I'd suggest you get your hands on a Coded WP Theme. Analyse the CSS and PHP. You'll get to know about it. You know the first time I coded I just took a simple orginal WP Template and Added my Images to it . Good eh!
Be careful which themes you grab though. Even the tutorials over at www.wpdesigner.com are not all that great (semantically speaking), but they do get the job done. I have a WordPress theme framework that I'll be giving away that is about to undergo a period of beta testing, but that won't be of any use to you at this point in time, unfortunately, especially given that you will have to be somewhat familiar with intermediate to advanced level HTML and CSS in order to use it to its fullest extent.
I know advanced HTML and I am somewhat familiar with CSS, I know how to get what I need done. What do you mean by framework? just a code that people can change the images of?
I mean a WordPress theme "baseline" that people will be able to create their own themes with when it's released to the public next month. Think of it as a "Kubrick" or "Kubrick 2" but without the code bloat and needless crap that goes into both of those bloated wastes of space. This one will be lean and mean, and will also include some sample stylesheets that people can use as baselines to create their own themes with. Oh, and the HTML that's generated will be far more semantic, accessible and SEO friendly (read: optimized to the teeth) than just about any other theme out there.