Skinning, it's a way of people visually expressing themselves though art. It's getting more and more popular by the day. The community of skinners is also growing. People from all over the world are contributing their skins to skinning websites like this one. 'Newbie's' might wonder what skinning is all about. In these small 'articles' I will try my best to explain my theory about the wonderfull world of skinning. Now, before I begin, I'll explain a few words that you will frequently come across in these small 'articles', but also frequently used words/standards in the skinning community.


SKINS
Skins are the pieces created by skinners. A skin is something you download and which you can use on your computer to let a program look different. Everyone is able to have skins on their computer, but for some you'll need a program to apply them with.

SKINNERS
These are the people who make the skins (the authors)

SKINNING WEBSITES
These are the websites where skinners can contribute their work too, so other people can download them and use them on their computer.

PHOTOSHOP
Adobe Photoshop is a imaging program used by nearly all skinners, both amateurs and professionals. It has tons of functions, not all these functions are used by skinners though, because many functions in this program are made to edit photos with.

STARDOCK
Stardock is the leading company who produces software to make skins with, or to apply skins with.


FINDING/USING SKINS
When you want to use a skin you will most probably need a program for it in order to apply the skins, Unless you want to use a wallpaper, than no special software is required. Some of these programs are free, some of them are trials, and some of them cost money. So first you will need a program depending on the skin you want to use, let's start of with a 'Winamp skin'. Winamp is a popular, if not the most popular mp3 player that you can use on your computer. It's free and you can download it from www.winamp.com Once you have installed the program you are going to need a skin for it, So you will have to go to a skinning website in order to download a skin. You can also go to the Winamp website to search for skins. When you have find the right skin you can download it to your computer, Instead of saving you can also choose for 'open', once the skin is downloaded a popup will appear which says something like 'Do you want to install this skin?' of course you will click yes. Voilá, you have now installed your first skin.

So for all kinds of programs there are skins. The coolest, and one of the most drastic ways of skinning is changing your whole desktop. With that I mean all the colours/fonts/shapes... all that you see when you are looking at your desktop. There are 2 very popular kind of skins who do this:

1. Windowblinds skins
2. Visual Styles

Windowblinds skins are mostly downloaded with a .wba extension
In order to use a Windowblinds skin, you will need Stardock's 'Windowblinds' [Buy at WinModify for $19.95]
This must-have program is used to apply the Windowblinds skin with. It's also equipped with some skins in it, so you won't have to search for skins at first. If you do decide to go and download additional skins all you have to do is download, open windowblind, search for your freshly downloaded skin, and hit apply.

Visualstyles are mostly downloaded with a .msstyles extension
In order to use a Visual Style you will need a program too, TGT Soft's 'StyleXP'. This is software where you can apply a visualstyle with.
Download a skin from a skinning website and than open up the program and choose your skin. This program is also equipped with some skins in it.
These skins can also be with a .zip extension so you will have to unzip them first with a program called Winzip or Winrar, available at www.downloads.com.


If this kind of skinning is a too drastic way of skinning for you, you can also start with a wallpaper. A wallpaper is also known as a background. The background of your computer, on your desktop.
Most skinners started skinning by making a wallpaper themselves. You can pretty easily make a good wallpaper. Ofcourse there are some things you will need.

1. Imaging software like Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, etc...
2. Patience
3. Imagination

When you make a wallpaper you have got to think of all the people who are going to use it. Some people use a 1024x768 (4:3) resolution for their computer while others use a widescreen resolution 1920x1200 (16:10). So when you make a wallpaper, people would appreciate it if you can make a 4:3 and 16:9 or 16:10 version of it. Colour modifications are also often appreciated. You'll end up with multiple images which you can zip using Winzip.

An easy way to make a wallpaper is to make a abstract wallpaper. You just use some tools available in your imaging program to make shapes and colours. Depending on the program used you will have special effects available. Don't be scared to use any of these. If you have used several effects you will most probably see a whole bunch of colours and different kinds of weird shapes. That's abstract. You can also follow tutorials to make a abstract wallpaper, just search for 'Photoshop Tutorials' in www.google.com or other search-engines and you will see some tutorials that will come in handy while making a wallpaper. These tutorials are mostly explained with screenshots, so that will make it easier for you to follow them. It's also good to see what other people are doing. You can learn a lot from looking at other wallpapers available. Try to recreate them to practice. If you need extra help you can also contact the author to ask if he/she can give you some tips. Browsing forums also helps a lot because you are not the only one who want to get better in skinning.

SOME TYPES OF SKINS
Besides 'Winamp Skins', 'Windowblinds Skins', 'Visualstyles' and 'Wallpapers', there are many many more skins available on the internet. If you don't know what program is needed to apply a certain skin with, and you cannot find it on a skinning website, use Google or another search engine by typing in some keywords. Google is your friend :-)

Below you can find some of the most well-known skins available.

Windowblinds:
This is what I have explained before, when applying a Windowblinds skin, you are changing the looks of your desktop, such as the startmenu, push buttons etc..

Bootskins:
This is the screen you get if you start-up Windows, A black screen with a progress bar in it. Unfortunally they can only be in a maximum amount of colours, so the quality isn't good.

