Many people I show my phone to freak and say, "I want to do that!! But how?" The answer I give, the one none of them want to hear, is, "I read." You have to read. You have to hit message boards and threads jammed with words and instructions. And my friends all bag the idea right there. You need to be willing to find and then follow detailed instructions. I would start with finding icons you like and learning how to incorporate them into your phone. If that requires an alternate launcher (ADW, LauncherPro, GoLauncher EX, etc.), you need to be patient enough and willing to download and try each and every one, reading all about what each is capable of doing. Along the way, you will learn more and more until you are fairly comfortable changing around your phone.
I read about, downloaded, installed, and played with endless amounts of widgets until I found the core bunch that I use on every layout. Once you have a grasp of this sort of thing, you may want to consider creating your own wallpaper or changing someone else's wallpaper to suit your needs. That means a whole new round of reading/downloading/installing and watching video tutorials. If I was able to actually calculate the amount of hours I've spent on learning to do what I do to my phone, from my first layout posted here [
http://androidforums.com/htc-droid-...dible-layout-pun-intended-18.html#post1023368 ] to my latest one posted here [
ohmyhead's deviantART gallery ], I'd probably throw up and pass out. And this doesn't include the 13 years of mild graphics stuff I did before getting my phone.
I don't mean to discourage. We were all new at some point and welcome an eager person wanting to dive in. I just want you to see what may be in store. Of course you may be a natural and can pick it all up no problem. It will still require reading and patience, though. As for where to go to learn stuff, I started right here in this thread. I'd see a widget or something I liked, ask what it is if not already listed, download and install it. I'd click on links in the signatures of people whose work I thought was cool, finding more info and new sources of info and material to feed my new addiction. If I needed even more info or wanted to change something about it, I'd hit Google which would usually take me to
Android Forums & Windows Phone Discussion @ xda-developers. When you get around to graphics stuff, GIMP is a poor man's Photoshop. As in free. Get it, install it, read about it, and when you get some ideas, Google GIMP tutorials which may show exactly how to do what you want. Experiment. I've had many happy accidents by just messing with stuff in a graphics editor.
I won't root my phone as I don't really see the need for me to. I use LauncherProPlus and Widgetlocker for starters. Both cost money, but not very much money at all. And they allow me the flexibility to make such lovely things as this...
The sky's the limit with your phone, sc00ter. If you've got the time and the drive, we can all look forward to seeing what kind of magic you can make! The folks in here and on some other threads are extremely helpful. You need only ask and, if warranted, toss some thanks around. Good luck!
