Musicbee skin SteelAndBee

[colagen]

EDIT: It stared as just a mockup, but finally, it turned into a skin (created from Smooth Grey), you can find it here :
http://www.mediafire.com/?g11v6nx2evxkdgm

If you want to edit this skin yourself, you can find the images, the source xml file, and a little photoshop file here :
http://www.mediafire.com/?nid0c8vc7nca9cz
You will need the skincreator tool, http://getmusicbee.com/forum/index.php?topic=3834.0

I've called it SteelAndBee because, because i've got to give a name to the skin file eh.

Here is a preview:


The mockup (which isn't the skin, obviously, because it's the mockup)

[ma_t14]

Wonderful work!!!

[Rotem K.]

maybe it's completely impossible to acheive with a skin

I don't think it's that far off. you can get something that's very close to it, with skins.

[beeing good]

Yeah that's pretty straightforward, more or less. Just use a grey skin and dock the player control at the top,

[Steven]

i think this skin could be achieved using the bitmap skinning. The only thing i can see not possible would be the narrow scrollbars

[colagen]

Okey, i gave it a try. I've start with the smooth grey xml file, which is an easy way  to quickly edit the color, but can't control the padding between UI elements and i can't remove the borders either, so a white frame remains. About this white frame, i think it's usefull between the track browser and the playlist viewer, also between the sidebars and the center panel because it extend the area that you can grabe to resize, but it's useless between the top header and the main panel, and next to the windows borders ? Anyway, it doesn't look as smooth as in my mockup, but not that bad : )


I will try to edit the player controls later using your bitmap skinning tool

[Rotem K.]

I like it! the one thing that feels 'off' to me is the player panel. like you said, having no control on the alignment and order of the panel does hurt the interface a bit.

Maybe Steven can come up with some way to allow that control. If you'd like you can ask for it in the wish list forum or just PM him.

[Steven]

thats what the bitmap skins allow - you can control where the player elements are placed and how they look
if you are refering to elements outside of the player panel can you highlight them so i know what you mean

[Rotem K.]

Is it possible to set the player display before the volume slider?

[Steven]

yes, you can position each of the player elements anywhere within the player panel

[colagen]

I've just finish the skin this evening, back from work. Here it is: [grab the link in the first post!]


Actually, yes, with the bitmap skinning tool it's possible to do a lot of things, i manage to do something approaching a lot my photoshop file. But i didn't change the layout though.
The volume bar can't look like in my screenshot, because there is no setting for a filler image. And in the final skin, there is a little yellow block remaining at the beginning of the seek bar even when nothing is played (but it look cool : ).
And last thing, the buttons hover effect doesn't render really well sometimes (for a few milliseconds, it seems like the button become a grey block). Maybe if the buttons effects was all in the same image, the transition would be smooth ? (0px to 20px: you'll have the default button, 20px to 40px the hover button etc ... ) Anyway, most of the time, the transition is ok.

[ma_t14]

I love how subtle and smooth this skin looks. My new default skin  

colagen you have talent, keep them coming  

EDIT

I suggest that you change the title and edit the original post to make more people aware about the availability of this wonderful skin  

[Steven]

i will see what i can do about the small yellow bit showing when play hasnt started

[ma_t14]

colagen could you do something about the tabs as well (vertically and horizontally). I trust you doing a great job there as well...

Also the skin reminds very much of steel IMO. Don't you think that naming the skin something involving the word "steel" would be better ("SteelBee" maybe)?  

[colagen]

The tabs ? uh ? i didn't even figure that musicbee uses tabs. I will look.

EDIT: I've recolored the tabs, and it's now called SteelAndBee : ) You can download the updated skin from the first post