Skin Making

[omegaeleven 9]

Are there any skin making guides? I'm trying to make a skin based on Shin Kazama's F-5E Tiger, also my apologies if I'm bothering anyone, it's sort of complicated and I need some help.

[+EricJ 3,994]

There are plenty of tutorials online man, Google is your friend. But one question is what can you afford? there's GIMP, which is free, and stuff like Adobe Photoshop and the like. You'll also need the PSD template (if one exists) too to work on your skin. And have a lot of reference and texture files to pull it off.

[omegaeleven 9]

18 minutes ago, EricJ said:

There are plenty of tutorials online man, Google is your friend. But one question is what can you afford? there's GIMP, which is free, and stuff like Adobe Photoshop and the like. You'll also need the PSD template (if one exists) too to work on your skin. And have a lot of reference and texture files to pull it off.

Honestly, I'm pretty poor at the moment. Is paint.net a good option? I don't really remember, but I saw a guide in here, kinda forgot who did it.

Edited Thursday at 11:59 PM by omegaeleven

[+EricJ 3,994]

I don't know about Paint.net, but GIMP is totally free, so you have that option, and works with PSD files. Daddyairplanes knows about it more than me, as I use it to reformat files for Arma 3 and such.

Edited Friday at 12:02 AM by EricJ

[omegaeleven 9]

Just now, EricJ said:

I don't know about Paint.net, but GIMP is totally free, so you have that option, and works with PSD files.

Alright, thanks! :)

[+EricJ 3,994]

Just now, omegaeleven said:

Alright, thanks! :)

No problem!

[+daddyairplanes 9,232]

gimp works awesomely considering the price (free) and i would say has most of the functionality of photoshop (99.99% of what you might ever think you need for basic skinning). frankly i still use it over Photoshop despite having an active subscription for Creative Cloud atm. i absolutely prefer it for decal making to PS

[+Jimbib 714]

A few resources that may be of use:

The skin templates downloads section here at CA - there are tonnes of excellent skin templates uploaded by other modders here, would recommend opening some in GMIP (I believe it can use .psd photoshop file format), have an explore and see how other modders lay out their layers. Usually, there are separate layers for base paint, camo patterns, panel lines, rivets, stencils, dirt, aircraft parts, markings etc.

 

A couple of discussion threads worth reading:

https://combatace.com/forums/topic/81503-need-experts-advice-on-creating-a-template/

https://combatace.com/forums/topic/76264-skin-templates-sf2/

 

A couple of tutorial threads on making skins and decals specifically in GIMP:

https://combatace.com/forums/topic/83470-creating-a-skin-step-by-step-with-gimp/

https://combatace.com/forums/topic/76701-making-decals-using-gimp/

 

and finally a gratuitous mention of the Knowledge Base section of the forums here at CA, there are tonnes of useful tips and tricks written out in detail by other modders over the years, it is well worth the time browsing through:

https://combatace.com/forums/forum/268-thirdwire-strike-fighters-2-series-knowledge-base/

[+daddyairplanes 9,232]

1 hour ago, Jimbib said:

would recommend opening some in GMIP (I believe it can use .psd photoshop file format),

will confirm it can open psd, and it can export to psd

[omegaeleven 9]

Thanks so much everyone! If anyone is curious on what skin I'm doing, it is the F-5E that Centurion made a few years ago, didn't find any templates, sadly. But one skin seemed like a good start, (Honduras Air Force Grey). Is this.. kind of a good idea? If I messed up somewhere, please let me know.

Edited Friday at 03:18 AM by omegaeleven

[+EricJ 3,994]

Well, you could learn how to make your own template too. I don't know if one exists though so not sure if you need to make one or not.

[+Trotski 840]

Paint.net can be a useful tool, but not really good enough to do a complete skin, Gimp is very good, especially for making decals, and the added bonus of it being FREE, is maybe the way for you to go. I personally prefer Photoshop for making my skins, I find it easier to use, however it ain't cheap, so Gimp is by far your best option.

