Hey you! click here and have at these.......

[Warrah]

Here are two skins that i think are just topps but are sorely lacking in the number of downloads. So heres the first one

And this is my primus skin, for those of you who are fans, they messed up with this screen shot but still


And im hoping that this is the right code for putting a picture on here. Tell me what you all think...


[edit]Fixed those links for you Warrah [/edit]

[Edited by Mr Jones on 05-27-2001 at 04:57 AM]

[ampburner]

Eeeeeew Talk about a yucky pair of skins! The second one doesn't have the 'main' skinned? Or is the screencap just fucked up....you have a really good chance of winning this skinning contest you know?

...btw it's spelt "equAliser" sjeesh...I hope you're just joking (for your sake...)

[bobo]

these skins are PHOOEY!

[Mr Jones]

Originally posted by bobo
these skins are PHOOEY!

Dont you mean PHOOEY!

[mrsbladez]

Awwwww, Everyone's got to start somewhere you guys.

Warrah, I like the background for the top skin but it's obvious because of the pattern of the design and the unfinished details that you used a skinning program.

Skinning programs are not necessarily a bad thing (don't all scream at me at once, lol), especially for beginners learning their way around a skin or if there's a pattern to the design or a celebrity skin that requires the images to be cut a certain way. However, in order for your "skinned" skin to be accepted as an original work, you need to add personal touches to the skin and get rid of all the skinning program elements.

After you run the image through the skinning program, go into the skin's folder and open each .bmp file seperately, add personal touches to the buttons and add some funky shapes and shadows to the display windows.

The Bottom skin, without a main window, is hard to tell what it really looks like, but the same advice goes for the finishing touches . Get in the folder and spiffy up the buttons and display windows to make it more personal, orignal and less "skinned".

Here are a couple of sites that can help you accomplish this:

http://www.winamp.com/nsdn/winamp2x/dev/skins/
http://members.nbci.com/WSDskins/ (made by Skin Love's own Jayn )

Once you learn the in's and out's of a skin and how to effectively use your painting program's hidden treasure chest of tools, you won't need to use a skinning program anymore.

Good Luck!

[BullGawD]

well said Mrs. Bladez. Warrah, nobody in here is likely to respond too well to a painted over base skin. We like to see something different. I mean, take a look at you first skin - you could have hippy flowers, peace signs, tons of stuff for buttons and sliders, and they wouldn't be that hard to make. Plus, for the numbers you could find a groovy sixties font.
With Primus, I like the background, but (once again) the skinner buttons just ruin it. You could open those bitmaps up and try to blend the buttons etc. in a little better. That would really smooth this skin up.
Overall, not bad, I've seen much worse with a skinner. My advice, like everyone in here, is to drop it though, and see what you can do on your own.
Oh, and Hey you! etc. Is likely to be met somewhat gruffly in here. With a title like that, the automatic response is 'Hey what?'. Anyway, keep it up, and don't be a stranger.

[garetjax]

However, my opinion whether it counts or not is up to you.

First skin is ugly...
Second skin is nice but, to bland...nothing going on that I would want to download this skin other than its Background?

If You had some kewl stuff on that it would be bitchin...
Phat Buttons...etc...

I dunno...my nickel worth is up...

Damn Meters.

[InDiGo]

Originally posted by mrsbladez
However, in order for your "skinned" skin to be accepted as an original work, you need to add personal touches to the skin and get rid of all the skinning program elements.

You have all said this. "Get rid of the skinning programs as soon as you learn the basics." Well, I can agree to that, but the problem that remains (at least for me) is to fit the different bmps so they blend in with the main window. For instance the buttons. I usually try to make buttons that are smaller than the individual button bmp. That means that part of that bmp needs to be the same as the background it is resting on. I have found that the easiest way to get the button-background well placed is by using a skinning program. You "veterans" have surely other ways to do this, so please share with us newbies.

[Mr Jones]

One word for you to solve your problems Indigo....."layers"

You cannot beat working in layers, PSP, Photoshop and a million other paint programs all support the usage of layers. That's how I work anyhow.

I create the main window, then build each element in the window as a seperate raster/vector layer, I have seperate layers for different button states, for example, I will have one layer for playbuttons in the off position, one for them in the on position, it's just a matter of turning layers on/off to get the final designs.

While working with layers isn't easy at first, you will find in the long run it is a massive boost to your work to be able to move element around without screwing the background image, delete areas you are not happy with without killing the background, plus you can get some coolio effect by positiong layers behind/in front of each other while varying transparancy levels in them, stuff like that.

