On one of the episodes of the WinCustomize SkinCast, we touched on how some of us look for skins to feature, and gave some tips on getting featured and getting more downloads.  This is especially useful for new users who have just started skinning, or are considering picking it up.  I wanted to put some of these tips into a guide, and also offer some suggestions and guidelines for when you do upload a skin to WinCustomize.

Uploading Tips

1. Previews.  Make sure to have a preview of at least 1024x768 for submissions such as wallpapers, .dreams. logons, etc.  Smaller previews can be made for items like CursorFX themes, Icons, etc., but be sure that you do include a preview with the upload, or otherwise it will be rejected.  When doing a preview of your skin, there really isn’t a set way to design them, but keep a few things in mind.

• Make sure the preview matches what the skin really looks like.
  
• Just don’t take a quick screenshot.  The preview itself is the first thing people will see about your skin, so you want it to make a great first impression.  Take some time and design a preview that really shows off the skin.

1. Files.  If you need to upload a pack or something that contains more than one element, you have to use the .zip format, no .rar.
   
   
2. Clear Description.  Too many skins get uploaded that have little or no description.  A good tip is to give as much relevant information as possible about your submission.  Does your wallpaper have multiple resolutions?  Is the skin compatible with both XP and Vista?  Are there color variations?  Let people know what they are downloading.
   
   
3. Rips.  This is a particularly sensitive area, but I wanted to emphasize that not everyone knows the rules about this, so today we can make this clear.  Ripping (or Rips) is basically taking someone else’s work and distributing it without the authors permission.  If you upload something to WinCustomize it must be your own work, or you must have the written permission from the original author included.  This includes any type of modification to someone’s work as well.  If you are also wanting to create and upload a matching skin based off another persons work, you still need to have their permission included. 
   
   
4. Test the Skin.  Before you upload, you might also want to consider having friends or other members of the community give your skin a test to make sure there are no issues.  The forums on WinCustomize are a great place to ask for assistance and even more tips.
   
   
5. Use Sub-Styles and .Zips.  This is particularly true for WindowBlinds skins, wallpapers, and logons, but can apply to pretty much any skin or theme.  If you have multiple variations of a skin, for example, a WindowBlinds skin that has several different colors.  These need to either be included as sub-styles or multiple files in a .zip.  If it’s  a wallpaper that has several resolutions, those would also need to be included in a single pack.

Tips for Getting Featured

1. Good Previews.  The preview tips above are very important for this.  If your preview doesn’t show off your skin well, there’s less of a chance of someone actually downloading it to see that it is a perfect skin to feature. 
   
   
2. Promote Yourself.  Every member of WinCustomize can have their own personal page with their own personal domain.  For instance, mine is islanddog.wincustomize.com.  As you see on my page, my Skins Gallery is listed, along with a guestbook where other members can leave comments, there is a photo gallery I can upload images to, and more.  You can include your personal URL in forums signatures, e-mail signatures, and anything else to get people to come visit your gallery.
   
   
3. Recommend a Skin.  If you see a skin you like, or you think yours is good enough to be featured in various articles, drop myself or a site moderator a PM.  We always welcome feedback from the community.

Now for this weeks picks!

