Paint Schemes of SPADs and Nupes

[Olham]

Click on WW1 at the left to get the other craft. WW2 is also very good. Enjoy!

 

http://www.gaetanmarie.com/en/spad.htm

[nbryant]

Excellent Olham, thanks!

 

 

Now, would you consider sharing how you developed the layers for your aircraft. Primarily any shadowing or weathering that overlays your base color scheme.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Widowmaker - As you have this down would love to understand how you developed yours also.

[Olham]

I use a very simple but effective method.

I copy the parts I want to change, insert them into a new file, change the mode to "greyscale",

and then to "RGB" again. It will still look greyscale.

Now I adjust "brightness and contrast" in a way, that would suit my colour idea.

Then I use "variations" or "colour balance", to change it into the colour I want.

Then I copy and insert it into the former skin file, make fine colour adjustments, and cut it the

way I want it to be.

All weathering is still the original that way; no need to add it.

 

See also the skinning tutorial of Gous here in the skinner's section of our Forum:

 

http://forum.combatace.com/forum/212-off-photoshop-and-paint-shop-help-for-skinning-and-3d-modeling/

[nbryant]

Thank you kind sir. That makes sense so I now go forth to see what mischief I can get into.

[Olham]

nbryant, like all designing and creative things, it may take a while to get a good result,

and the process will continue and you'll get better and learn more tricks with time.

It depends on how much time you are willing to invest.

Me, I did many, many skins by now, and (hopefully) am still learning.

[UK_Widowmaker]

As for weathering. OvS told me of a great method.

 

Find some images of Flowers in Google images (yes, I know it sounds weird)...just the heads..preferably of different colours...open the pic in your painting program...and convert the image to grayscale.

 

Place it on the area you wish to 'weather'...and then fade it out till you just see it.

Looks nice and blotchy and dirty...very quick and effective!

[UK_Widowmaker]

Some great pics to work off there too Olham..nice find!...think I may try a Spad

[Olham]

Yeah, I used the Esc.48 emblem for a SPAD today - see "Screenshots".

[nbryant]

Olham, did you just lift the logo from the aircraft on the site? I was actually working on the same scheme and was searching the net for it but could not find one. Also I am trying to replicate the drawing with the same airframe colors and not the camo scheme. Hope to have something soon. I just posted on the pics thread some shots of a Spad with minor tweaks I used from your shared process.

[Olham]

Yes, I copied the emblem right out of the SPAD Esc.48 picture.

I did not do the cream coloured airframe, but there are 1917 SPADs without camo pattern;

they are just sand; they will provide you with a good basis to be changed into cream.

 

Saw your SPAD in the screenshots; it looks great altogether!

[Burning Beard]

When working with paint schemes it is sometimes very difficult to get the lines to warp from one face to another. Quite often they do not line up, I took a tip from Olham long ago and make a grid on the surfaces so you know exactly where to place a line from one surface to another. The Spad is not to bad, though there are some rough spots around the guns and cabane struts, and seems that the cowling has some issues lining up also. If you are using a regular camo pattern or a "sand" paint it isn't really difficult.

 

The Nieuport 17,17bis and 24 etal are a real problem, nothing lines up gracefully on them, so it you are new at this approach them with great trepidation.

 

I am sure all of the planes have anomalies that require special attention, seems to me there are some problems on the Pup tailplane, I also noticed that some attention was needed lining the EV/D8 tailplane (lots of stuff you don't need there from the DVII). Another thing you will notice is sometimes thing are reversed on the final product, just mirror that image.

 

Anyhoo, the idea is just to take your time and work in layers so you don't have to paint the whole plane each time. You can always make that grid layer into its own layer and just don't show it when you print it out.

 

For weathering, I tend to paint on a layer over the top of the finished "pristine" aircraft and add dirt, grease, soot wherever it would seem to occur naturally.

 

Beard

[Olham]

This seems to be a SPAD in the "Vanilla Cream" colour like in my link I posted above:

 

 

 

 

And another beautiful colouring, taken from Hartmut Seidel's "Airventure" website:

 

 

Edited May 9, 2010 by Olham

[nbryant]

More inspiration, thanks Olham. Just completed my first total fuselage skin. Posted in the screenshots thread.

[Burning Beard]

Very nice job.

 

Beard