Read this before you email me. Or else.

How do I install a skin?

There have been variants on this, but I'll just go through it step by step.

First of all, you have to have Winamp. You would think this is obvious. You would be wrong. Winamp generally looks for skins in its own folder, which should be something like C:\Progam Files\Winamp\Skins. You should look for a folder like this when saving skins to your hard drive.

When saving skins, it's usually best to right-click and choose "Save file as" or "Save target as." When you do this, be sure to choose the skins folder as outlined above. It may not download automatically into the folder you want. Say, for example, that you've been downloading MP3s, which have been going into C:\Downloads\MP3s. See that deal at the top that shows an open folder and "MP3s"? See the icon right next to it that looks like folder with an arrow pointing up? Click on it until you're just in C:, then look for "Program Files," double click on it, and look for Winamp. Double click on that, and then on Skins. Then click Save. Just save it as a zip file; Winamp should be able to read it.

Now open Winamp. Press Alt and S at the same time, opening up the skin browser. Any skin files you've saved should be visible here, unless you saved them to a different folder. If, for instance, you chose to create your own skins folder, or you put them in C:\Downloads, or something, you can use the skin browser to get to that; choose "Set skins directory..." and browse through the folders until you find what you want.

If that's not working, you probably have an old version of Winamp. If that's the case, um... how did you have it for so long without learning how to use it? Well, whatever. If Winamp can't use zip files for some reason, you'll need to get Winzip. Once you have that, create folders in the Skins folder named after the skins you want. Download and unzip each skin, then extract the contents into the appropriate folders. Or just upgrade Winamp.

Why isn't the playlist skinned? The version you showed on your site had the playlist.

Your problem is you've got Winamp 3. You do not want Winamp 3. Winamp 3 is bloatware. It is evil. Evil! From beneath you it devours! Change over to Winamp 2.x and get that space-hog off your computer! Your hard drive will thank you!

Winamp 3 skins sound kind of cool in theory. In theory Communism works, too. Like every anime Winamp skin designer that I know of, I took a look at some documentation on skinning for it, whimpered in pain as my brain exploded, and decided to stick to what I know. I don't think ANYONE is making anime Winamp 3 skins; if you want them, you might try Winamp.com, but I wouldn't guarantee anything. Winamp 2 works just fine anyway, and of course I'm biased towards it.

So, Happy Phantom, can you help me...

Stop right there. My name is not Happy Phantom. That is the name of my site. I am Lirillith. Also, just for your reference, I'm female.

Okay, fine, Lirillith. Can you help me make a skin?

No.

Let me elaborate. If you have no idea where to start and you want me to hold your hand through the whole process, then no. Absolutely not. I'm not nice enough, patient enough, a good enough teacher, or posessed of enough free time. However, if you're trying to muddle through on your own, you've got most of it working but one part mystifies you, then sure, email me, I'll see if I can help.

I taught myself absolutely from the ground up. I had a couple of skins I'd downloaded, and I took them apart to examine the bits for clues as to how to proceed. And I had a template with some explanation as to what went where. That was it. My first few skins were crap on a stick, but I learned as I went; it won't kill you to do the same.

Where can I learn how to make skins?

I'm working on a tutorial. If you want the quick and easy way, you might try 1001 Winamp Skins, which has a substantial help section; I don't use skinners, but this could hook you up with one if you don't want to go to the trouble of making skins that are actually good. If you do, it does have some tutorials and some tools I see no shame in using, like the glorious viscolor editor which has played no small part in this skinning renaissance I'm going through.

I make all of my skins using a template from this site. I'm not sure it's totally up to date - I've had to make minor modifications to it myself - but it's handy all the same.

Why are you so hard on your skins? I think they look fine.

I'm mostly just hard on my FF8 skins, but they DESERVE for me to be hard on them, because they're low-quality and virtually unusable. And, now, no longer downloadable. Mwah hah ha! Ahem. No, there are two factors at work. One is that I'm accustomed to my own style and familiarity breeds contempt. The other is that sometimes my skins are just plain bad. I judge them not just on "Oooh, pretty picture!" but on usability, style, cohesiveness of design - the skin elements may be kind of invisible to you guys, but I notice each and every one of them. A skin with a non-functional equalizer looks unbalanced to me, just as an example.

How do you make skins so quickly?

