How is this for a weekend project, make a theme for your PC using the Zune software and share it with Zune Nation? As it turns out, making your own themes in Windows 7 is simple. Instead of reinventing the wheel I want to share with you a few links on how create your own Zune artist theme. If you have not seen them already, check out the first ten Zune artist themes. In two parts, this walkthrough shows you how to make Zune-inspired Windows 7 themes. The first part is capturing screenshots from the Zune software. The second is turning those pictures into a Windows 7 theme.

If you know how the ‘PrintScreen’ key works, are a master of the Zune software, and know your way around Windows 7 themes, you are all set. Share your Zune Artist theme(s) or screenshot set below in the comments. I intend to post themes and picture sets we receive via comments. If the sentence about using ‘PrintScreen’ did not make sense, read on to see how to make your own theme, then share your creations below.

 

The Process:

Part 1. Taking pictures of the now playing screen of the Zune software. This walkthrough will show you how to capture a screenshot in the Zune software.

• Tip: Getting multiple text-free pictures of the same artist, with complementary colors, takes some patience. Be prepared.

 

Part 2. Creating a Windows 7 theme with pictures you have taken. After you have your Zune artist pictures watch the above video, shared by Brandon LeBlanc, who runs Microsoft’s official Windows Blog.  Thanks Brandon!

• Tip: From the screenshot process above, remember Step 5. With that in mind, instead of selecting one picture, select all the backgrounds you want to include in your theme and then right click selecting ‘Set as desktop background.’ Following the video above, it makes working with multiple background themes easier.
• One More Tip: I know this sounds odd, but when saving your theme for sharing, be sure the ninth character in your .themepack title is not a space. If it is Windows will save but not open the theme. Adding extra spaces or adjusting your spelling is my best recommendation on avoiding this issue (not the best solution, but it works).

 

Learning More:

If you use Photoshop or Windows Live Photo Gallery, you can tweak your screenshots to get a set of color matched pictures a little faster. In Photoshop adjust the hue/saturation of your screenshot. In Windows Live Photo Gallery select ‘Fix,’ then from the toolbar select ‘Adjust Color,’ and drag the ‘Tint’ and ‘Color temperature’ sliders to adjust the colors in your picture. NOTE: I did not use this trick in making these themes.

 

Windows Weekly podcast host, Paul Thurrott has a great post detailing how to personalize your PC’s desktop in Windows 7. It is worth a read. Included in the post are details on how to find some hidden themes on your PC.

 

 

 

Windows Phone MVP, Steven Hughes shared, via twitter, a detailed post on the technical underpinnings of a .themepack file Did you know that you can add your own logo? Check out the MSDN article on making theme files for Windows. Thanks Steven!

 

 

 

Conclusion:

Following these two parts you should be all set in creating your own Zune artist themes. Catching up on the extra tips gives a bit more “background” knowledge on themes. Get ready for ten more themes coming next week.

Now that you understand the process, I want to see what Zune artists themes or screen shots you create. Feel free to share them below with a download link to your Skydrive (if you are a Zune user you probably have a Skydrive) or your Live Photo Gallery (the same goes for Windows Live Photos) along with your Zune Tag. Already, Zune Nation member Christo27 shared a set of screenshots for Switchfoot that I turned into a Windows 7 theme. From your contributions I want to put together another post similar to ZuneNation’s headphone showcase. Download fan-made Zune artist themes below: