i want to make my own skins but don't know where to start. how and with what do i open up the base skin with? do i open mspaint first or do i go through winamp? do you HAVE to use a skin tool? if so, which is the best?

The best way to learn how to skin, is to download any decent skin, and unzip the file.

Unzip it, and take a look at all of the files. Then, go here:

http://www.winamp.com/nsdn/winamp2x/dev/skins/

And no, you do not have to have a skin tool. Skin-making programs are bad. They are. But, they're good for learning tools. You can use skin-making programs to learn how the various files work, and how the skin is made. But, real skins are made with a bitmap-editor like Paintshop, Photoshop, or even MSpaint.

Good luck.