Well, I've been at it for over a year now, so I've developed a reliable method. I don't make mistakes as often as I used to. I also have a pretty good backlog of my own creations to rip off if it comes to that. I have a carefree disregard for trivial things like, say, "doing the assigned reading" or "writing term papers before dawn" or similar. I have what's called "the legendary college-student free time." And I have absolutely no life! Throw all these factors together, and you too can create five skins in as many days!

That was a while back, wasn't it? Okay, so why don't you ever update anymore?

No more college-student free time. Full-time job, shift in interests, a bit bored with skinning. I'm not QUITTING, but I'd generally rather play the Sims or something.

You're updating again.

Yeah. Why, are you complaining?

Where did you get your MP3s?

Napster. A bunch of MP3 request sites on the apparently-now-defunct Aniramp. Chrono Cross and Trigger sites that no longer exist. A couple of big Evangelion sites that also no longer exist. And Gamingforce, which sucks now because of Idrive. You might try Phoenixfeather's site, but, durnit, it's down too. At the moment I use Aimster. It has problems - plenty of them - but it's enough like Napster to make me all nostalgic, and really, that's the most important thing for me. Logic has little place in my decision-making process.

Update: Audiogalaxy is my new MP3-getter of choice. It's not without flaws (namely its tendency to install spyware on your system - I got Ad-aware from CNet to deal with this) but it does what I want it to do. Well, it did, till it went kaput. Wahh.....

Update again, circa late August 2003 - I use WinMX and Kazaa Lite now. ::waits for subpoena::

Can you make a skin of ____?

I will take *suggestions.* Not requests. If you ask for something, I'll consider it, but that doesn't necessarily mean I'll make it. Not all images can be made into Winamp skins. I don't even *want* to make all images into Winamp skins, even when it can be done. Sometimes it can be done but it just doesn't work in my skinning style. Sometimes I would do it but I get hung up on lack of knowledge. You can say "I'd like to see a skin of ___" but you really shouldn't just send me an image of Character A and ask me to make a skin of that specific piece of artwork.

Why haven't you made any FF7 skins? Make some now, bitch!

I'm exaggerating a LITTLE bit on the phrasing there, but not much. Yes, I made some, but I'm still crabby about the way in which I was "asked." I like to be fawned over. Keep that in mind.

What happened to the FF8 skins?!

No one's asked this YET, since I'm writing this just after deleting them, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time. Well.

1. The skins were completely, disgustingly UGLY, and it depressed me to see them being downloaded more than perfectly lovely skins I've made for much better games and anime. (Seriously. It's a sad day for this world when the second skin I ever made - bearing the filename "fugly," lest there be any confusion about my opinion of it - gets more hits than any given one of Trigun skins, not to mention more than all my FF6 skins put together.)

It made me think people just didn't CARE about skin quality - that they just wanted a pretty picture that'd sing to them - and that's depressing, because why am I sinking all this time into these skins if you don't care?

2. They were ugly, and why would I want ugly stuff on my site?

3. I think some of you got the impression I was fishing for compliments. I wasn't. I really did think the skins sucked. Still do.

4. In counterpoint to my first reason, I was sort of afraid people would dislike them but take them as representative of my skinning abilities, and I didn't want that either, because on a good day I'm *much* better than that.

5. I don't like reminders that FF8 is popular.

Why don't you like FF8?

I hate Squall with the white-hot fury of a thousand burning suns. There are no words to express my loathing. He is revoltingly self-centered and inconsiderate and cruel and selfish and did I mention self-absorbed, too? I want to chop him up and feed him to bears. UGLY bears. And then I'll throw in Fuujin if the bears are still hungry. This game has the most unlikeable cast available (outside of Laguna's orbit - those people, they're cool) and a fiercely stupid, boring plot. I hate the music, I hate the graphics, I hate the characters and the battle system and Tetsuya Nomura. Well, I stopped, after FFX, but I hated him for this. It's the worst game EVER on every standard I use to judge video games, and if you try to tell me the graphics are good you can expect a three page email full of incoherent sputtering, because I hate the graphics too. That includes the FMVs. Yes! I hate the FMVs too! ALL OF IT!!!

Why are you such a bitch?

OMFG STFU N00B.

Okay, yeah. Because I get way too much email asking me the same questions over and over. I work in customer service; I get enough of that when I'm paid for it. If I'm not being paid, I see no reason to pretend I don't hate people.

Why won't you make Winamp 3 skins? I came here looking for them and you don't have any.

I told you. From beneath you, it devours. Go download Winamp 2.x. You'll thank me one day.