My latest skin the main window alone contains.... runs to count....... 72 seperate object layers, I repeat this kind of thing for each window on winamp, or if I'm doing a "all in one" amp, like a picture skin for example I will use a base skin template that covers all three windows and work around that.

Layers is what it's all about baby

[InDiGo]

Let me see if I got this right. You create layers for all the different buttons in the main-window and then copy and paste them in the different bmps?

I can see that this is a great way to do it, but my problem still exists...How to place the layers at the correct coordinates. 'Cause when the different bmps are placed on the main window, it would look pretty weird if they where a few pixels off the mark.

Hope I have expressed my problem so that you understand what I mean!

[Mr Jones]

How do you line them up? , simple you make your own skin template that you use as a guide layer in whatever package you are using. I have a simple wire frame template that shows where all the buttons/sliders/windows etc etc live on each winamp window, I use this as a "master" layer if you like , this allows me to paint other layers underneath this one.

You can then work in one of two ways.

Once you have your buttons positioned using the wire frame template, u can turn the template layer off, save the multi layered image as a flat bitmap, which you can then run thru a skin program to cut it up, yes they do have there uses.

Or you can use the wire frame template as a guide for cutting the image, and pasting this down onto something like the winamp base skin image.

What graphic program are you using?, if it's PSP I could send you my templates for you to experiment with.

[InDiGo]

I am currently using Photoshop, but I have been working a little with PSP too, so I'll be happy to try your templates.

As for cutting the bmp with a skin program...which do you use.

[Mr Jones]

None , altho skinmaster does a pretty neat job of chopping up the eq/pl and MB, the main window has a few problems in it for some reason.

If you would like to send me a mail address I will send you over this psp layered file I have, I've just left the wire frame template on, plus thrown on a few dummy layers to show how I work buttons and stuff on it, play around with it, turn layers on and off, see how it work, if it's any use I can send you the EQ/PL/MB templates as well.

Tell you what I'll turn my email not back on in my profile, gimme a min and mail me your details thru there, that will save you publishing it to the whole world on here

[InDiGo]

I'm not sure but it seems that most people here work with PSP. Perhaps I should give it one more shot too. I've done it before but it didn't quite catch on.

Oboy...I guess that the Photoshop skinners will fry my a... now...
Hey, no hard feelings aye?

[skinme!]

I'm also new to the use of layers, so would it be possible for you to send them to me at skinme@london.com? Thanks

[Mr Jones]

It's not that man, it's just what you are used to working with, besides mine was free from work, that the only reason I use it , template in the post by the way....

[InDiGo]

Couldn't resist

I've been upgraded to MEMBER!!!

Even small victories should be celebrated...

[skinme!]

I use PSP 6 (not 7) coz I'm used to it and I'm not a gazilionaire. If I had Photoshop (no matter how I got it), I'd use it.

[Mr Jones]

Skinme, perhaps Indigo would be so kind as to forward the template on that I've just sent him, my mailbox has just gone tits up and isn't letting me back in, I'm sure he will forward them on to you, otherwise It'll have to wait till I get home from work tonite.

[skinme!]

OK Your inbox suffering from your recently found modhood?

InDiGo, would you be kind enough to forward them to skinme@london.com

[edit] it seems InDiGo has already emailed them to me. thanks InDiGo and Jones[/edit]

[InDiGo]

Thanx, MJ.
Now I need to figure out how to use templates and layers in PSP...
I haven't got PSP here right now, but I think that it shouldn't be too hard.

Btw...Since I've got your email MJ, do you mind If I mail you questions when I need any specifik help? Would really appreciate it.

Skinme! I've just forwarded the templates...should be in your mailbox soon.

[Mr Jones]

Skinme, nah it's just crappy web mail, sometimes it gets a bit stuck with itself when getting at it from behind the firewall

Indigo, yeah fire questions if you like, but bear in mind, that I gots near on 3 jobs running at the minute, as well as a social life , don't always expect swift answers , altho I'll do me best

[skinme!]

Originally posted by Mr Jones
a social life

Really? I'd say you were unique in this forum. Or is it just me who is without a social life

[Mr Jones]

Originally posted by skinme!

Really? I'd say you were unique in this forum. Or is it just me who is without a social life

If I told you the details you would either die of envy or report me to the coppers

[InDiGo]

Originally posted by skinme!

Really? I'd say you were unique in this forum. Or is it just me who is without a social life

LOL...I never knew that people here had social life.