In other words, I have a new layout.
It was such an experience for me that I decided to write an image map guide of sorts.
There are three ways of creating the image-mapping effect (that I'm aware of):
1. Image-mapping proper. (
leggyslove and 
elfverie. Beautiful layouts, too) 2. CSS and image positioning. (
homura) 3. The ugliest coding hack ever seen, as done by self.
Incidentally, anyone with a free account can make a layout like mine. What I did works for the Generator style for a free account on the S1 system.
The Most Important Things I Found Out about Image Mapping the Way I Did It
1. Background images in LiveJournal cannot be used as image maps. At least, not for free accounts.
I'm not sure what the status is with paid accounts, because I wasn't yet able to figure out the Variable Flow style. *hides from
homura* Forgive me. *dies* Send you penguins? 2. For the LASTN_WEBSITE override to be used in LJ, you must first define a website on your Personal Info.
3. You don't have to image map by using the x- and y- coordinates. This software does it. It's the Coffee Cup Image Mapper. It's a trial version, which only works for a month, but it's great.
Tutorials
Every time I want to do something on LJ, I go everywhere I can to find out if there're tutorials to tell me what to do. And there were.
I relied extensively on tutorials from
ljdesigners for this tutorial. What these tutorials do is, they effectively conceal every element of a conventional Generator layout. The image-map you see on my layout is in my userinfo box. You just can't see the box. Generator Tutorials
Changing the Website Links
Hiding Entries Friends Calendar
Removing the Usericon
Silliest Thing I Found Out
Links: active, visited, link text, body text, accent text - do not have to all be different colours. More a design thing than anything else, but yeah.
Other Tutorials I Use
Shifting Journal Contents Downward
Resizing and Realigning Content
Background Images
Apologies to
kanekoichi and everyone for my not being able to turn up today. My brother's home on vacation from Australia, and as I'm returning to London next Wednesday, my parents are in the Justify Your Every Reason for Not Spending Time with the Family mood. 