Well, I haven't actually created the layout yet, but I'd like to read a guide first before I begin building the layout to see what exactly goes on in a Wordpress layout. I have some experience in creating a layout for Textpattern. Is the concept for layouts similar between Wordpress and Textpattern? The usual "insert a variable" for most things?
Have you read the WordPress Theme Development documentation yet? That would be a good place to start if you have not yet read it.