Skinning XML or HTML Training?
#16
I think patience is the best tool in skinning XBMC. I have built a couple of websites and used HTML, Flash, and XML. That took patience and was very frustrating at times. But I learned quite a bit. I thought since I was familiar with XML I could easily pick up skinning skills. I was wrong about that. XML is not a set in stone way to tag usually. In my opinion you can't glance at a page that describes XML and begin skinning. HTML has rules for tags. If you change them your code will not work. When using XML for web design it has been my experience that you create your own tags . When skinning XBMC the tags have been set up for you . I think of it as XBHTML.
For two years I would glance at the xml files in the skin folders and think. "I just don't see how they have the knowledge, skill, or time to do this!" Eventually I began to dabble in skinning. First by modifying very small things. Changing an icon, then changing where it is placed,then animating it and so on... Kid stuff to most, but at first a big achievement to me.
I kept modding and started fooling with the Empty skin and that taught me a great deal. Googling the forum and reading the wiki may not always be an immediate answer for every specific problem. Be patient and move on to something else in the skin. A skin is a huge undertaking there is always something to do.
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#17
I agree with daydream! It's really hard when you have some good ideas and they can't be expressed because code is stopping you!!... And I completely understand what Jezzx is saying! It must get frustrating for coders to always be answering the same questions but honestly when I post a question it's after weeks of a problem!... And hours of looking through the forums and wiki for the answer. (maybe I can't see the answer or read very well lol)

At the same time it is probably a good thing that only the ones with real coding talent create skins because then we only get the best!

Btw thanks for all the comments guys it actually does help a lot. I think frustration just sets in sometimes so that's exactly what I am doing just move on and hopefully I will learn more on another part of the skin.
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#18
Daydream Wrote:But the problem is a different one: you need somebody with xml skills and somebody with graphic (read Photoshop) skills. The probability a person would have both of these talents is scary slim. Hence the team working and it's still taking months (half a year?) to come up with something great.

Actually I would think that any web designer have both (like me).
I use Photoshop and code everyday (in html but it's not far from xml). If we can get more web designers into skinning the number of skins could easily explode.
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Skinning XML or HTML Training?0