Abstract: 

A gentle introduction to Drupal Theming assembled into two parts:

  1. Heads Up Drupal Theming: gives beginners a clear idea about the different parts of the the theming system and how they relate to each other
  2. Ask and Tell: questions, answers, problem solving and recipes

The goal of this session is to provide newcomers with an understanding of how to build a theme and how the parts fit together.
*but was afraid to ask

Agenda

  1. Q & A: Last things First!
  2. Drupal 6 Themes: setup and creation
  3. To Zen or Not to Zen? Really, this is the major question !
  4. The tpl.php vs template.php Smackdown
  5. Really what are Pre-Process Functions and how can I use them!
  6. Q & A: First things Last!

Goals

Beginners should come away with a sense of knowing where they are in a theme and the various places (read: opportunities) that they have to alter the look and feel of the information and the design of a site.

Please note: I took out the "tools of the trade" portion and rolled it over into the "Themers Guild" session... as that seemed more appropriate :) cheers!

Post Script

Go to the page of links that I used for this presentation!

johnalbin also went over the implementation the above in his presentation: Making Drupal Dance: Techniques for Non-obvious Theme Manipulations +