Status bar editing in Android

First off I'm assuming you have rooted your phone.  Just about all themeing of the status bar requires root.  Also if you have not done so read both guides for android in the OP.  Know also you are doing these mods at your own risk, <insert the token "if you do this its not my fault" disclaimer>.

>hide it maybe
This is easily done with a launcher.  If you followed the guide (2nd android link I believe) you will be using apex or nova launcher.  Both of these have an option to hide the status bar.  It will only be hidden for the home screen though.  It will still be seen when you open apps (assuming they don't block it already).

>make it see through
This again can be done through launchers if and ONLY IF it is supported by your version of android.  If you can't use a launcher (not uncommon) there is at least one more way to change this.  It involves using xposed frmework.  I'll elaborate on that in its own section.

>change the icons.
There are a couple ways to do this as well.  If you just want to change the icon color then you can go through exposed framework(discussed later).  If you want to replace the icon images themselves then you have to mess with system files.  If you want to go that rout then I highly recommend making a  nandroid backup first. The easiest way I know of to edit the system files is with the app "Rom Toolbox" there is a free and paid for version.  I'm not sure if this can be done on the free version.  This is one of the few apps I bough.  But within the app there is under the "interface" section a tool specifically made for status bar icons.


***Xposed Framework***
I'm not going to retype an entire article here, but for a TL;DR version xposed framework lets you modify parts of the rom you are using (stock or custom) without messing with or modifying system files or any APKs you have installed.
The XDA link for you to do some reading on is here

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1574401

After you have xposed installed look into the modules "Xblast Tools" Or "Gravity Box".  Both of them will have status bar editing function (along with a truck load more).  The Module you use will be based on which rom you run so read the fine print for each before you install.

Using either of the above mentioned modules you can change the icon colors to anything you want, you can change the status bar background to any color you want including see through.  If you want a new battery icon there are several modules for exactly that. If I were to explore all the options you have I would be sitting here typing for a long time.  This is one of those places you just need to play around with the apps and settings to learn it.

>just somewhere to start would be nice.
See above. To save time I would just recomend going the Xposed Framework path.



>Also. i found the image file for the pattern lock dots in a zip of my firmware, i want to change them, i have no idea how to swap them on the actual phone. sadly its not like on a PC where i can just copy and past with ownership in sys32

I may be talking out of my ass here because this is where my knowledge of android starts to get fuzzy.  The android OS runs a very similar file system to the GNU/Linux OS.  When you say PC that term is not just limited to windows, which is where that sys32 is coming from.  You can have a Linux PC. You can also access those files (at least in theory, once again I'm fuzzy here) if you have the right file permissions/ownership.

It goes beyond my know-how but if you have the mind for it and the desire I'm sure you can look around XDA and find something about modifying those lock dots.  It will probably involve flashing the zip from recovery.  IIRC you can do a similar thing to edit the lock screen padlock icon.