Interested In Learning
 

Well im really interested in learning how to make Vbulltin Skins, but honestly I have no idea were to begin. So im looking for a partner, someone who will take me under there wing, and guide me. If your interested, My Aim=nb567od .

Im a really quick learner.

i'd be delighted to help, mainly because you're interested in building in CSS... but sadly i'm not really available actually, having a new job and the vacations that comes quick with 3 schoolers here!

Yeah I am interested also in learning.

How long does it take to actually build a template?

It depends on your knowledge of making templates if you go that route. Some skinners don'e make templates, some do. Its realy depends on what you want. Its also better to try and strat out kinda slow at first if you are not fluent in css & html. So you may just want to try your hand at messing around in the style area of your board first to get used to what you have to do and what happens when you apply certain things.

MP

Okay so im kind of getting it, I know I have to skin all the buttons and things like that, but what about the actual template like the background and stuff, is that something I skin, or do i use html and skin it with numbers and letters? Or is it a combo of both, also do I have to write a whole css style sheet or do you just take the Css from the stock Vbulletin template and add your stuff there.

Please Help.

Thanks!

You can make specialized backgrounds in adobe photoshop if you have it and then add the css code into the skin in your admin panel. When you click on the drop down next to the skin you are working on you get many options there. To change colors adn implement backgrounds and stuff click on the Show All (i think) and it will show you all the CSS. you can change everything from there, no need to make a sepaparte CSS file and uplaod or anything like that. If you are not that familiar with CSS then you can take a look at W3CSchools they have tutorials on CSS and all formats of code for web pages. As for buttons & other images that are already used on your forum, you just make those and then when saving them save them with the same name of the item you are replacing in your skin. If its an icon named icon and a gif file then save it as icon.gif into the folder that it was originally. The best thing to do on images is download the images for your skin and modify them on your PC and then upload them back to your forum directory for the skin you are working on.

MP

<a href="http://gamingnubs.com/testvb/" target="_blank">http://gamingnubs.com/testvb/</a>

Well I gave it a go, I used the Dark_Vb Template and messed around with it, its a start, what do you guys think?

Hey that does look nice! :D Very good job :D


MP

Thanks man, means alot, now I just have to learn how to make my own from scratch, haha.

one of the hardest parts for me when i started learning, was knowing the names of all the parts of a vb.

"input field?, inline moderation element highlight?, panel sorround? forum jump menu?"

and so on. at first i didn't know which did what. and when i tested one out to see if i'd notice any changes, sometimes i wouldn't notice anything at first, but then when i went to a certain area of the forum, you'd see it. it just made it more confusing. >.<

but after you do a few skins, (so far i've done like.. 4 i think) you get used to it.

good luck with that.

I was interested in making my own skins as well. Mostly because I'm very good with computers, have some experience with HTML, experience with Photoshop, and I already have a sketch of exactly what I want to make. The only thing I don't have is the knowledge of where to start. Where do you make the skins? Do you just type some coding in notepad and save it as ".xml" or something?

Is there some huge online manual on vbulletin skinning? I really want to get into this...I'm not going to pay $1000 for someone else to do it. Like I said, I'm very good with computers, etc, I think I'd be able to do it myself if I knew how.

Not all designers charge you $1000 for a skin, I don't. :D However, that being said to get started you don't need to make a xml file or anything like that. Just login to your Admin CP and click on the Style Manager link in your menu on the left and this will bring up all your styles you currently have installed on your forum. Then if you are strating from scratch scrollo to the bottom of your styles list adn click on the "[Add New Style]" link at the bottom. Fill in the blanks and its best to choose for your members not to see the style before you are done. You as an admin will still be able to see it, but they will not. Give your style a name adn click save, submit or ok (don't have it right in front me right now don't remember which one it is). Then you will be directed to the styles list again, find the style you just created and edit it from there. You will see a drop down list on the far right hand side. To change colors and various CSS click on the drop down list and choose "All Style Options". Usually its already showing there and you can just click the "Go" button. This brings up your CSS and the things you can modify for your skin.


MP

Okay, I'll fool around with that :)

And the design I want would probably cost well over $1,000. It would require a lot of custom coding as well as skinning. Here's the design I drew up quick on Microsoft Paint (photoshop isn't working lol)

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ebateforum.jpg

That navbar is probably hard enough. I'm guessing my design would require some advanced coding. There's a custom homepage with that sidebar and there's also the blog implementation and a custom news page for world news, topstories, etc. There is no mod for that (besides AboutToday, but it's not as professional as I would like) so it would need to be custom made.

If only there was some program like DreamWeaver or FrontPage for vBulletin skins! I could create that design in a second! I'm very capable of making the graphics myself. I know exactly what I want. I just couldn't do it with coding...

In skins mainly vb is CSS & html. You can use Dreamweaver to create the HTMl you what for your skin and then input it in th proper place in teh templates of your vb skin. IF you are able to do graphics, html & css you have a really good bet of getting something close to the way you want it on your forum. Looking at the design it actually would not be very hard to code it into the skin. The main template you would need to look at would be the header template & FORUMHOME. You can put standard html in the templates such as tables and what have you to hold your images where you want them, or you can use CSS to do this, whichever you are more comfy with :D

As for the cost, that realy always depends on each individual designer adn what they charge for certain things. Some are better at other things then others and some charge more if they feel it will be alot of work involved in the job. It just depends on who you get and how they work things. :D I've seen many designers really charge alot for some things and I've seen them IMO not charge enough for others, so its all personal really in the end. Since you do have experience in adobe photoshop I suggest you make your graphics with it and then implement them or code them into your skin you can't go wrong with this approach at all. Good luck :)

MP

HaHa no skin should cost more than the actuall forum (Vbulletin).

