Falcon161 3 Posted August 8, 2007 Okay I'm about to get GIMP again and start on some skins and i've read the tutorials on simmers paint shop and was wondering can you just select a color and change it to another? I ask this because some of my skins like the artic digital for the F-16 that I'm making are based on other peoples skins I'm just changing the colors and editing the squadrons and decals. And when i'm done with the skins they will be released. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MigBuster 2,875 Posted August 8, 2007 There is a way to do that with the "Select regions by colour" tool - trouble is it only selects one colour at a time. If you are trying to change an existing skin a region that may look black may actually have other colours within itself - also if the edges have been blended in then they will need to be sorted manually. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Falcon161 3 Posted August 13, 2007 Alright got the GIMP and just released my first skin Artic F-16 Digital camo. Working on some others at the moment but have a couple of questions. 1. How do you remove Decals that are on the skin itself? 2. How do you add decals onto the skins? 3. Where can I get some decals at? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+saint aj 0 Posted August 13, 2007 1.) To remove decals that are on the skin bitmap itself, you'll just have to paint over them with the skin color you want to use. 2.) You add decals to skins using a Decals.ini file that goes in the skin directory. For an example look at any of the skins for the stock Thirdwire aircraft. There should be some tutorials on how to do decals floating around this site. Please, PLEASE, don't paint your decals directly onto the skin bitmap. This makes it impossible to make the same skin appear in the markings of a different country, squadron, or specific aircraft, and in my opinion it just looks unprofessional. If you want to add additional decals that aren't provided with the game, you need to create a decal folder within the skin directory and place the new decals in it. 3.) Many decals are provided with the game. These include national insignia, squadron insignia, and aircraft numbers for various nations. There are some decal add-ons floating around CombatAce, too. And finally, you can make your own decals using the GIMP by creating a square .TGA image (make sure when saving it to uncheck both of the GIMP's TGA file options or it will be invisible). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Dave 2,319 Posted August 13, 2007 Alright got the GIMP and just released my first skin Artic F-16 Digital camo. Working on some others at the moment but have a couple of questions. 1. How do you remove Decals that are on the skin itself? 2. How do you add decals onto the skins? 3. Where can I get some decals at? 1. You have to paint over them. Unless you can find some templates. 2. TK releasesd a decal tutorial and look in some of my decal job I have done. They will give you an idea. 3. I buy model decals and scan them in high res to get a good crisp looking decal. I don't have many claims to fame in the SF but I think and most people can attest to, is that I can decal just about anything. I will be glad ot help you if you need it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Sundowner 4,583 Posted August 13, 2007 Please, PLEASE, don't paint your decals directly onto the skin bitmap. This makes it impossible to make the same skin appear in the markings of a different country, squadron, or specific aircraft, and in my opinion it just looks unprofessional. .....that must be where I'm going wrong...... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Dave 2,319 Posted August 13, 2007 .....that must be where I'm going wrong...... I guess Saint AJ hasn't seen your work. Saint AJ Its not unprofessional in the least bit. I use a mix of both. Sundowner's skinning skills are pretty unmatched around here so using that term "unprofessional" is unfounded at best. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HrntFixr 4 Posted August 14, 2007 Please, PLEASE, don't paint your decals directly onto the skin bitmap. This makes it impossible to make the same skin appear in the markings of a different country, squadron, or specific aircraft, and in my opinion it just looks unprofessional. or instead of using someone else's work, paint it yourself and decal it how you want Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+LloydNB 212 Posted August 15, 2007 Falcon161 You might have some problems with GIMP and getting the Alpha-channel in the decals to work properly. Its common with some applications to end up with negative decals with a bright yellow background. There is a solution! The application found below should help. Once you have made tga decals with alpha-channels and saved them, open the application up on your desktop and drag all the decal files on to it. Make sure its set to 32bit tga files first. http://www.aqua-soft.org/board/archive/ind...hp?t-25433.html LloydNB Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Dave 2,319 Posted August 15, 2007 Falcon161 You might have some problems with GIMP and getting the Alpha-channel in the decals to work properly. Its common with some applications to end up with negative decals with a bright yellow background. There is a solution! The application found below should help. Once you have made tga decals with alpha-channels and saved them, open the application up on your desktop and drag all the decal files on to it. Make sure its set to 32bit tga files first. http://www.aqua-soft.org/board/archive/ind...hp?t-25433.html LloydNB Man that sure is a good find Lloyd. Thank for sharing. I know some people who were having issue with PS and this will make then very happy. Kudos my man. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FastCargo 412 Posted August 15, 2007 Hey yea! Wasn't there a guy who was having a problem with the Tornado HUD with that exact issue? He was doing everything right, but was ending up with big yellow bands instead of transparent HUD decals... FastCargo Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Jimbib 712 Posted August 15, 2007 In addition to the topic of alpha channels, here is a great video tutorial for understanding and using the alpha channel. The guy uses Photoshop CS2, however it should be applicable for most versions of PS... http://revision3.com/pixelperfect/layermasks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Falcon161 3 Posted August 16, 2007 thanks for the help. I've already released one of the skins which is the digital artic skin for the F-16. There are alot to follow but as a fair warning they will all be fictional! For example making an red yellow and black splinter for the Su-27 US. I'm doing fictional squadron skins from my short stories that I hope to release as soon as a forum gets created. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Falcon161 3 Posted August 16, 2007 1. You have to paint over them. Unless you can find some templates. 2. TK releasesd a decal tutorial and look in some of my decal job I have done. They will give you an idea. 3. I buy model decals and scan them in high res to get a good crisp looking decal. I don't have many claims to fame in the SF but I think and most people can attest to, is that I can decal just about anything. I will be glad ot help you if you need it. Alright cool! I'm gonna try to do it myself but I might fail miserably. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