	Autobot for CursorFX by nimbletongue An Autobots cursor theme, do I really need to say anymore?
	~~~Fusion~~~ in DesktopX Themes by WeatherBound This DX theme has a wide variety of accessories, it's resolution independent, and has a slider to adjust the colors.
	Wispy Cloud in Dreams by CarGuy1 A very nice .dream, with a smooth animation that isn't too busy on the desktop.
	Black LogonVista in LogonStudio Vista by Life is a Game This logon has a very clean design and is a great addition to your logon library.
	desktopx icon in ObjectDock Icons by SG This icon for DesktopX takes a big turn from the "normal" icon.  It's a fun and unique twist to the standard icon.
	Twirl lines in Wallpapers by Dahama This design really caught my eye this week.  Very creative and good use of color.
	Thundera for WindowBlinds by Z71 Whether or not you know what Thundera is, this theme is still a fantastic piece of work.  A very smooth look, and don't forget to grab the wallpaper as well.
	gaiety for XP and Vista for WindowBlinds by mkorashy The second skin by mkorashy is another fine one.  I really enjoy the colors scheme with this skin and it's perfect for daily use.

Thanks to all the skinners this week, and be sure to visit their personal pages here on WinCustomize for more of their works.  See you next week!

DesktopX 3.5 was released recently, and one of the biggest feature updates is the ability to export your DX creations as a Vista sidebar gadget.  Creating a gadget for the Vista sidebar isn’t the easiest thing to do, and it has limitations that DesktopX can easily overcome.  DesktopX is a very powerful application which can create a wide variety of mini-applications for your desktop.  These can range from simple weather gadgets, on up to very complex applications with multiple functions all that can be wrapped in custom graphics. 

The gadgets that can be created with DesktopX can be scripted with many languages including C++, which allows an almost endless amount of possibilities.  Now if you aren’t big on scripting, don’t be too intimidated, as you can still create some great gadgets with the included plugins, or by going through the huge amount of documentation/tutorials provided by Stardock.  You can also find more tutorials written by experienced community members which can be found at the WinCustomize Wiki.

I have created quite a few DesktopX widgets over the last few years, and although I am not a coder, I was able to create some really cool and useful widgets.  I’m going to take you on a walkthrough on how to create a desktop widget, and turn it into a Vista sidebar gadget using DesktopX Pro 3.5.  I’m going to break apart the Election Countdown gadget I made, which will make a perfect example for today’s guide.

Since I am somewhat of a political junkie, I wanted a simple countdown gadget that would tell me how many days left until the 2008 election.  Remember, this is just the example I’m using today, the process for creating the sidebar gadget will work the same for whatever type of gadget you create.

First step is creating the basic graphic resources for my project.  This of course will vary depending on what type of gadget you are creating, but since mine is a simple countdown, I really just needed a single image which will have space for the countdown numbering.

Once my graphics are complete I fire up the DesktopX Builder and click the button to create a new desktop object.  This will serve as the base of my countdown gadget.

From the properties window I can set my graphic resources, and create a new script which will control the actual countdown.

Once my countdown script is set and applied, I can move on to tweaking the font that will be used to display the number of days remaining according to my countdown.  You can also adjust colors, add shadows, and many more options in this area.

I check to make sure all my graphics are looking good, and I can then right-click and group all my objects so that they will behave like one object, but keep the functionality of the different layers I have applied.  Now would be a good time to give your gadget a test.  If all is working correctly, right-click again and select Export.

From here you will begin the process of exporting your desktop object into a Vista sidebar gadget.  If you are using DesktopX Pro you can check the setting to export as a stand-alone gadget, so that users won’t have to have DesktopX installed to use it.  You will also be given the options to enter information like author information, description, etc. 

After all that, just set your output, click finish, and your gadget should be created.

Just double-click to install the gadget file, and you should now have your gadget occupying the Vista sidebar.

For more information about DesktopX, visit www.desktopx.net.

Now for this weeks picks!

Another great week of skin submissions, and I thank you all for your work.  See you next week!

In the last walkthrough I showed you the Spring MyColors theme, and today we have a more seasonal oriented MyColors theme to show…..Sunny Day.  This is a theme designed for MyColors, and to find more information about MyColors, you can read through a walkthrough or view a screencast with more information.

Visual Style and Wallpaper

The Sunny Day MyColors theme has some bright and stunning colors.  Sunny Day is the appropriate name for this theme as the visual style as several elements of the “sun” in it, and the mix of colors in the taskbars and title bars are beautifully designed.  The start menu even has an animated sun that pops up when opened.

The wallpaper is a “sunny” scene of a grassy field in the summertime. 

Icons

The icon package included with the Sunny Days MyColors theme is one of my favorites.  In particular, the Recycle Bin is a sand pale which fills up with sand when it’s not empty.  The rest of the icon pack is just as cool with many other summer-inspired icons.

