[Capric0rn]

Watercolor Emico

So.. almost a year after I've started working on this skin the 1st style is finally done. This version contains the Blue substyles with a "Modern" and a "Classic" taskbar.
This skin is based on the skin called "Watercolor". It's a skin that was being used in the beta's of XP.

I wanted to make my own skin so tornado5 aka em3 told me that I should try and make a new version of Watercolor.
This is the outcome.

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How to install:

Extract the folder called "WE" to "C:\WINDOWS\Resources\Themes".
Right click the desktop > properties > appearance > then from the first drop select "Watercolor Emico"
From the 2nd drop downlist you can make a choice between the "Modern" and the "Classic" taskbar.
In the 3rd drop downlist you can make a choice between a "Normal" or a "Compact" start panel.

To use this theme you need to patch the Windows system file uxtheme.dll. You can read about how to do that here: Link

Bugs that I know of:
*Some palet frames arent drawn the correct way.(Application bug)
*In some webbrowsers the buttons might be resized the wrong way. (Browser bug)
* Multi row taskbar does not look good. (Theme)

Modification can not be released. You can make them as long as you keep them for personal use only.

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Bug fixes and updates in Blue:

06-06-08:
- Fixed the palet frames
- Fixed the palet caption buttons
- Fixed the black text on the side taskbars to white
- Changed the way the taskbar image is being stretched when using multiple rows.
- New toolbar and placebar images

14-06-08:
- Fixed the toolbar gripper in Blue Classic
- Fixed the vertical toolbar grippers in Blue Modern and Classic
- Fixed the placebar button in Blue Modern

Bug fixes and updates in Ergonomic Blue:

14-06-08:
- Changed the orange on the buttons
- Changed the orange on the tabs
- Changed the orange on the checkboxes
- Changed the orange on the radiobuttons
- Removed some gloss in the flash button. There was a bit to much gloss in that button compared to the others.

Bug fixes and updates in Black:

21-06-08:
- Changed the toolbar buttons and the placebar buttons from orange to blue
- Fixed the top taskbar

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This release only contains Watercolor Emico: Blue. In the next couple of weeks I'm going to release the following color styles:

Still to be made:

- Blue SE (Working title)

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Shellstyles:

I personally don't use them which is the reason why I didn't make any. When all the main styles are done I'm gonna see if I can make some fitting shellstyles.
I already have a few ideas. It will be uploaded to deviantART as an add-on to the skin.

Contribution:

If you feel like contributing to this skin with application skins then go ahead and make them. All you have to do is ask me for permission by email with a screenshot.
My email address is: makeshift.grey@gmail.com.

For more info about further progress, application skins etc. read the journal that I've made on deviantART: Watercolor Emico: Further progress and info

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Credits:

Credits go out to all the beta testers.
Credits also go out to tornado5 aka em3 because he helped me a lot while I was working on it.
I was heavily inspired by LE which is why a few things might look a bit like it.
And thanks to Binary for letting me use his Watercolor Lite as a base.

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Please give me some feedback about the skin.

Download: Watercolor Emico: Blue
Download: Watercolor Emico: Ergonomic Blue
Download: Watercolor Emico: Black
Download: Watercolor Emico: Silver
Download: Watercolor Emico: Olive

[Ryan]

pinned

This is definitely one of the best XP visual styles out there on the internet and it certainly gets around. Thanks for sharing it here, and welcome back!

[Capric0rn]

Thanks

Which startbutton is the best for BlueSE in your opinions?



Or:

This post has been edited by Capric0rn: 03 October 2008 - 03:01 PM

[osuwildlifer]

I like the top one better. The second one is really nice too, but i think it needs to stand out a little bit from the rest of the taskbar.

[Capric0rn]

I'm also thinking that the start button should stand out more then the rest of the taskbar. Here's another variation:

[BluesCruzer]

Capric0rn, on Oct 4 2008, 11:17 AM, said:

I'm also thinking that the start button should stand out more then the rest of the taskbar. Here's another variation:

I personally like that idea , it is still custom , yet has the start stand out like XP .

[Capric0rn]

I'm going to use both. The 2nd one is going to be an alternative startbutton

[Capric0rn]

Current start button:



I'm still trying to give it a neat hover state

[Capric0rn]

Thought I'd update you guys again The theme is shaping up nicely. I think that I'm half done with the theme. So now I'll have to start mocking up the other half. This theme shouldn't be compared with the older versions. A lot of stuff is looking different and it even has a red close button. The theme name wont be Emico for that matter.

[Capric0rn]

Sorry for the triple post but.. what the hell is this?

[Semper.Paratus]

Good luck on the time! Looks nice!

Is this theme Vista compatible as well?

This post has been edited by Azizam: 06 November 2008 - 04:44 PM

[Capric0rn]

Thanks! The theme is XP only at the moment, sorry.

[Semper.Paratus]

Capric0rn, on Nov 6 2008, 08:45 PM, said:

Thanks! The theme is XP only at the moment, sorry.

No worries, I'll wait until you will fix it for Vista, if you ever plan to do so.

[Capric0rn]

I've got no idea when I'm going to switch to Vista so I wouldn't count on it any time soon. If someone knows a person that's skilled at porting XP skins to Vista, then I'd like to know about the person

[Capric0rn]

I have some good news for Vista users. Someone contacted me this week about porting some of my stuff to Vista and I gave him permission for it. He's now working on a Watercolor Emico: Black port

[c0lin]

Oh hey. I didn't know you were the maker of this skin. I've been installing it as the default theme on every Windows XP box I work on. (The blue as default with all other colours included as well). Also the default background in the .theme files are these wallpapers made by some other person.

[Karmakaze]

Awesome news for Vista users!

Hey Cap, this is Nic from iWinUX.

[Capric0rn]

^Hey Nic, I'll keep you guys updated about the Vista versions

@c0lin: Nice to hear! I hope you're going to do the same with the newer version

This post has been edited by Capric0rn: 08 December 2008 - 09:34 PM

[c0lin]

Capric0rn, on Dec 8 2008, 02:34 PM, said:

@c0lin: Nice to hear! I hope you're going to do the same with the newer version

That all depends on how well you make the new one. But post here when you do get that finished.

[Capric0rn]

Watercolor Emico: Black - Vista Port

This port is a Vista Basic skin to make it look like the XP version as much as possible.