Pretty good blind you have there. The titlebar has to in bmp format for it to show up in the skin list. You have it in tga format.

As for the all programs panel....I don't know what to tell you. I only make the buttons, not an image for the entire section. I did notice that you have the all programs panel sixed at 100 x100, yet the panel is 190 x 30. Don't know if that is part of your problem or not.

Keep going....I like the style and colors you have!   

There's nothing saying you have to include those items, I'd say being your first skin most people wont mind if you dont include.. People can utilize toolbar icons and animations from other themes if need be. These are two of the hardest things to learn\make and sooner or later investing the time in doing them will greatly improve the overall look of future themes.

For what it's worth . . if you upload something incomplete (by whatever standards folks have) you may get low ratings and unkind comments.  We can hope not . . . but be ready just in case.   

Hi jamespaulp, sorry I'm late commenting here but you've gotten very good advice from some pretty knowledgeable people.

I would suggest testing the waters as it were by downloading a ScreenShot to the monthly post here. You get to show off what you have put together, and also show how it fits with other peoples skins, like walls, docks, and such.

Not a skinner just a customizer of my desktop. Folks like myself usually get a feel for what skins work together well and we are not always looking for a total theme. Think of doing your desktop like decorating your house. Look forward to seeing a screenshot.   

Oops, I uploaded to the wrong gallery. I re-uploaded to WindowBlinds gallery. Sorry.

Thanks again Philly. I uploaded before seeing your comment. Other than WindowBlinds I use only icons. I added that information as a comment. Don't know how to update just the text of the upload.

I used Paint.NET for creating screenshots. It was like print screen and then cut and paste into one image. I am not sure if that is what other do. Skin Studio has a set size button for the skin shot but doesn't work for me.

I've just tried this skin. It's a lot better than most people's first attempts   

Can't wait to see what you do next.

Traditional MS Windows light-sourcing is from top-left so shadow-casting is to bottom-right.

If you do something such as to reverse this then public perception/interpretation will be that the object is concave rather than what may have been intended to be convex.

If the sourcing is inconsistent [a not uncommon fault] then the success/popularity/appreciation of the skin will suffer greatly.

Remember...we're in a 2D 'world' attempting to infer a 3D one, so not only must the light and shade 'read' correctly also button-states [static, pressed, etc.] need to indicate 'movement' through that same consistent 'expected' light/shade...

I updated the skin today. The only criticism I received was about the start button. I expected more harsh reviews. I made a new start button to match the rest of the theme. Also made buttons for logoff and shutdown dialogs. One of the bugs I thought the skin had was probably a XP64 issue because I saw the same issue with another skin.

I made this skin by creating individual images separately. From what I read around here, that is not a very efficient way to create a skin. But as a hobby, it should be fine I guess.

The skin you updated should be public now

yeye ..!
you are bestman !