To create skins, you will need to learn to use layers in Photoshop or in The Gimp software.
There are many ways to create skins, each creator have its own technique. Most designers use a skin template with layers and UV. This tutorial has been made to help you to get started creating skins. This tutorial will give you some basic techniques for creating colored skins.
For this tutorial, we will use Photoshop but you can also use The Gimp or any other application that support elements and layers in the template, the technique will be more or less the same. The program you will use must be able to support alpha channel and must also be able to save your skin as TGA.

What you need to create a skin:

• 3 templates (face, top and bottom)
• Creativeness so you won't have the same skin like everybody has