Classic Skins

Classic skins are skins that adhere to the Winamp 2 style model. Classic skins are easier to create than Modern skins but do not allow the author to change the form or function of the player. Classic authors may only replace a standard set of images that alter the player's visual appearance.

A lot of people get really excited when they find out that they can change the look of Winamp through skinning. The problem is they get turned off once they hit a roadblock, be it what to do next, hit a problem submitting to Winamp.com, or indeed, just figuring out how to get started. So here we have a set of simple steps that holds your hand from initial idea to finished masterpiece. Note: Cool kids still use (and create) classic skins. Good luck!

Before creating a complete skin, you will need the following tools. There are some suggestions below, but we don't necessarily endorse or require you to use any of them. We leave you to choose one that you're most comfortable with.

Bitmap Editor:
    How else will you "paint" your skins? Must be able to recognize the .BMP format.
    eg. MS Paint, JASC Paint Shop Pro, Adobe Photoshop
Text Editor:
    For use in configuring the fonts and colors of the Mini-browser and Playlist editor. Also used if you do any transparency.
    eg. MS Notepad, MS Word, Corel Wordperfect
Icon Editor:
    You will need an Icon editor if you are hardcore and want to edit the cursors and pointers associated with your skin.
    eg. NeoSoft Icon Editor, Icon Edit Pro, Impact Microangelo
Zip Compression Tool:
    Absolutely necessary to publish your skin. Winamp.com will not accept an unzipped skin.
    eg. PKWare PKZip, Galt 123Zip, WinZip

All skinners go through the following steps in one way or another. Follow along and you too can take your place amongst the skinning elite.

1. The Base Skin
   
2. Paint the Main Window
   
3. Paint the Equalizer Window
   
4. Paint the Playlist Window
   
5. Paint the Minibrowser Window
   
6. Paint the AVS Window
   
7. Paint the Winamp 2.9/5.x Windows
   
8. Create Custom Cursors
   
9. Edit the Configuration Files
   
10. Compress to .WSZ format
    
11. Submit to Winamp.com