Some help will be required

[AussieMan]

Over the years I have tried my hand at doing aircraft repaints. So far I have done 2 that have been good enough to put up on the internet. Now that I have the full set of the WBS P-51s I have decided to bite the bullet and try to make a contribution to a hobby that has given me so much over the last 27 years.

I have the paintkit for the WBS Little Friends II and after a couple of hiccups I am now downloading the aircraft file.

Now comes the request for help. I have NEVER worked with layers before. I belong to the Simmers Paint Shop forum but their tutorials deal with creating layers no dealing with kits that are already layered.

What I need to know is what needs to be done to get to the layer that I would put my base colours on before doing the rivets and other layers.

All help will be much appreciated.

[Tako_Kichi]

Knowing which painting program you are using will help. :icon_lol:

Think of the layers like a stack of acetate sheets that you can shuffle around. Some things on 'higher' sheets will hide things on lower sheets.

Generally the wireframe layout (if available) is on the lowest layer followed usually by the main paint layer(s) on the next highest level(s). Rivets and panel lines go on layers above that with the dirt layer as the highest of all.

When I work on a paint I also group layers into 'folders' (a feature available in later versions of Photoshop but I don't know if that is available in every paint program), this allows me to turn on/off all lines, rivets or dirt layers with a single click.

[AussieMan]

My apologies Larry, I have Paint Shop Pro X and 5 as well as Photoshop CS3 and Gimp 2.6.

While I am happy to learn how to use the other properly I feel most comfortable with Paint Shop Pro as I have been using various versions of that programme for many years now.

I am happy to learn how to use Photoshop as well.

[Bomber_12th]

Pat,

With my paintkits, most especially the latest for the "Little Friends" product, they are built up to be as easy to use as I can possibly imagine, while at the same time they are complete/complex enough to be the most flexible, and most capable that they can, at the same time. So essentially, there is a good number of layers, all named for what they have on them, and they all can be adjusted if you desire, but none of them really have to be messed with, except for the paint/markings layers (or turning on/off the various weathering layers, for instance).

Starting off, all you should have to do is focus on the "Paint" layers, which are titled as such. In the case of the Warbirdsim paintkits, on the two base texture templates for the fuselage/tail and wings, there are two different main "Paint Layers". The bottom paint layer (the one nearest the bottom of the screen - the layers are stacked in the layers window, just as they are stacked in the image, on top of each other) is where you will want to add all of the paint/markings from the get-go. You can also add more layers above this to stack the markings you add, in order to 'layer' them on top of each other, if need be, or just be able to work on seperate markings on different layers, so you aren't worried about messing up anything in a particular layer.

When all of the markings are done, you can merge those layers together as one. One of the things that is likely unique to my paint kits is that there is an upper "Paint" layer. This paint layer contains the exact same graphics as the bottom paint layer, but it is set at a low opacity/semi-transparent. All you have to do is copy the base paint layer and paste it into the upper paint layer, and keep it at the same amount of opacity that the upper paint layer is already set at (for best results).

(The reason for the upper paint layer, is to control the amount of highlighting values (as used for the metal/silver painted finishes) that show on the darker-colored markings, while at the same time diluting a bit of the detail, within the regions of the painted markings, in order to take on the appearance of a coating of paint.)

The paintkits of mine are set so that you shouldn't have to worry about rivets/value details/etc...I strive to make it easy to just get into the paint layers, apply the markings, perhaps turn on/off some of the weathering/fluid leaks/exhaust stain layers, depending on the look you want. Of course you are free to add layers of your own weathering, paint chips, etc.

Down to basics: if you don't see a pallete/menu for the layers in Paint Shop Pro, you need to open it from Views-Palletes-Layers, or just press F8. From there you can scroll through the layers, which are all named accordingly. By selecting a layer/clicking on it in the pallete/menu, you effectively make that layer the 'active' one, and everything that you do within the window/image can only affect the graphics on that layer, and graphics you add will be added to the layer you are in, unless if you create a new layer and add graphics/create graphics in that layer. If you apply paint in a layer above another layer, it will apply the paint over the top of the graphics/paint in the layer below it, but it will not affect that layer below it.

(On a personal level, I began to teach myself Paint Shop Pro 9 towards the end of middle school, so about 8 years ago I think. When I got into college, of course the standard is Photoshop, and it wasn't hard to transition to after my experience with Paint Shop Pro, but PSP still remains to this day my favored go-to program, despite using both routinely - as you mention Pat, I think it just has to do with being more at home with one over the other. If you are able to accomplish the same job that you would using either of the programs, why not just choose the one you feel more comfortable in)

[Bomber_12th]

As a follow-up from the previous reply, when working with the other templates provided in the Warbirdsim paintkits, of which there are alpha channels (for the base textures), specular maps, and alpha channels for the specular maps, they are a bit different than the base textures in that there only needs to be one markings layer (i.e., just the bottom markings layer from the base texture templates, adjusted in the various templates to match the appearance/values of the markings layers already in those templates, for proper results).

The alpha channel templates, specular map templates, and specular map alpha channel templates, despite providing the same control over numerous layers, just like in the base texture templates, there is really no need at all to adjust any of the layers, except for the markings and any other additional layers of weathering you may have added, or various layers you may have activated that are de-active in the default setup. Essentially, all of the templates as is, are meant to be combined together in exactly the same configuration that each is presented as they come. However, any changes you make to the base texture templates you will need to make to the other associated templates.

[jankees]

I might add that, because of the number of layers in John's paintkit, it is sometimes easy to lose track of in which layer exactly you are. For this, I have created three groups (of layers), called 'above', 'beween' and 'below', which contain all the layers that are either, well, you guessed it, above, between, or below the two paint layers. I find this makes life a lot easier, as the paintkit holds A LOT of layers. To do a paint, I create a new group situated between 'between' and 'below', and do my paint in there. I then copy it to just above the 'between' group and set the upper one to 25-40% opacity and I can start test flying (after I copy the artwork to the alpha and spec of course). Once I'm satisfied, I move the layer containing the artwork to another 'finished' group, make that invisible and start with a new one.

[Bomber_12th]

You should see what my PSP/PSD files look like before I spend a few weeks compiling all of the layers into the layers you see in the final paintkits I send out, lol!

I know I have never been one to use folders myself to group layers, but I'll take some advice based on some of the discussion here for future paintkits. ; )

[AussieMan]

Thanks John and Jan. I will make my first attempt to do something tonight and see where I go from there. My first attempt will be A68-107 when it was All red.

[AussieMan]

Well after much cursing and hair pulling (not that I had much in the first place) I finally feel I am getting my head around using layers.

Hopefullt by tomorrow or Wednesday I will have a WIP of an all red A68-107 when it was in the hands of Titus Oates. It is now in the hands of the Pay family at Scone and has been returned to its original colours.