I had always
messed with the look of my computer from animated Icons in Windows 3.11 to
windows themes in windows 95 but, I got addicted to windows customization
in 1999. I was running a couple of
web sites and while out looking for a piece of software to review I ran into
WindowBlinds. I just grabbed the
shareware version and started using it. The review turned into more of a how to article when I
decided to build a skin. The skin
would be hideous to today's standards but back then it was average. By the time I finished the skin I was hooked, I bought
WindowBlinds at version 1.3 and then a few weeks later I bought Object desktop.
My websites were both sold about this time so, with nothing to take up my
time I dove head first into skinning. I
contributed quite a bit to DesktopX and WindowBlinds as they matured.
Myself and Mormegill made the first NeXT style desktop themes for DesktopX and I
created several different objects.
Some time in 2000 when BuilderBlinds was in
transition to SkinStudio I started building a skin you all may know as SlimT.
It was build for me to test new features of SkinStudio and to see if WB
could handle a slim titlebar. The
skin was never intended for public consumption.
Mostly because it would not play with WB, the 15 pix high titlebar was
just too thin. However after much
urging I make a version with a 19 pixel High titlebar and release both version.
This then spawned several more version of the skin and several skins for
other programs to accompany it.
SlimT was probably the worst thing that every
happened to my skinning. By
accident I had created the interface that I prefer to look at probably 98% of
the time. Due to this
and that fact that I have very little time anymore to dedicate to
skinning, I have made very few skins, and most of them have been revisions of
the slimT stuff. The addiction is
still there and I anticipate every new release of the skinnable programs that I
use. Skinning is a passion for me and one that will probably never go
away. Someday I'll probably have to change my nick to Grandpa TasT.................
Why is almost all of
your stuff grayscale. The simple
answer is that I’m color blind. The
long answer is that I’m color deficient and if it made skins in full color I
have to have my color advisor to make sure that I didn’t clash the colors. What looks great to me would probably look horrid to most of
you. Another reason is that I start
almost all of my design work in grayscale and then color it in later, I started
this long ago and it just works for me, I can see things in grayscale that I
would miss if the piece was in full color and since I don’t usually have
someone to advise me on color combinations when I’m working on skinning stuff
it stays grayscale.
My continuing journey in
the realm of desktop customization is a fun ride that I hope to be on for a long
time! 
My Wincustomize gallery link
My LotsOf Skins profile and gallery link