Gadgets

The Sunny Day theme includes two gadgets, a clock with the Sunny Day style, and an expandable weather gadget.

The Sunny Day MyColors theme is available for both Windows Vista and XP.  If you are a subscriber to Object Desktop then you are eligible for a discount for MyColors themes.  For more information visit the Sunny Day MyColors page.

Now for this weeks picks!

	MB-Assassin for CursorFX by ModBlackmoon This cursor set is highly detailed and worth downloading just for that.
	Turbine Clock V1 in DesktopX Objects by AVMAN This clock for DesktopX is made to match the Turbine WB skin, and the animations on this are just fantastic.
	Simple IP LookUP in DesktopX Widgets by Julynessi This is a simple, but very useful widget that will instantly retrieve your IP address.
	Fire Storm in Dreams by TheMasterBaron This isn't your ordinary fire .dream, this takes it to another level with the "storm" like design.
	Photoshop CS in ObjectDock Icons by Libardo This goes way out of what the Photoshop CS icon looks like, but I love Libardo's take on it.  I hope to see more like this.
	Traces in Wallpapers by Skinhit The color of this wallpaper immediately caught my eye.  I can think of quite a few themes this will work perfect with.
	Subtle in WindowBlinds by Z71 This skin is smooth, clean, and perfect for everyday use.  Be sure to check this one out.

Thanks to everyone who contributed skins this week, and take some time and browse through the galleries and see all the other great works.  See you next week!

The 2008 GUI Championships, the latest iteration of the world’s largest GUI customization competition, is quickly approaching.  This fall skinners from all over the globe will compete in one of three main events for their shot at hardware, software and cash prizes totaling near $10,000!

For the last few months we’ve been letting out little teasers here and there about what we’re going to be doing with this year’s event.  Today, I’m happy to reveal some of the contest details to everyone, so skinners can begin to prepare their masterpieces early.  In 2006, there were complaints that there wasn’t enough warning on the contest, so this year we’re giving you all months to prepare!

Events

In 2006, there were three main categories; WindowBlinds skins, Icon Packages, and Wallpapers.  This year, we have dropped the Wallpaper event and will instead be replaced by Animated Wallpapers (Dreams).  Here is the official event list for the 2008 GUIC:

1. WindowBlinds Skins
   1. Most Original
   2. Most Usable
   3. Best Overall
2. IconPackager Sets
   1. Most Original
   2. Most Usable
   3. Best Overall
3. Animated Wallpapers (.Dreams)
   1. Most Original
   2. Most Usable
   3. Best Overall

We’re still debating a “User’s Choice” event, but haven’t decided how we’d handle it yet.  But the above covers the major categories and what the base events are.  Should be more than enough to get people started.

Timeline

The 2008 GUI Champs will officially kick off on October 12th.  Starting on that date, we will launch the new contest site and begin accepting submissions. The contest will run up to the end of December.  This gives everyone a 3 month lead before we even start accepting skins, to just over 5 months total before the competition closes.

A specific event schedule will be posted closer to the start of the competition.

Rules

The rules from 2006 are undergoing review and will likely see significant changes.  However, there are a few rules that will remain the same and that you should know before the contest starts:

1. All submitted work must be 100% original
   You must be the sole author of the art used in the submission.  No working with other skinners, no reusing elements from other skins (either your own, or others) or art.
2. Work submitted to the 2008 GUIC must be new.
   The GUIC must be the first place you submit a skin to.  Skins that are posted on other sites prior to being submitted to the GUIC will be disqualified.  Note that this does not mean you can’t post some preview shots of your work in progress, just that you may not make available for download a working skin (in any stage of development)
3. Entries must not use logos, characters, or other imagery that is copyrighted/trademarked
   No Windows logos, no Apple logos.  No modifications or interpretations of cartoon characters, mascots, movies, games, television shows etc.  We expect all designs and work to be completely original.  So no making your ideal Windows Vista skin, or a Dragon Ball Z icon set.

Prizes

We’re still in talks with potential sponsors, but we’ve lined up at least one hardware vendor and have several software makers interested in being a part of the event.  We are currently working toward the goal of having at least $10,000 in cash and prizes up for grabs. 

Once the sponsors are finalized, expect a big post listing them all out, and what the prizes will be.  I’m really excited so far based on the initial response I received from the companies I’ve contacted.

(Note: If your company would like to be a sponsor for the 2008 GUI Champs, please email me at mikec AT stardock DOT com).

Hopefully now you have a much better idea of what we have planned for this year’s event.  A lot of details are still to be worked out, and as we have major news (i.e. sponsors, the new site) you better believe I’ll be posting about it.

If you have any questions about the 2008 GUIC, post them below and I’ll answer what I can.

Get those skins started!

This is a screencast to accompany the article showing you how to change the Explorer Backgrounds in WindowBlinds 6.  If you have trouble viewing the video you can view it at the direct link here.

 Now for this months video!