oh man, where to start. very few people have been able to put together a competent blind their first attempt. there are a few but not many and I sure ain't one of them.
there is basic turorial help here as in the links above. and the forums are a great place to get specific answers to specific problems. most of what I learned I learned from looking at other people's skins to see how they accomplished whatever I was wanting to work on. In most cases I was able to learn throuigh trial and error and a lot of questions here.
alpha channels and gaussian blur function are a couple of favorite tools used by many. understanding how they work is essential in obtaining the "look" one desires. I get by with alpha channel results but I'm a long way from understanding how they can be manipulated.
reply #5 link I can't access, consider using whatever settings might be available to actually link and imbed your graphic into the post. might be helpful to mention your "favorite graphics program", how to and functionality will differ between programs and sometimes even versions.
people are pretty helpful here, ask, ask and ask again if needed. before your first submission ask those that have provided you with the most to take a look and see what they think. you are not alone.
I have found that people in the trade usually come up with some novel ideas, I look forward to your first submission.
