File Type Conversion, How To?

Despite the perhaps somewhat confusing thread title, my request is very simple. I am very new (as in, today new) to the whole artistic area of Wc3, so everything feels horribly confusing to me. I would like to convert a .gif file to a .blp file (my current avatar, incidently). I want to know if it's as easy as renaming the file, or if I have to use some sort of converter, because that damn icon took me a at least 45 mins to make, and I don't think I'll have the patience to make a new one if the file gets corrupted. Thanx muchly!

Oh, and one other thing, does anybody know where I can find a totally, completely, absolutely noobish tutorial on skinning? As in: First, get this program, then go to this file and put it here. Then do this and the file will open etc., etc.

Thanx for your help!

You'll need either Photoshop or Pant Shop Pro to do this.

First, download and install Wc3 Viewer, which is able to convert from BLP to TGA and back again.
Open that program, press CTRL-F to find, and type in the name of the texture you want to extract. Double click on the one that looks like it's the right texture to load it. Make a note of the path of the texture (Example: Textures\Ranger.blp) and write it down exactly. You'll need it later.
Click "Extract (and convert) BLP file", which is one of the top buttons. Save it as a TGA.
You can then open it in Photoshop/PSP and do any editing you want.
Now, open the viewer again and click "Convert BMP/JPG/TGA to BLP", which is another top button. Browse to select the TGA, then choose where you want the new BLP.

To use the skin in a map...
- Open the World Editor and open the Import Manager.
- Click Import and choose the BLP you just saved
- Double click on the imported BLP and change the path to whatever you wrote down the path to in the first step.
- Save, quit the editor, and restart the editor.
- Place a unit with that skin on the map and your edits should have taken effect.

Thankx man, had to leave that post up overnight for an answer, lol. Neway, I'll attempt that. Muchos Gracious. *adds to Oinkerwinkle's rep*