I've heard of this-http://www.artisteer.com/-for "easy" generation of themes, but haven't tried.

I'd start with something like Kubrick as a base. Or Carrington-more complex. The Loop is the hard part.

the_loop is your friend :) http://is.gd/2XLSc

second working with @timgrahl - he's a rock star

...chunks and creating new files with them. Most easily done via copy/paste if they are div'd correctly.

In the xHTML/CSS make your divs so you can easily seperate the header, body, sidebar, and footer. As you'll be taking those...

Chris Coyer has lots of tips: http://su.pr/4uuvdb

Let a pro help out ( that's me btw :) ) DM me and I'd be glad to help.

pray

Oh, you should've used Sandbox and started with a theme from the beginning

get firfefox and dev toolbar and build it in firefox instead of a dev software.

Cross your fingers and go for it :) (Been wrestling with themes for two days now myself)

keep an updated backup every few steps along the way. if something goes wrong, you have multiple versions to revert to.

find a free theme that matches your layout and skin with your design. Makes css a bit easier.

.@ginatrapani some resources for 1st time theme developers: http://ow.ly/ohUO http://ow.ly/ohV9 and of course http://ow.ly/ohVl

.@ginatrapani some resources for 1st time theme developers: http://ow.ly/ohUO http://ow.ly/ohV9 and of course http://ow.ly/ohVl

.@ginatrapani some resources for 1st time theme developers: http://ow.ly/ohUO http://ow.ly/ohV9 and of course http://ow.ly/ohVl

Have you checked out the "Wordpress for Designers" screencast series? http://bit.ly/wI8VZ

http://bit.ly/2Fh0O

use a theme frame work like thematic, hybrid etc, things will be easier, when you make a child theme :)

take the default wordpress theme as a starting point.

look for a few basic themes with similar layout and reverse engineer!

pay close attention to what the default themes do. they’re pretty much a reference implementation.

Ok, I've got HTML, CSS, and images finalized: now I have to turn it into a WordPress theme. Advice for a 1st-timer? (via @ginatrapani)

Ian Stewart's theme tutorials on Themeshaper.com are some of the best I've seen for theme creation. Highly recommended.

This I would be interested to hear. You should blog the proces of conversion into WP.Thanks Gina.

WP-themes have evolved a lot & the magazine style themes are a rage now-a-days. If you could try to get a mag style home page.

great guides @wordpress site; DM me might I may be able to offer some pro help

http://bit.ly/3zmw Pick a simple theme (to better expose the WP mechanics and just dive in. You'll get the hang of it quickly.

Use Starkers by Elliot Jay Stocks. Super easy, cleaned out to the bare minimum. http://bit.ly/18LPYf

The Sandbox is a pretty awesome place start when making a custom WP theme. http://tinyurl.com/ndkhk

I'd recommend talking to @mattandjess, it's one of Jess' professions working on CSS and Wordpress!

Try whiteboard. It's a great blank slate. Just import your HTML/cSS/images and you're done. http://is.gd/2XVdP

create empty theme; your html as index.php, your css as style.css; replace text with template tags copied from the defaut theme

http://bit.ly/135OSm keep it updated :)

yes start with a glass of wine

RT @ginatrapani: Wordpress theme are a nightmare. find a theme which resembles your ideal layout. then tweak it to your design using CSS.

wordpress has a default theme template in wp-content directory you gotta use some in built wp functions to display posts etc.

it would be great if you share your Wordpress advice to the masses

Read about the looping and master it. It's the key to worpress.

best advice: one plugin at a time...

Wordpress: PLS Let me know when you find out :)

go and get your self a copy of artisteer. Best program for a first timer!

I found a video tutorial on NetTuts+ that walked me through the process was super helpful. http://bit.ly/enGyv

I started from here: http://bit.ly/uEqn3

Even if a theme's preview doesn't seem just right, try it anyway. They can be tweaked in the CSS file.