[U-Boot] How can I replace the Linux scrolling text during boot-up with a splash image?

I need some help in determining how to have a color splash image display in place of the Linux scrolling-text during the boot-up process on an embedded Linux device using u-boot. The kernel used is a stripped-down version of Linux (kernel 2.6.29), which has been custom configured. The distros used are Ubuntu Linux 10.04 (development platform) and X-Linux 5.6.2 (target platform). Our bootloader is syslinux.

I'm very new at this and need some guidance.

Also, is there a way to make u-boot support our custom board?

Thanks!