I figured out how to use magic pink. also I make all my own materials my wbs are 100% designed by myself. also I record off all my own dream files and make my own icons. so I would be the designer. But if I did use anybody elses material I would ask permission first. sorry to give you guys the idea that I was stealing somebody elses ideas. Got a quick question back to the skinning process I figured out magic purple or pepto bismo as I call it but when I use the image I get a pink outline around the image im using anybody else have this problem anybody know a fix?

Reply #7 from WinCustomize Forums Top

those pink outlines are pixels that are not exactly magic pink...check them and see...they will be something other than 255,0,255

Reply #8 from WinCustomize Forums Top

sorry, gotta ask, you are aware of pngs and alpha channels, right?

Reply #9 from WinCustomize Forums Top

yeah but Im using bmp right now im pretty new at this but have alot of cool design ideas. as far pngs and such haven't messed with the file format yet but does it make a difference bmp compared to png file?

Reply #10 from WinCustomize Forums Top

the thing is I used the fill tool to fill the entire image magic purple 255,0,255 and then cut and pasted the image I wanted to use on top of the already filled template. but when I open the image to cut from in skin studio it outlines the image with a pink border. do you think that those lines are a different color? if so anybody know how to take photoshop to the pixel level and see the difference?

Reply #11 from WinCustomize Forums Top

magic pink images cannot be antialiased...a pixel must be either a color...or magic pink.

Try putting a neutral color only behind your image and magic pink ONLY around it.

NO translucent pixels.

Reply #12 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Please dont be offended but you need more photoshop experience before you start skinning...google a bunch of tutorials...it will make your skinning experience more pleasant.

Reply #13 from WinCustomize Forums Top

im not offended had a Navy IS tell me the same thing many years ago. what kind of tutorials because you kind of lost me with antialiased. I understand the pixel color part what your saying to do is try flat black behind the picture then using magic pink around the picture but not the whole screen. how do you know if a pixel is translucent? and thank you for all the help I appreciate it.

Reply #14 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Antialiased baically means that some of the pixels are semi transparent on the edge of an image. It's what makes the edges look smoother. If you drop an antialiased image(typically a .png)  over a magic pink background, you will see the pink through the semitransparent pixels. If you plan on saving this image as a .bmp, it must not have any transparent pixels for the pink to show through.

Blow up your image in Photoshop as big as you can and look at the edges where the color meets the pink. Those pixels on the edge must be either a solid color or magic pink....not a mixture of the two.

Reply #15 from WinCustomize Forums Top

as far pngs and such haven't messed with the file format yet but does it make a difference bmp compared to png file?
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first of all, I'm not the expert but it makes a huge difference and opens up your opportunities to create images with smoother edges and a variety of effects from tansparency and masks. some images in windows have to be bmps (usi2 frames) but any that can be changed are usually changed to png. pngs are also smaller in byte size and helps to reduce the size of the submission.

and although, to me, this is one of the major items to learn for skinners there just doesn't appear to be any help tutorials on the subject on this site.