I agree with everything but the last statement WebGizmos hehe.

There are FAR to many skins on the site to go through and see if you are making something similar. The person is making the skin cause they wanted to.

Skins are hard. I stopped working on mine a while back. Ive been considering bringing it back to life cause I really love my start menu and task bar I had made. (Though I still have to work out the start button lol). Its just there is sooooooooo much to skin. And thats just one flipping OS. LOL

When it comes to what I look for. I just like dark themes. Gray to black. I dont like vivid bright colors and neon glowing lines like a tron fest.

I also tend to watch out for how the Close, and Minimize buttons are handled, the backgrounds to the explorer.  Like one skin I really really like is Mica. However when in explorer view, if the window isnt maximized, its transparent, and I cant see any of the text in the explorer window. I have to maximize it. Some skins also dont work with other apps I use in terms of the color choices but thats not really the skinners fault. But its something I look for as well.

A good Desktop Wallpaper also catches my eye to at least have me look at the skin and see if I wanna try it even though I will 99% of the time never use that wallpaper. The wallpaper just caught my eye is all hehe.

My tastes vary over time, so it's not so much the style of the skin that grabs me, as much as the quality of one. If I see a skin that does not really suit what I want at the moment, but looks like it's incredibly well made, I will download it and save it for later.

Sometimes, I will see a skin from a certain author and just download it without even really looking at the screenshot, because I know they make quality skins. I'm rarely dissappointed doing it this way.

I also download skins from new skinners to see how they are progressing, and to get familiar with their style.

It's annoying (and insulting to me) when someone just makes one or two graphics (like a background), and then just recolors the rest of the bits of a skin using someone elses images. If I'm going to download a skin, it must be all that persons work.

Speaking of creativity...when is the next GIU-LYMPICS? I love the creativity that comes out of that. I have d/l'd some very fine skins from that competition.

Anyway...what do I like?? Pretty much everyone else has said it. There is no hard and fast rule for what I pick. Sometimes it is colors that I am looking for, sometimes it is the skinner themselves, or maybe it is just that off the wall, I have to have it.

Here is a for instance...lately, because work has been rather stressful, I have been looking for relaxing Dreams. At this point, these consist of water themes. When looking at them, I want a seamless stream. I don't want to see the break in animation that can sometimes happen. As well, I am looking at the scene. Is it tranquil enough? Is it too bright? Is it too busy? Does the POV attract me? I have passed quite a few Dreams up because they don't meet one or more of these questions. Too picky? Not to me, because I am the one looking at it when I want to let my mind drift. I don't want to focus on something that I may consider a flaw and obsess over it.

1. Catches my eye.: Hard to define, but a combination of color and form.

2. Originality: Not necessarily "way outness" but rather an original combination of colrs/shades, and thought/inspiration. Vienna, VOX and Polaris are good examples but so is Saboteur, Efijay, Steampunk, DR GUI (  ), Mica, Jawndo, Slimmer and Dark Matter, Magnatek, Protektor, Aero Midnight.... Blackops, Avenger and Capsula, Naked, Noir(e)   .....but those are just a few of the skins I love.

3. That the "Originality/uniqueness" doesn't get in the way of using it.

4. The skin reminds me of the person and how special customization is.

oops.. then thats simple, for old school, non-bland, all original work, look no further than the collective works of my pal I.R.Brainiac.

Its a pity the OS and SKS 7 has all but run him off too.

Paul, Ive done more than my share of non-bland stuff, see SG1, Outer Limits, Prowler... I know what your saying and would love to do more, unfortunately I am a businessman, speaking only for myself I have to skin for best possible financial response..or I suppose I could just cut my own throat  anyway...add into that the aforementioned trends in OS and software and it is.. what it is.

I hope at some point to get into more than just WB's, something not as restrictive, where creativity can shine, who knows what or when it will be.

I still plan to push 7's limits in the future, lots to investigate first.

I, personally, am not a fan of bland skins, as you can tell from my work.  If I have to sacrifice functionality for flare, I'll do it (I'm a woman...sometimes I wear 6-inch heels--same thing).  Lots of color, texture, depth of the graphics -- those are things I look for in a skin.  When it comes to wallpapers, I look for things that seduce me into feeling something (I don't think Po'Smedley has created any wallpaper that hasn't made me either laugh out loud, tear up, ache, smile).

I'd also like to see a catagory in the galleries for Rainmeter and ClocX -- but that's just me.

Sorry Philly, a link to all his skins will have to do.....a screenshot to show them all would fill alot of space here.

Actually...this post seems pretty much the same as "What's your favorite skin"...except it seems you want screenshots instead of a list. You need to find a hobby...skinning maybe?

I figure that if he wants a screen shot, he could look at the Feb. screen shots...silly me...lol

I do have my most recent desktop up on there right now. Pretty basic, but it is calming for me. Lord knows that I need it. *sigh*

Here is pg 3 and the second once is what I am using for right now. I didn't name the Dream, but it is Gold Sunset by Ausvet found HERE. It's perfect for just staring of into.

Well I tried, you can't always succeed in every effort. 

Was hoping to see more links to older skins to remind the community and show the new members what actually can be accomplished.