Darth Apple's theme desk

**Darth-Apple** · July 25th, 2013 at 11:28 PM

I've recently decided I'm going to try to code custom themes for free, to help improve my skills. It's a service for members of makestation. Big Grin

Just leave a post with your website's name, URL, and some general notes of what you want, and we'll discuss from there. In general, you can expect each theme to take from 1-4 weeks to complete if the request is accepted.

Some General Notes:

(1) I only do MyBB themes. I'm not as good at designing themes for phpBB, SMF, etc...

(2) I don't do very much graphics design, so I will likely either use the MyBB default buttons, or use CSS buttons. CSS buttons are usually better when it comes to theme design anyway. It isn't as intensive on the server, and they look cleaner and nicer.

(3) If you have a very specific concept in mind, don't hesitate to give me a blueprint or example of a similar design. It will help me design something that is closer to what you are looking for.

-Darth Apple

**simlink** · July 26th, 2013 at 1:03 AM

[quote='Darth-Apple' pid='3180' dateline='1374794887']
CSS buttons are usually better when it comes to theme design anyway. It isn't as intensive on the server, and they look cleaner and nicer.
[/quot]

Plus it's easier to change what they say if you want to. ie "Start New Topic" to "Post New Discussion", etc, etc. Smile

Look forward to seeing your work, Blake!

**Darth-Apple** · July 26th, 2013 at 1:05 AM

Agreed - I don't like dealing with images for that reason haha.

**simlink** · July 26th, 2013 at 2:09 AM

BTW, I figured out the shadow on the buttons here. Tongue

**Acko** · July 29th, 2013 at 1:14 AM

Well, I guess I can be your first 'customer', if you like. I'm looking for something sleek and elegant, an upgraded version of the default MyBB theme. Same color scheme, but just better, if you know what I need. Any more details, just ask.

-Aco.

**Darth-Apple** · July 29th, 2013 at 1:50 AM

I was actually thinking about something similar myself, so I think I can do that. I'll be posting screenshots as I make progress and you can give feedback as I go on it.

**Darth-Apple** · July 29th, 2013 at 7:24 PM

I've gotten started on the new theme, and so far I've primarily been working on the page layout. MyBB's default theme doesn't have the greatest page layout, and so work for that has been underway.

I'll post some screenshots once I have enough of that in place for things to look nice.

terungwa · (This post was last modified: October 13th, 2013 at 8:51 PM by terungwa.)

Hi Darth, how is the work on the new theme, would love to use too!!!

Regards

**Darth-Apple** · October 13th, 2013 at 9:35 PM

I've been pretty slow on it lately. I got busy with some other projects, but I hope to be back to it by tomorrow and to have some progress to show. Big Grin

EDIT: I might end up having to delay it a little further. I've been a bit busy lately, but I hope to get more done soon.

**Darth-Apple** · October 14th, 2013 at 3:59 PM

Alright, here is what I'm thinking at the moment. The goal is to design a theme that is based off of the MyBB default, but looks a little more modern at the same time.

- Slightly better colors (I tried leaving those intact without any change, and after the layout changes, it looked terrible, so I'll change some of them up a little to add some life to it. )
- More narrow container width
- Slightly better header layout
- Some minor improvements (such as .button class)
- Less visible borders! (Not sure why a solid, dark blue is needed between every table cell. )

I'm working on some of these improvements now, and hope to have some screenshots available soon. What are your thoughts about the concepts listed so far?

**simlink** · October 14th, 2013 at 5:56 PM

I like them. I think the borders are a tad odd, for sure. Are you planning CSS buttons replacement?

**Darth-Apple** · October 14th, 2013 at 5:57 PM

I'm not sure. I'll see how it looks without CSS buttons first, and decide from there.

I actually don't mind the default icon set that comes with MyBB. I was originally going to replace them for the current Makestation theme, but this theme actually looks better without CSS buttons. Tongue

**simlink** · October 14th, 2013 at 6:14 PM

LOL, sounds good. I suppose you don't need to replace them, only a few are kind of bad (I'm nto a fan of the "New Reply" button Tongue

)

**Darth-Apple** · October 14th, 2013 at 8:08 PM

Alright, this is very far from being finished, but here is the work so far regarding the color scheme and all that. Again, the goal is to modernize the MyBB default theme a bit while preserving as much of the original template structure, etc... as possible.

http://prntscr.com/1xc6my

Obviously it's a bit of a mess so far (especially the header area). I've only been able to spend about an hour on it at this point, so it will be improved more later on. Anyway, what are your thoughts on the color scheme and the ideas that have been implemented so far?

**simlink** · October 14th, 2013 at 8:51 PM

I actually really like it so far, those are exactly the sort of changes I envisioned to make it look a little more modern.

**Darth-Apple** · October 21st, 2013 at 3:17 PM

Thanks for the feedback! Big Grin

I plan on replacing some gradients, etc... to make the theme look more unique and original soon. The dashboard in the header is a little weird as well, and I'm thinking there is probably a better way to integrate the searchbar.

I hope to have more screenshots available this week. Big Grin

**Acko** · January 20th, 2014 at 5:08 AM

Are you still working on your themes? Would be awesome if you could finish them. Big Grin

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