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Here’s what you’ll be needing:

• a computer that runs Windows
• a digital image editing program
• the “PSP Theme Toolbox”
• a little bit of time

First thing you need to do is download the “PSP Theme Toolbox” zipped file. You can unzip it anywhere, but if you’ll be doing a lot of Themes or want to use the pre-made default while going through this walkthrough, you’ll have to extract it directly to your C:\ drive (C:\PSP Theme Toolbox\).

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In the “Toolbox”, you’ll find:

• Icons and Wallpaper templates
• “PSP Custom Theme Converter” program
• Default Project saved as a “.txt” file
• “How To” Basics and Advanced Walkthroughs
• Layered PhotoShop template of icons
• Unlike for PS3 Themes, there is an actual program so you won’t have to be worrying about XML code or funky compiler programs.
• Open the program (PSPCustomThemeConverter.exe) and we’ll go though it, tab-by-tab.

NOTE: If you’d like to see a working example of each item, go to “File\Open” and select “PSPTheme_default.txt”. This will only work if you’ve extracted the Toolbox to your C:\ drive because of the way the project file links to the associated images.

The first tab is the “Information” Tab.

• Put the name of your Theme or its description in the “Title” space.
• The “Product ID” is where you assign what the Theme is associated to, e.g. Game, Anime, Movie, etc.
• The “Version” is helpful if you want to do keep track of multiple versions of a Theme, but isn’t necessary either.

The second tab is the “Wallpaper” Tab.

• Wallpapers have to be:
* 480 x 272 pixels
* 24-bit Color Image
* BMP files
• Click on the “Folder” button to browse and select any image that matches the required size and format.
• If the image you select is not useable, an “Error” window will pop-up letting you know what needs to change.
• You can click the “Preview” button to preview your wallpaper once you’ve selected one that is workable.

Next tab is called “Category Icons”, and is for the main XMB Icons.

• These icons need to be:
* either 64 x 48 pixels or 48 x 48 pixels
* 8-bit Index (32-bit Color)
* TGA, PNG, or GIM image files

The “First Level Icons” Tab is for the icons that appear within a category on the XMB.

• These are the sub-icons that appear below the category XMB icons.
• Double click on the icon line or click the “Edit” button.
• You’ll see a request for two files: the “Icon Body” and the “Icon Focus”. The “Body” is the actual icon.
• The “Focus” is the glow that pulses around the icon when you highlight that icon. If you’d like to keep things simple, or not worry about having a pulsing glow around your selection, you can either use the default focus image or leave that space blank.
• The icons need to be:
* 32 x 32 pixels (Body)
* 48 x 48 pixels (Focus)
* 8-bit Index (32-bit Color)
* TGA, PNG, or GIM image files

The “Second Level Icons” tab is for the “Settings” Icon. That’s right; the “Settings” wrench gets its very own tab!

• Just like the First Level Icons, these need to be:
* 32 x 32 pixels
* 8-bit Index (32-bit Color)
* TGA, PNG, or GIM image files
• Its focus needs to be:
* 48 x 48 pixels
* 8-bit Index (32-bit Color)
* TGA, PNG, or GIM image files

The last tab is “Others”.

• The “Preview Icon” is the tiny thumbnail that appears when you choose your Theme, and needs to be:
* 16 x 16 pixels
* 8-bit Index (32-bit Color)
* TGA, PNG, or GIM image files
• The “Preview Image” is the preview for the Theme, and needs to be:
* 300 x 170
* 24-bit Color Image
* BMP
• The final option is “Theme Color”. Here, you can assign a particular highlight colour to your Theme, or have it change monthly automatically.

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Once you’ve assigned all of the Icons to your images, go to “FILE” and select “EXPORT”.

• Name your file, click “SAVE”, and the program will create your PSP Theme File (.PTF).
• With your PSP connected to your computer in USB Mode or with a compatible Memory Stick connected, place the file into the proper “Theme” folder ( \PSP\THEME ).
• Disconnect your PSP or insert the Memory Stick in to your PSP.
• Under “Settings”, select “Theme Settings”, and then “Theme”.

Your new Theme should appear in the selectable list.
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Good luck and have fun making your own PSP Themes!

“The world is but a canvas to the imagination.” – Henry David Thoreau:

My name’s Noel Silvia, and I’m a Graphic Artist and part of the PlayStation Network team.

I’m here today to walk you through how to make and install your own Themes for your PLAYSTATION 3. All you’ll need are:

• an image editing program (MSPaint, Adobe PhotoShop, etc.)
• the provided “compiler” program
• a little time

Start by downloading the “HowToMakePS3Themes.zip”.zip file here and extracting it onto your computer.

In this zip are folders with the necessary files for each step of the process.

Step 1: Create

Let’s start at the very beginning.

• In this folder, you’ll find the images that make the XMB, its sub-icons, and the background wallpapers for HD and SD resolutions.
• There is also a file called “PS3Theme_template.xml”, but we’ll come back to that a little later.
• It’s important that you don’t change any of the file names in this folder. If you do, it will cause problems later on.
• Start by deciding which icon you’d like to customize and open that image in your image editing program.
• You can alter the image any way you’d like (change the color, skin the icon, add effects, etc.). You can even replace the image completely with personal photos if you’d like.
• Just make sure not to change the Pixel Dimensions of the image; so if the icon image is 140 x 140 pixels at the start, make sure it’s the same size at the end.
• When you are done with your new icon, overwrite the original image with your new custom image.
• Make sure you save it as a “PNG” file, and not a JPG, BMP, GIF, or any other file type.
• To create your background wallpaper, follow the same steps above, making sure to maintain the original Pixel Dimensions.
• The only difference is that when you save your wallpaper image, you’re going to save it as a “JPG” file, and not a “PNG” file like the icons.

Step 2: Assemble

When you’re done making your new icons, it’s time to put the whole thing together and make the actual Theme file.

It helps to have two windows open for this part, one showing the contents of the “Step 1_Create” folder, the other showing “Step 2_Assemble”.

• From the “Step 1_Create” folder, click and drag the “PS3Theme_template.xml” file and drop it onto the “p3tcompiler.exe” program found in the “Step 2_Assemble” folder.
• A new window should appear, showing the program working as it puts together your Theme.
• If there are any errors, the program will stop at the error, letting you know which file is causing problems.
• When it has finished assembling the pieces successfully, a “” message will appear, prompting you to press “ENTER” and close the program.

Step 3: Install

Return to your “Step 1_Create folder.

• You should see a bunch of new files in the folder.
• The files with the “GIM” extension are special temp files. They were created during assembly but can be deleted now.
• You should also find a new file called “PS3Theme_template.p3t”. This is your new Theme file.
• Copy the file onto a detectable USB device or a one of the compatible memory sticks into the proper “Theme” folder ( \PS3\THEME )
• Connect the device to your PS3 or insert the memory stick into the reader.
• Under “Settings”, select “Theme Settings”, and then “Theme”.
• At the very top, there is an “Install” option. Once you’ve installed your Theme to your PS3, your theme will now be selectable your “Theme List”.

…and that’s how you make your own PS3 Themes!

For those of you that’d like a little more customization, please read the “Advanced Tips Guide” in the included “Step 4” folder with some extra info on how to:

• change your Theme’s title
• change your Theme’s preview art
• change your Theme’s font
• change your Theme’s color selection
• change your Theme’s Author avatar
• create a Theme with random background images

I’ll be back next time to show you how to make your own custom Themes for the PSP, but until then, have fun making your own PS3 Themes!

“If you can imagine it, you can create it. If you can dream it, you can become it.”
- William Arthur Ward