PoSmedley PoSmedley

One Piece At A Time : Windowblind Tutorial Part III

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One Piece At A Time : Windowblind Tutorial Part III

Design: Edit Controls

from WinCustomize Forums

 

Welcome to Part III of the 'One Piece At A Time' tutorial. This thread will be concentrating on the design of the 'Edit Controls' for the Roan Windowblind. Several skinners are helping me through these threads in an effort to understand and learn how to build Windowblinds. (And they would be Vampothika, neone6, and 2of3) Along with a lot of other talented skinners, artists, etc, who have participated with this so far, we're hoping these threads will also help other would be or existing skinners as well. We also have gmc2 sorting through all of the info posted for hte Wincustomize Wiki.

For these first few parts, we'll be working on the design of the Roan Windowblinds elements and then bringing them all together and exploring SKS (Skin Studio) where we'll take everything and put it together.

If you're looking for Part I and II, you can find them here:

One Piece At A Time : Windowblind Tutorial Part I

Design : Start Menu and Taskbar

 

One Piece At A Time : Windowblind Tutorial Part II

Design: Title Bars & Window Frames

 

PLEASE :

  • I am open to suggestions but may not use any of them. Please, don't be offended if I don't use yours.
  • Keep the image posting to the skin(s)
  • If you want to make a skin to go with this, PM me for the files. My PSD's tend to be a mess, but I save everything and will be happy to     share. I am uploading the actual files to the Graphics Gallery here on Wincustomize.
  • We'll be skinning for Windows7, maybe Vista. If someone wants to do XP, PM me and I will get you what you need.
  • Any files you request will come as I complete them. I won't be jumping ahead. Please be patient.
  • ;)

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The PSD files for the  previous threads are in the Graphics Gallery.

Roan WB Title Bars and Window Frames  

  Roan WB Taskbar Buttons

Roan WB Title Bars and Window Frames  

  Roan WB Taskbar Buttons

74,362 views 118 replies
Reply #51 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting PoSmedley, reply 48
I know there have been issues in the past with skins being pulled from the gallery because certain or a lot of the graphics in it matched graphics in size in other skins to the pixel. SO...how do you follow anyones template? (I have been following the templates that 2of3 sent me but have purposely gone out of my way to change the sizes of the png's. From the height of the taskbar to the window frames, etc., etc.)

I don't own dimensions, Po. Using a template as a size guide is a good idea.

Reply #52 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting PoSmedley, reply 48
I know there have been issues in the past with skins being pulled from the gallery because certain or a lot of the graphics in it matched graphics in size in other skins to the pixel. SO...how do you follow anyones template? (I have been following the templates that 2of3 sent me but have purposely gone out of my way to change the sizes of the png's. From the height of the taskbar to the window frames, etc., etc.)

When she says template, she means just use the same size canvas as the Diamond template (the one that comes up when you choose "New" skin in SKS) for the parts.  What I do, because I use frame builder, is note the size of the image that's in the template, divide that by how ever many images are in that section, and then create a canvas in Photoshop that that size (i.e., radio button image is 104x13, divide the 104 by 8, which means a single button is 13x13). 

My understanding is, when that drama went down, it wasn't the SIZE of the images--it was where the pixels were placed on the canvas.  Plus, everybody loves you here, Noah -- nobody's going to start any shit over your blind. 

Ashes of the Singularity II
Reply #53 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I'll bring the popcorn.

Reply #54 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting 2of3, reply 51
I don't own dimensions, Po. Using a template as a size guide is a good idea.

Quoting k10w3, reply 52
My understanding is, when that drama went down, it wasn't the SIZE of the images--it was where the pixels were placed on the canvas.

I just don't want to get into a bad habit that's gonna bite me in the ass down the road.

Quoting k10w3, reply 52
Plus, everybody loves you here, Noah

TAKE THAT BACK!!

 

Quoting Zubaz, reply 50
{yawn}

SHE said THAT , too!

*BARUMP-BUMP

Thank you. Thank you. You're all too kind. I hadn't planned on an encore but it was worth it.

Reply #55 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting PoSmedley, reply 54
I just don't want to get into a bad habit that's gonna bite me in the ass down the road.

Once you get this draft done, you can use it as a template for the next skin. Can't be done for ripping yourself!  :rofl:

Reply #56 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting 2of3, reply 55
Once you get this draft done, you can use it as a template for the next skin. Can't be done for ripping yourself!

lol indeed!!

noah, pm me your email addy and ill send you a psd of a diamond template and how i skinned over it. ill send the radio buttons. ill do that tomorrow

morning, if that is okay with you.

so you know exactly what me, tim and karen are talking about.

what karen and tim said is good advice and spot on as always...

