GUI improvement

Note, this is a repost from:

http://forum.java.sun.com/thread.jspa?threadID=5120608

I created a program, and now I want to try to improve the GUI.

Just as an example, if you press a certain button, a new jframe pops up with some options. Is there a way to make the whole Jframe go from full transparency to full opacity (alpha value) over a period of time instead of just 'appearing'.

Also, any links to helpful tutorials on customizing/building attractive GUIs would be appreciated.

Thanks

[529 byte] By [Nethera] at [2007-11-26 13:57:00]