I like that idea lol.

It really depends on what is in the skin and how much coding a designer has to do on it as to the cost of a skin. The more involved the more money. Me typically I try not to go nuts with the cost on skins, but again it depends on what is involved in a skin and what the client wants. But coding a skin from a PSD file is actually not that bad in the end. As a designer you have to make the graphics usually and then code, but if you have a PSD file it does make it easier to implement into someones site.


MP

What if I made all the graphics for my design? How much would you charge me to put it into the style for me? I have zero knowledge of CSS, so I figure you could do it much easier. We could have a little team lol.

I'm pretty sure giving you a quote on the open forum of vb is probably a no-no. LOL So if you like you can send me a PM and we can discuss it. I usually give free quotes via e-mail.


MP

Most use Photoshop. That skin is nice No Mods good work keep going you'll be a pro in no time.

Hey MpDesignz, you wouldnt want to take me under, like a teacher and im your student, you seem to know alot. I am pretty good with adobe and im decent with CSS and HTML. If your interested send me a pm or email at nb567od@aol.com.

The only thing for me is, I am capable of making the graphics I'd need....but I don't know exactly WHAT graphics to make. I guess I should browse through the image folder for vbulletin to find out what kind of things I'd need to make?

I can maybe help you out off and on through MSN messenger when I'm not bogged down with work.

Yes taking a look in the default folder will give you an idea of what graphics go into the skin & give you an idea of the size of each graphic and waht have you.


MP

That is only if you want to make a simple template. Very simple one. Complex templates have more than 100 templates customized.

Completely wrong. If its a custom work, it would cost much more than software. Why? Because its a custom work. Its only for 1 person, so designer receives money only once. vBulletin is sold to thousands of customer, so vbulletin team receives payments thousands of times and that's why its cheap, and the same reason is why commercial styles are cheap.

That would be a major problem for any coder. You don't know what parts of design can and can't be coded, you don't know how different design elements work with other elements.

I've seen few people asking to code their designs. Their designs looked great with fancy flashing images, but they weren't codable. Usually its because designers who make it have no idea about coding, and they put elements that can't be scaled or tiled. Forum is a dynamic content, so design should be flexible enough to handle it, and majority of psd files designed without coding knowledge aren't flexible enough and result in non-functional forums.

I've finally found a thread that goes into more detail than simple 'you need to go into your admin cp -> styles -> etc, etc...', or 'you need to learn HTML and CSS, etc, etc.

This thread has actually been more informative than you could possibly imagine.!

No, you're absolutely correct! However, with respect to this quote, a porgrammer/coder would work with the designer to come to a final conclusion of how the designer wishes their design to look. What you have implied is that the coder wants all the work, including graphics... I'm sorry, but I've always been taught to work with the team, and not on my own as the ultimate designer/programmer. It's as though you are saying 'I'll do all the work, regardless of it being what you want, or not!' - bad for business.

I would expect no less than being able to send designs to the coder, and the coder responding with elements of the design areas that either work well, need more work and editing, or won't work at all. Some people call this method 'sketches', or 'outlines'.

As for the ability to design and code skins for one's self, I personally feel it is a closed subject to only those who know how to do the task. Of course, we need to know languages and vB templates, CSS and such... but, for those who are able to take on the challenge of designing and coding skins from scratch, there is still nothing that instructs on how to perform even the simplest of tasks; much like a member's only club.

However, imagine if everyone could design and code their own skins...... this last quote would be less correct, because there would be more choice of coder, and, hence, less cost due to competition between coders/designers. Skins would still be pricey, though, but not as expensive as is now... competition is healthy.!

The reason I've posted this? I've searched everywhere, and for a very long time, for instruction on how to design my own skin for vBulletin. The problem is that when someone posts a question, and there are many, of where and how to start learning how to design one's own skin, the replies are single sentence responses with things like 'you need to learn XHTML', 'you need to learn 'DHTML', 'you need to learn HTML & CSS', 'you need to learn how to use photoshop', and even a response that stated 'you can't!' If you don't believe me, just go and do a search, you'll then realise how much lack of answer there is.

And, the final problem is that users, judging from their posts, want to design their skins with dynamic or fluid borders around their forums, with nice gradients, pretty little icons and wonderfully eyecandy colours and textures.

The majority reply to users who want instruction on how to create wonderfully eyecandy forums is that the user should go into AdminCP --> Styles, etc --> Create New Style, and so on.... A simple misunderstanding of what the user is asking for.

... the user wants to know how to design the wonderfully eyecandy forum skins/styles, and not simply change the CSS of a new style based on the Default vB style.

I'm shocked that, with so many intelligent and talented coders and designers using vB, and designing vB skins, there is still no instruction or 'how to' for designing skins the way the user has been asking for since, at least, I first downloaded and installed vB 3.4. :eek: That's a very long time, indeed.! I expect the general lack of response to designing and coding skins will encompass more time than can be crammed into a human life-span.!