Logonscreens:
This is the screen you'll get if you have started up your computer and you have a screen where you have to enter your password in order to login at your computer (if you have more than one account)

Objectdock:
This is a program which has a animated launch-bar that reacts when you hover over it (or click on it). Very similair like the dock MAC uses. It's very easy and quick if you use some programs on a regular basis. You can download backgrounds for it, and icons to match with your software.

DesktopX:
DesktopX offers themes, widgets, and objects to drastically change your desktop with. You can add cool functions that for instance let you know how full your hard disk is, what the weather is like, a animated clock which will tell you what the time is in a classy way, etc..

Suites:
Besides al these stand-alone skins, some people also offer suites, These suites are a package of skins. Let's say you are really into Batman. You can than search for a batman-suite, so that you will get a batman skin for nearly every program you use, and turn your whole computer over into a batman PC. These types of themes are widely used, a Superman theme is available too, and a Hulk theme too.

An easy way of using a suite to change everything you can see on your desktop are Hyperdesk skins by The Skins Factory. You can download these suites here on the WinModify website.

COSTS
Not everything is free. Though most skins can be downloaded for free, some skins are only intended for sale (Premium Skins)
When you are subscribing to a skinning website you will get lots of extra functions that you don't have as a normal member. These kind of subscriptions can vary between 10 and 50 dollars a year but definitely worth it, considering what you will get back in return for it. The famous imaging software 'Adobe Photoshop' is a expensive program and may well be too expensive for many people. But it's also worth it. The software to apply or use skins with like Windowblinds may also vary from 10 to 75 dollars. But that's about it, skinning is actually fairly cheap if you compare it to other hobby's like photographing or making websites... believe me, I know ;-)
 

WHAT SKINS FROM WHERE
There are many types of skins for many types of programs. You will need to search for a certain website where you can find the type of skin you are looking for. This particular type of skin may not be found on another skinning website. It's not that every skinning website has all the types of skins available on their website, There are just too much. Yet again, if you want to use skins for your type of program use Google or another search engine to find out which website offers skins for the program you are using.
 

THE PROCESS OF SKINNING
Experienced (Professional) skinners spend a lot of time while creating a skin. Making a skin sometimes can take up a few months. Always respect the authors for their hard work.

Most of the times skins appear after a important newsitem, for instance, when Windows XP was announced. The same day and the days/weeks following after that, a whole bunch of wallpapers/visualstyles/Windowblinds –skins got rolling in into skinning websites. Or when a new game arrives, skins will come rolling in quickly. So many artists get there inspiration out of the latest news, regarding to computer Games/Movies/Software etc... After completion a skin get's updated a few times to get rid of bugs that may occur, because there are so many people with so many different types of computers where a skin may react differently. These bugs are reported to the author and he/she can update the skin and upload it again to one of the skinning websites.

It's amazing to see what some people can do with a idea and the programs needed to make a skin, therefore, skins are also a form of art (at least in my eyes).

REVIEWING SKINS
You can imagine that it feels good to get a compliment on a skin when a author has worked so hard for it, especially when it has been months. Remember that most of these skins are free, so people make these skins for a hobby. Most authors also are open for constructive comments whether it's good or bad. If you like the skin, authors will enjoy if you tell them why, and not just 'Good skin'. The same way when you are commenting because you don't like the skin, don't say 'Bad skin' Please let them know why you don't or do like the skin, and if you don't like it, please tell them what they can do to make it so that you would like it. For instance 'I like the stripes in the skin, but I would like it even more if they were horizontal instead of vertical'. Authors don't make skins for others, they skin for themselves and share it with others. So posting a comment like 'I like the stripes in the skin, but they should be horizontal instead of vertical' means you think you know better than the designer, and is pretty rude.

It's the same when you are going to upload a skin, people may like it, and some people won't. Everyone has another taste. Some people like minimal skins, and other may like busy skins with all kinds of difficult shapes, many colours, etc.. Don't go swear at someone when he/she don't like you skin, if you like you can ask them what you can change about it to make it better (if you want to). Try to learn as much as you can from these reviews. That's what they are meant to be for. But keep in mind that you are skinning for yourself. If you like it just the way you've made it, leave it the way it is.
 

THE COMMUNITY
The skinning community is based on skinners, people who make skins and use skins, and even the people who make the software available. All these people can be found in forums and skinning websites. If you have questions regarding to skinning you can talk to them and they can help you out by giving you tips. It's also a good place to start at when you are new to skinning. Just by reading discussions that are going on you will get to know more and more on skinning. Some of the bigger forums to go to are the forums at:

Neowin.net
Wincustomize.com
WinMatrix.com
GetSkinned.org



SKINNERS INTERVIEWS
WinModify was the first skinning website who introduced the WinModify Skinners Interviews. Whether you are a non-skinner or a skinner it's cool to see experienced skinners telling how they got started with skinning, who may have helped them, what software they use, etc.. etc.. I offer some of these interviews on my website available for everyone to see. click here to go to the page.

THE END?
With these things in mind, you should be ready for some skinning, I hope these small 'articles' have helped you understand some things a little bit better. Don't be afraid to ask me or some of our forum members anything. We'll do our best to help.