August has snuck up on us, and summer is slowly starting to wind down.  We have had a pretty good summer which is typically a slower time for skinning, but looking back at the skins we have had a ton of great submissions.

Now for this weeks picks!

In catching up with tutorials and guides for users, the first requested one was how to make animated images for use specifically in CursorFX.  However, these can be used a variety of other skinning apps including DesktopX, WindowBlinds, etc.

First you have to create the image you want to animate.  The most common app will most likely be something like Photoshop, although I do know some skinners who will use 3D applications to make some of those awesome cursor themes you see on WinCustomize.  Regardless of how you create the images, the end result must be that you have sequential .png images of your animation.  In Photoshop, you can do this simply by creating an image, and making a .png file of every step of the animation.  If you are using a 3D application, some will give you the option to export as sequential .png’s  so most of the work is already done for you.

This example is from Carrara 7.  I made a simple animation of a sphere for this example, and instead of exporting it as a movie file, it gives me the option to save each frame of animation as a .png file, which I can then assemble.  Assembling is something we will get to shortly.

Regardless of what you use, you will end up with a bunch of image files.

Now the task is to take all those images and make them into one strip of images.  There are a couple ways of doing this.

1. AniUtil – This is a utility long used by skinners to create .png strips.  It is located in your CursorFX folder or can be downloaded from various sites on the web.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t work too well with newer operating systems, but I would recommend trying it first.
   
2. APNG Edit – This is a Firefox extension used to create .png image strips.
   
3. APNG Anime Maker – This is a free app that doesn’t require installation that does a great job at combining .png files.

No matter what app you use to create the animation strip, you will end up with a single file.  Be sure to make note of how many frames are in the image as this is a number you will need to enter so the animation is looped correctly.

Since we are using CursorFX as our skinning example, the image below shows the CursorFX Editor and how you can import and setup your animated image.

As I mentioned before, these animations can be used in several different skinning programs, and the basics are all the same.  Using this method, you can create some really cool animations for your skins and themes.

Welcome all my skinning friends to another edition of TWiS.  Lets start off by saying congrats to k10w3 and amitsaran for winning our Summer 2010 skin contest.  I’m glad we have these two members as part of our site, and look forward to more from both of them.  I have no immediate plans for another contest, but I’d like to shoot for possibly a Halloween themed contest maybe.  Let me know your thoughts.

Now for this weeks picks!

	Aggressor by theAVMAN I just like everything about this theme for CursorFX
	Penthouse DX by RedneckDude I don’t need to describe RND’s DX themes anymore, you know they are top-notch.  Check this one based off the Penthouse WB.
	WHITE OUT by Defcon4 This is a nice set of 12 icons which you can use in ObjectDock.  Nice detail on these.
	Ford Trimotor by kenwas These are always great renders by kenwas.  Some of these scenes take you back in time.
	AGGRESSOR 7 XP & Vista by theAVMAN Just like the CursorFX theme, this WindowBlinds is just full of goodness.  Great job!
	Hibiscus and Anoles by k10w3 Nice bright and fresh colors make this a refreshing WindowBlinds skin for your desktop.

Welcome to another Friday, and welcome to the latest edition of TWiS.  Many things going on this including, including the mods judging the entries in the Summer ‘10 contest, so hopefully the winners will be announced sometime next week.  For you .dream creators out there, here is a reminder that the Dynamic Dream and Effects SDK’s have been released, so now you can create even more cool animated wallpapers!

Now for this weeks picks!

	Natural Bliss by amitsaran I just enjoy the overall look of this .dream.  Good motions, nice colors.
	Early Morning by DEVJIT This is a great image for your Windows logon, especially when starting your day.
	Carbon and Glass Zoomber by nicholas scarlett Nothing too fancy here, but it is a great minimalistic zoomer background set for ObjectDock.
	NS-5: The Birth by Sc4rfy This is just a very cool looking wallpaper, a definite download.
	AI interface WB by madcat21 Another great design from madcat21.  Attention to detail is good, and I recommend checking this one out.

Recently we released the 3.2 update for DeskScapes.  This released also included something that might have been missed in the announcement.  This is the release of the Dynamic Dreams SDK and an SDK for creating your own effects.

The Dynamic Dream SDK can be downloaded from here, which It provides the framework for developers to create dynamic dream.

https://www.stardock.com/products/deskscapes/downloads.asp

If you are interested in creating effects for .dreams, you can find that SDK in the Effects folder in the DeskScapes directory.

We always seem to focus on just the complete skins themselves when talking about WindowBlinds, but there is so much more you can customize and change with WindowBlinds 7.  Today I wanted to focus on how to change the Explorer Background with WindowBlinds.

Here is your default Explorer window.

In the WindowBlinds interface you have a tab at the bottom for Explorer Backgrounds.

There are quite a few textures included with WindowBlinds, but as with other textures in WB, you can also create and use your own textures.  To apply a texture simply click on the one you want to use, and you will immediately see the change in the preview window.

To use your own image texture, just select ‘create texture’, and choose the image you would like to use.  You will then see an editor where you can modify the scale and other aspects of the texture to be used.  When you are ready just save it from there, and it will appear in the texture list.

Remember that you don’t have to use this feature with a WindowBlinds skin.  In this example I applied my texture to Aero.

More information and downloads can be found at www.windowblinds.net.

TWiS took a day off last week, but we are excited to return this week to showcase some hot skins from WinCustomize.  It seems we have a nice variety of skins from DesktopX themes to some really cool wallpapers this week. 

Check out this weeks picks!

	Blue My Mind DX by RedNeckDude A cool blue color is just what I like, and this DX theme takes the cake.
	Sedge Grass by Ausvet Grass scenes for animated wallpapers have always been popular, and this one adds to the collection.
	Hang In There (TM Suite) by Philly0381 Philly0381 has compiled another suite of skins based on an RND DX theme.  Nice work!
	Searching for Captain Nemo by teddybearcholla I just really like the simplicity and color of this wallpaper.  Great job!
	a1949 Wallpack by PoSmedley A beautiful wallpaper pack.
	Le Baron by gmc2 This is a more minimalistic WindowBlind skin, and it makes great use of color.

We are winding down another month, and summer has also officially started.  There’s lot of stuff going on, so be sure to check all the galleries because there were just too many great skins to feature this week.

Now for this weeks picks!

Happy Friday, and welcome to another edition of This Week in Skinning!  There was lots of good stuff happening in the skinning world this week including the release of DeskScapes 3.2 which introduces a cool new wallpaper coloring feature.  We also had more Master Skin uploads this week that you should definitely check out.

Now for this weeks picks!

	Waterfall Splash by amitsaran Waterfall animated wallpapers have been very popular over the years, and I can see why with beautiful scenes like this.
	Storm Brewing LV by Frankief This is a great wallpaper, but it also makes a great logon for Windows when used with LogonStudio.
	Diamonds checks and stripes by ahabkaba If you have ObjectDock, this is a very cool set of tile backgrounds to use.
	Rendezvous by Richard Mohler This is just an awesome scene.  Great job on this!
	Aero Station by Mirsguy I really love the overall design and look of this WindowBlinds skin.  Really no need to describe it, just download it and see for yourself.