[+Jimbib 714]

11 hours ago, omegaeleven said:

Thanks so much everyone! If anyone is curious on what skin I'm doing, it is the F-5E that Centurion made a few years ago, didn't find any templates, sadly. But one skin seemed like a good start, (Honduras Air Force Grey). Is this.. kind of a good idea? If I messed up somewhere, please let me know.

I don't think any templates for Centurion's F-5E ever got uploaded here (although the download does contain a grey Honduras skin), I did a quick check on the mapping compared to the Mirage Factory F-5E (which Centurion's was developed from and does have templates available), but unfortunately the UV's don't match.

That might necessitate making your own templates, but I say go for it! The best way to learn is trial and error. Make sure to grab mue's LOD Viewer, it really speeds up reviewing your skin on the model instead of constantly launching and shutting the game down:

 

[+EricJ 3,994]

11 minutes ago, Trotski said:

Paint.net can be a useful tool, but not really good enough to do a complete skin, Gimp is very good, especially for making decals, and the added bonus of it being FREE, is maybe the way for you to go. I personally prefer Photoshop for making my skins, I find it easier to use, however it ain't cheap, so Gimp is by far your best option.

I've used Photoshop for skins for about 24 years, so I'm naturally sold on it myself.

[+daddyairplanes 9,232]

no time like the present to learn on the templates. biggest thing i can advise on making your own is LAYERS, LAYER LAYERS. dont be afraid to make layers, it will help you greatly in the long run. also, bigger is better at least in development. if you can blow up the original skin to 2048px or even 4096, do so. the results will be much better even if you shrink it back down at the end

back the the what program,  we all got our preferences and all the old  heads round here will swear by what they use. 

find what works for you (including cost) and play with it. make mistakes. fix those mistakes. its how you learn

[omegaeleven 9]

6 hours ago, Jimbib said:

I don't think any templates for Centurion's F-5E ever got uploaded here (although the download does contain a grey Honduras skin), I did a quick check on the mapping compared to the Mirage Factory F-5E (which Centurion's was developed from and does have templates available), but unfortunately the UV's don't match.

That might necessitate making your own templates, but I say go for it! The best way to learn is trial and error. Make sure to grab mue's LOD Viewer, it really speeds up reviewing your skin on the model instead of constantly launching and shutting the game down:

 

About the LODViewer, since it's my first time using it.. are there any tutorials I can find for a noobie like me? It's sort of overwhelming. Again, my apologies for asking too many questions.

Edited Friday at 09:43 PM by omegaeleven

[+daddyairplanes 9,232]

um, it is simple enough for most of us that i dont think anyone ever thought to do a tutorial

what questions do you have?

[omegaeleven 9]

1 hour ago, daddyairplanes said:

um, it is simple enough for most of us that i dont think anyone ever thought to do a tutorial

what questions do you have?

When I open the F-5E's LOD, it doesn't show the roundels or paint scheme, just blank. I don't know if it's a problem on my end or that's just how it is. (Tried to tinker with the Paint Scheme, Service, Unit, Individual Markings settings.)

Edited Friday at 11:18 PM by omegaeleven

[+EricJ 3,994]

Sometimes you gotta open up the Actual named ini (Such as F-18F.ini or something like that) if my mind serves me correctly. I know I have to do it with my Super Hornets to look at the scheme. Personally I'd wait until you get the template done (which will take hours depending on how much detail you work out from the skin), but getting familiar with LOD Viewer doesn't hurt either.

[+Jimbib 714]

2 hours ago, omegaeleven said:

About the LODViewer, since it's my first time using it.. are there any tutorials I can find for a noobie like me? It's sort of overwhelming. Again, my apologies for asking too many questions.

Inside the LODViewer directory there's a folder called "doc", within that is a readme text that mue wrote that should help with all the controls, how it works etc.

[omegaeleven 9]

7 minutes ago, Jimbib said:

Inside the LODViewer directory there's a folder called "doc", within that is a readme text that mue wrote that should help with all the controls, how it works etc.

Thanks!

Edited Friday at 11:55 PM by omegaeleven