Amazing first work--absolutely phenomenal. I hope it is as functional as it is pleasing to the eye.  

WOW. Want to use this when it is finished.

If you feel up to making some docks for it by all means go for it! I still have enough work on the blind to keep me busy for a little while yet.

 Again thanks everyone!

Wow, this is fantastic work for a first timer!  I'm excited to try this bad boy out when it's done....

extremely well done.. 

Hi Heigar.... judging by your user number you've been around a while! Why haven't you shared your talents with us before now? That is a beautiful skin and I'm sure many people will want to use it, I know I will...... B[]

My only advice is this: you've waited a long time to show your skills, don't rush it now and spoil it. Make it the best that you can..... BoXXi.

Thanks BoXXi..

I have been here awhile, but I thought it was time to try my hand at making my own blind ( by the way is not as easy as it may seem) and contribute more to the awesome community here. I have made a few skins and wallpapers for QMP (formally QCD media player) but looking back at the ones I have completed they really weren't that good and I have done a few personal icons. So this is all a new challenge for me and I'm loving it just for that reason (a challenge)...

Some icons

QMP skinshots

The QMP skins in those shots were never finished due to the developer pretty much gave up on the project and the website in which turned into spam heaven, so I switched media players!

I am certainly not going to rush this blind ( or any other ones that I do) I have spent quite a bit of time on it already, no sense in ruining it now!

I am getting frustrated ( but I am not going to give up I'll just have to remake some buttons which defeats the look I'm going for), don't know if it's just that I can't figure it out or it's a limitation :

The regular command module buttons (left arrow is pointing to) I want to look like tabs, and the splitbutton (right arrow) should be seperate buttons from each other and the regular dropdown as they are in the Aero.msstyle ( image #893 and #894 if interested)....

Or am I just confused?

I doesn't look like you can move those buttons down, Heigar. I tried.

There are no seperate controls for the split buttons on the command bar (makes me wonder why it can be done with msstyles and not WB).

In order to get rid of the overlaping margins on the split buttons, you'll have to move your painting margins to just where they start to curve on the top. That will probably end up looking bad in the end, and you'll have to compromise and change your design.  *Sigh* Welcome to the wonderful world of WB skinning!

WB has many areas that are damned if you do, damned if don't.... welcome to the world of compromise and re-design

Thanks for the info 2of3 and vStyler, I am kind of disappointed, seeing that the whole purpose of skinning is to make something unique. It's kind of hard to when you are limited in areas in which will throw the whole design off!

If images aren't included in the blind does it draw the images from the msstyle? ( just curious as I would consider for myself changing those images in the msstyle ( using Ave's Windows Style Builder), but then I would still have to create images for the blind seeing that I am going to share it and not everyone is going to want to change there .msstyle and shellstyle.dll).

Ok I just changed the command module button image to not included may be optional and it is drawing the buttons from somewhere and the way they are suppose to be ( at least the splitbutton are seperate buttons).

I love how those buttons on the left look like tabs... I hope you get this worked out so that you're able to use them...

Can't imagine your frustration since I've never made a WindowBlind yet...but just imagine if this software never came along....Luna!...makes you wanna hurl!

If anyone is interested or didn't realize, I have stumbled upon while playing around that the reserved images the last two images of the command module buttons is that when I put the normal image in the first reserved position and a mousover image for the other reserved it makes the splitbutton act like seperate buttons.

( normal,mouseover,pressed,selected,reserved,reserved)

very sharp dark theme...too bad WB cant get rid of all the white areas in 7 and vista

Thanks Brainiac!

I have spent the last day working on the command module buttons and I think I have them the way I want them ( or is limited to what can be done)... Not really my original concept, but I must keep moving forward on this and make changes and sacrifices as I go!

You had to add the gray stripe to the bottom of your command bar, huh. Sorry that you had to compromise there

Buttons look great, though

While it looks very good with the gray bar, it wasn't really what he wanted...the frustration sux, but...you found an elegant solution Heigar. Congratz!

Kinda sucks, but it was either add the gray bar or add the blue from the infopane to make it look higher, but then realized that not everyone has their infopane on top!

Thanks!

Thanks, I guess it was better to try something different to achieve somewhat of what I had in mind than scrapping the whole project over some silly little limitation!

Making progress

Damn linking to images!!

Lookin' good!

Thanks Mirsguy!