Reply #57 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting Vampothika, reply 56
noah, pm me your email addy and ill send you a psd of a diamond template and how i skinned over it. ill send the radio buttons. ill do that tomorrow

morning, if that is okay with you.

okay

 

Reply #58 from WinCustomize Forums Top

sent... wake up you muther!!!!! lolz

Reply #59 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting k10w3, reply 52
Plus, everybody loves you here, Noah -
That might be a -slight- exageration.   I have a list.

Reply #60 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I'm up. I'm up.

Got it.

coffee.....

Reply #61 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting PoSmedley, reply 60
That might be a -slight- exageration. I have a list.

Have you seen this list?

Reply #62 from WinCustomize Forums Top

tell me what you think when you have looked at it.... :)

cause that is how i skin just about everything (cept the startmenu of course and frames)

sometimes i steal karens templates and skin over it....hehe she dont know that yet... 

Reply #63 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting PoSmedley, reply 61
Have you seen this list?
Idiot.  You spelled my name wrong. Ha!

Reply #64 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting Vampothika, reply 62
tell me what you think when you have looked at it.

Thanks to you and Karen (frame builder) I think I got it cleaned up now, and the groupbox as well.

 

Quoting Zubaz, reply 63
Idiot. You spelled my name wrong. Ha!

How in the HELL would you know if anything was spelled wrong? For all you know, you've been spelling it wrong since the day they put a crayon in your hand.

Reply #65 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting PoSmedley, reply 64
Thanks to you and Karen (frame builder) I think I got it cleaned up now, and the groupbox as well.

totally groovy. :grin:

Reply #66 from WinCustomize Forums Top

At least now I know I'm not the only one who uses crayons. :P

Reply #67 from WinCustomize Forums Top

The 'Frame Builder' is going to be a big help while going through the templates. I feel like I spent too much time on this first part of the controls.

 

 

 

 

Reply #68 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting Uvah, reply 66
At least now I know I'm not the only one who uses crayons.
So you've seen my first Xion skin?

 

https://www.wincustomize.com/explore/xion/40/

 

:')

 

Reply #69 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting PoSmedley, reply 48
I know there have been issues in the past with skins being pulled from the gallery because certain or a lot of the graphics in it matched graphics in size in other skins to the pixel.

That seems odd.  SD provides a template with SKS & I've used it to size most of my graphics, particularly the ones where the precise size & shape matter and there are a bunch of those.  Considering the size of an image effectively 'copyrightable' seems way wrong.  You sure that really happened?  That there were no other issues?

EDIT: I see others have suggested this isn't the case but nothing definitive.

Reply #70 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting Daiwa, reply 69
You sure that really happened? That there were no other issues?

I don't want to dredge up a lot of old stuff. I honestly don't even remember who was involved. I think that it was an issue of a majority of the graphics being identical in size and shape to the point that they might as well have just been recolored and such. Jafo probably remembers more of it. I'm not trying to start it all up again as it was an ugly episode. I was just trying to get a better understanding of the etiquette involved in all of this. Using stock images in a lot of my wallpapers, I follow the authors rules as far as giving credit, leaving notes, putting in links. I don't want to cross any lines with this.

Reply #71 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I'm working on the Headerbar Controls (see below)

I applied them and they show up in explorer but when I take the window out of full screen, they revert back to Diamonds graphics.

Is the 'Glass Explorer Windows' graphic what I need to change to fix that? And do I need to do all 7 states? (Diamond uses 5 for both)

***AND when I try to edit the text margins in the header bar, only 'Filename' adjusts. I can't move the rest of them at all. (Trying to put a stitch on each end but will look awful if I can't move the text in all the headers)

Reply #72 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting Vampothika, reply 62
sometimes i steal karens templates and skin over it....hehe she dont know that yet...


What?!  No way.  You're only saying that to make me feel good.

Reply #73 from WinCustomize Forums Top

You only have to skin the glass explorer window parts if you are using transparency.  Regular headers are .bmp, and glass are .tga.

Reply #74 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting k10w3, reply 73
You only have to skin the glass explorer window parts if you are using transparency. Regular headers are .bmp, and glass are .tga.

Not using transparency. Afraid to ask if I should be.

 

 

Quoting Zubaz, reply 68
So you've seen my first Xion skin?

Don't they have it hanging on the fridge in the break-room along with all your other uh...'art'?

Reply #75 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Date, Type, Size, Tags - will not move like 'Name' does when I edit the text margins.  ??