Reapaints and developing.

[Rezabrya]

I have recently got a lot more into FSX and i was thinking about trying to learn how to repaint my favorite planes. I have absolutely no idea how though so I was wondering if there was anyone on here that could give me a crash course. It doesnt have to be very detailed, just tell me what to do and how to do it. I have the A2A P-47 so I was wondering if we could work on that. I would really appreciate just a crash course on this. Thanks.

[jeansy]

try looking here, a lot of the big shot painters are here and the site is full of tips

http://www.simmerspaintshop.com

[Tako_Kichi]

In addition to what 'jeansy' said I would advise you to start small and work up. Believe me when I say Martin's paintkit for the WoPIII P.47 is a monster and even experienced painters need to keep their wits about them to stay on top of it (especially with the spec and alpha files).

You are going to need a decent painting program and most of those cost money (Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro etc.) although there are freeware options like 'Gimp'. You will also need some way of creating DDS files if you are painting for FSX and there are several options there too.

An easy way to start small (if you already have a paint program) is to download something like our own Piglet's freeware 'Mooney Mite' which can be found here .....

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/index.php?lloc=downloads&loc=downloads&page=info&FileID=12514

...and then get the paintkit for it which can be found here .....

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/index.php?lloc=downloads&loc=downloads&page=info&FileID=12539

That will give you something to start with that at least is easy to paint and you can then build your skills as you go.

Hope that helps.

[Rezabrya]

Well I have Photoshop CS3 and I was thinking about trying to start with the Skysim Hawk paintkit.

[Tako_Kichi]

CS3 is certainly a good tool for the job and Rick's paintkit for the Hawk is fairly straightforward. I would suggest you try some tutorials on the Simmers Paint Shop site to get the basics of painting down and then have at it.

When it comes to painting the best way to learn is to do it and the tutorials will certainly help to give you the basics. Just remember to always paint on a new layer and then if you mess up you can delete the layer without losing anything that came with the paintkit.

[Winjeel]

Hi Raptor, that's good advice from Larry and Jeansy; I decided about 2 months ago to learn to paint (my own models). I've been building models for quite a few years now but funnily enough someone else always painted them, so...

I visited that site and it's been a great help and inspiration. I'm not sure which gives me the most satisfaction, the painting or the modelling but it's sure is a great feeling watching a new paintjob develop and knowing you did it yourself!:ernae:

My advice would be to learn one step at a time, so you don't overwhelm yourself with the task. Anyway, here's where I'm at after a few weeks of experimenting...

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/5447/p40d1cummr7.jpg

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/6049/nevilleduke112my4.jpg

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/3486/3sqnraafpp1.jpg

Winjeel:wavey:

[guzler]

Is that your own model ?

Are you going to release it ? It looks mighty fine Winjeel

[Winjeel]

Thanks Guzler, yes it is one of mine. It has a long way to go yet, but I do plan to release it once it's finished.

Winjeel :rapture:

[Lewis-A2A]

CS3 is the most professional tool you can get so you are tooled up already, I also own the CS3 suite thanks to works licensing. :amen:

Anyway layers, layers layers. Once you got your head around using layers and the millions of uses that is possible everything else just comes from being self taught and as with anything creative mistakes, the biggest mistakes can turn into brilliant techniques.

Martyn's Paint kit for our P47 is very good but maybe not the best starting point, but of course its up to you.

The only real pain can be working with the alphas and specs but I'd suget getting the base down before venturing down that route. :ernae:

[mike_cyul]

Winjeel, love those bump maps pf yours, among the best I've seen. Are they on 2048 textures?

Raptor11, just get in there and try, you'll see that most things falls into place pretty quickly. And as Lewis says, once you get a handle on using layers, you're most of the way there.

I'd also recommend looking at as many photos of real aircraft as you can, as well as real aircraft if possible, to see how things (like bare metal, fabric, paint) actually look in real life.

Mike

[Cazzie]

Raptor,

Windrunner has a slew of sites listed at "The Old Hanger" relating to repaints, here is the post with the links.

http://mainescenery.proboards24.com/index.cgi?board=paint&action=display&thread=3239

Caz

[Winjeel]

Winjeel, love those bump maps pf yours, among the best I've seen. Are they on 2048 textures?

Mike

Thanks Mike, I really appreciate that!:wave:
Yes, that fuselage is on 2 x 2048's, one from the rear of the cockpit forwards and another back to the rudder. It can't be seen in those shots, but that resolution gives me enough detail to include the slots for screwdrivers in the Dzus fasteners and the phillips head screws. You can start to see them at about 3x zoom in the game (running at 1280 x 1024 screen resolution).

Winjeel:wavey:

[Lewis-A2A]

I didnt think the phillips came until after the war :ques:

[mike_cyul]

That made me curious. According to http://inventors.about.com/od/sstartinventions/a/screwdriver.htm (there's a site for everything!) Philips-head screws seem to have been around since the 1930's.

Mike

[Lewis-A2A]

interetsing, I think I heard that when I was at school during my final art exam, I made a generic luftwaffe pit and I seem to recall the teacher commenting on how I should use flat head as phillips were not around in aircraft of the time.

[Winjeel]

Lewis, your P-47 cockpit is full of those screws...:ernae:

Winjeel:wavey: