Custom Skins
You’ve been asking for it and now it’s here…custom skins!
Create your own skins using pictures of friends, pets, places you love, or even images you design yourself! It takes just a few easy steps to customize your messenger with your favorite images and share them with all your buddies.
Creating your own skin is FREE and you can make as many skins as you want!
It only takes a few minutes for the skin you made to display in the Community Skins area located here.
Creating Your Skin
Image dimensions
For best results your image should be at least 492 pixels wide x 347 pixels high or larger.
If your image is smaller than the minimum size of 492x347 it will be stretched when your skin is created, this can make your pictures look kind of funky.
If your image is too large for our system you will be notified when you try to create your skin.
Note - The image size is usually included in the description when you roll-over your image file.
For example: (492 pixels wide x 347 pixels high). Please use your favorite image editing software, like PhotoShop or Paint.Net to resize or crop your image to the suggested dimensions.
Image file type
Your image should be either a GIF or a JPEG file.
If you’re using Windows, follow these easy steps to convert your image to a JPEG:
- From the Start menu, go to Programs > Accessories > Paint.
- At the top of the Paint program, select File > Open and choose the file that you would like to use.
- From the File menu, select Save As, type in a name and select JPEG.
Image file size
Your image should be no larger than 1MB.
If you are notified you that your image file is too big when you try to make your skin, please use your favorite image editing software, like PhotoShop or Paint.Net, and try either reducing the color depth, cropping, or resizing your image.
1. Open Skin Builder
Click the GET icon on your messenger Buddie Remote or Message Window and select MAKE A SKIN from the drop-down menu, this will open the Skin Builder.
2. Select the image for your skin
Browse your computer files to find the image you want to use for your custom skin. For example, you could use a picture of you and your friends, your favorite pet, a place you love to hang out, or even a graphical image that you designed yourself!
3. Name your skin
Tell us what you’d like to call your skin - the more fun the better! The name of your skin will display below your image in the skins network on the web where people can browse and download your skin. Once downloaded, your skin will be listed by its name in each person’s skin collection on their messenger. Skin names have a 64 character length maximum.
4. Create a description
We know you may not be able to squeeze everything into a skin name, so enter a description to tell everyone more about your skin! For example: Who or what is in your picture? Where and when was it taken? You could also include your favorite quote, a poem, etc… We know a picture is worth a thousand words… but try to stick to the 240 characters length limit!
5. Decide on a few tag words
Tags are one-word descriptors that you can include with your skin, for search purposes.
- Separate your tags with a space. If your tag is two words, like "San Francisco", do not include the space, enter it as "sanfrancisco".
- Tags are not case-sensitive.
- You can enter several tags up to the 256 character length limit.
- The tags won’t be visible to anyone but they will be used when someone is searching for skins.
For example, if you make a skin from a Spring Break picture and included the tags: Mexico beach party snorkeling, when someone searches under the word “beach” your skin will show in the search results.
6. Select a category
Please select a category for your skin: People, Places or Things. Your skin will display in one of these categories in the Community Skins section on the skins network. We’d love to hear your suggestions for new categories. so please let us know your ideas at feedback@mecamessenger.com.
7. Select a Buddie Remote color
Please select the color of the Buddie Remote you will see when using your skin.
Tip: Since the Buddie Remote and skin will display on your desktop at the same time, select a color that is complimentary to your skin.
- Click the small color square you want.
- Click the UPDATE PREVEW button to see how it will look before clicking the CREATE SKIN button.
- If you don’t like the color you picked, simply select another color and try again.
8. Click the CREATE SKIN button and you are done!
NOTE: Once your skin has been posted on the skins network you cannot edit it. You can, however, hide your skin so no one else can download it from the skins network. See Managing Your Skins below for details.
Managing Your Skins
You can manage your skins by hiding or unhiding them in the skins network. Did you decide you didn’t like the image you used? Not to worry, you can hide your skin so people can’t see it or download it from the skins network. If your friends already have a skin you made and subsequently hid, then it will still be available for them to use. If you’ve hidden a skin and now want it to show again, then you simply uncheck the “Hide this Skin” box and it’ll show up in the skins network again.
Getting Your Custom Skin
There are two ways to download your new skin to your messenger and begin using it.
- Click the image on the Manage My Skins page after you’ve made your skin. Your skin will automatically download and become the new skin on your messenger.
- Find your skin in the skins network and click on it to download.
Finding Your Skin in the Skins Network
- Navigate to the category where you put your skin and browse through all the skins. (They are listed in alphabetical order)
- You can use the search box to type in part or all of your skin’s name and or tag words. (This is a lot faster but you don’t get to see all the other cool skins people made!)
- To view all of your skins, do a search by your own screen name.
