Skinning - Quick and Dirty for absolute beginners

[Yakdriver]

I wanna paint my Sturmovik!

 

1 - get the template.zip for the sturmovik, from jason's post.

 

2- get GIMP, or any other of the Popular Graphics Manipulation programs (Adobe Photoshop CS2 is so outdated they don't mind you having it for free)

 

3 - open the Zip, and find the PSD file in there.

 

4 - open the PSD file with your Graphics program.

 

5 - understand that the PSD file is like a big set of transparent sheets of plastic stacked like a tower. You look at the sheets from above.

On each sheet is one subject, like rivets, Panel lines, Stars and stripes, dirt and dust.

You can paint on each sheet individually.

You can turn them on or off for better viewing or to hide them.

 

6 - find the Sheet that's called "your paint here". Take a Brush and get painting. Or put some stickers on there like for Formula one cars. Your mind is the limit.

 

7 - Save the PSD file to someplace safe

 

8 - find a DDS plugin for your particular program (Nvidia DDS plugin for Photoshop is what i use) Install that Plugin.

 

9 - open the template again. do a "save as" -> DDS file (i chose DXT5 ) and give it a descrptive name "hellokitty_G2.dds"

 

10 - put the dds file in the game/data/graphics/skins/nameoftheplane/ Folder.

 

11 - check the result in the skin viewer.

 

 

- anyone feel free to comment or correct the course , am new to BoS painting. -

Edited December 23, 2014 by Yakdriver

[VBF-12_Gosling-71]

Many thanks Yakdriver....

 

May I have a Link to "Jason's Post" please?

 

Gos

[Yakdriver]

 where you can grab the templates?

Official Skin Template Links

go!

[JG300_Olrik]

Nice great easy tutorial : thx

[VBF-12_Gosling-71]

Brilliant, thanks Yakdriver

[oneeyeddog]

Nice of you to post this tutorial, Yakdriver.

[Yakdriver]

12 - screens or it didn't happen!



It's just for those totally lost, tried to get to the point fast and quick to lift the veil of Fog that hovers over the subject.

No other ambition than that.

 

How to paint well, how to manipulate the painting program... is another matter on which i shall let others take the lead.

Edited December 23, 2014 by Yakdriver

[3instein]

Thanks for the advice Yakdriver, appreciated. 

 

Mick.

 

[vonLazan]

So I went from this in Photoshop:
 

 

to this in the viewer, any ideas on what's wrong?
 

 
EDIT: Using the Nvidia DDS plugin with DXT5 as you mentioned.

Edited December 26, 2014 by Zak

[9./JG27golani79]

Looks like the UV layout is messed up.

 

Haven´t tried the viewer yet though so I´ve no idea where it might have messed it up.

You didn´t rotate the texture before exporting didn´t you?

[Rodolphe]

...
 
You need to flip your image - skin like this ! With the 777 logo head up !
 

 

 
...

Edited December 26, 2014 by Zak

[J4SCrisZeri]

Thank you for the guide, I have to start playing around and this will be very helpful

 

Maybe you'll add a second part later, to show us what the "advanced users" layers folder can create once we get the skills to manipulate it?

I just had a glance and it looks very very interesting...

[vonLazan]

Thanks gents, yea I had to flip it to put the markings on. Thanks!

[AndyJWest]

I've downloaded the latest version of Gimp (2.8.14), and installed the Gimp DDS plugin from here: https://code.google.com/p/gimp-dds/ This doesn't seem to add a 'save as dds' option to Gimp though - it allows exporting as dds files, but doesn't seem to be working properly. Am I doing something wrong, or have I got the wrong Gimp plugin?

[Yakdriver]

i do not know...
whan you do the export thing, what happens? does Gimp offer to write a DDs file somewhere or  what?
not familiar with it at all :-/

[AndyJWest]

It seems to write a file, but I'm probably not doing it right - I'd got odd results. I've found this thread http://riseofflight.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=112&t=37740&hilit=gimp+dds on the RoF forum which explains how to skin using Gimp, and it seems to be more complicated than using Photoshop.

[Yakdriver]

downloading GIMP. gotta try that myself.

[Yakdriver]

Okay, here goes.

gimp like you, DDS plugin like you.
paint on the template, and then Export

 

chose some weird settings i dont know...
 

 

11. Select compression BC3/DXT5, mipmaps to be generated, open Advanced Options and select Luminance or Distance as color selection. Be aware! Leaving it to
Select Box as mipmap filter (actually you can experiment with other mipmap filters as I couldn't see any difference)

 

(where are luminance and distance?)

 

nope.

...o.O ... ?!!

only the green area i painted shows.

errrrm.... yes. Well, NOPE.

some "save as format" thing going on here.

[AndyJWest]

The instructions I linked above seem to have done the trick:

 

I couldn't find the luminance settings either, this seems to work though:

 

I may need to investigate more...

Edited December 24, 2014 by AndyJWest

[Yakdriver]

second try:
paint some stuff...

Flatten image, instead of exportiing from the unflattened template

layer; Mask, Add new mask...

chose channel, alpha1...

things get semi transparent.

 

export

one can actually simply write "name".dds, Gimp will understand that you want a dds file.
export...

 

dialog box: BC3/DXT5 + GenerateMipmaps

advanced; nearest; mirror (because i cannot find what i should find...)

 

seems to work!

 

[6./ZG26_5tuka]

The instructions I linked above seem to have done the trick:

 

I couldn't find the luminance settings either, this seems to work though:

 

I may need to investigate more...

For me mipmaps dont work. Can you test your skin again exported with mipmaps? (Just asking cause everytime I enabled mipmaps my texture went all transparent).

[6./ZG26_5tuka]

Edit: Never mind, I have it a try and it works for me as well now Don't know what was going on before but well....

Edited December 25, 2014 by Stab/JG26_5tuka

[WhiteEagle]

So following the advice from this topic i've made my first steps in skinning, some White Eagle nose art.

 

 

Thanks and what do you think?

[Yakdriver]

That looks totally like a well-fed happy american white eagle.

in noooo way appropriate for a Butcher bird.

 

on a more serious note, try to cut off the little white pixels that remain around the beak outline.
glad you got everything in place! hopefully without much trouble...

[Yakdriver]

https://code.google.com/p/gimp-dds/
for Gimp

https://developer.nvidia.com/nvidia-texture-tools-adobe-photoshop

for Photoshop

 

?!

[Lupus]

Ok, someone help me please.  I tried the link you provided for the photoshop plugin, and when I try to download it, it always ends up with a page that is not found.  I've done a search on Google and come up empty.  Every article I find efers me back to the same Nvidea page.  Anyone know where I can find a download link for it?

https://code.google.com/p/gimp-dds/
for Gimp

https://developer.nvidia.com/nvidia-texture-tools-adobe-photoshop

for Photoshop

 

?!

Yup.  Clicked it.  Brought up the page, clicked the download link, and "Page not found"

 

I even created a developer account, in case it was something you had to be registered for.  No luck.

 

I also tried using IE, just in case it was a Firefox issue.  Same result.

Edited December 26, 2014 by Lupus

[Jaegermeister]

I had the same problem. I found it here...

 

http://www.instructables.com/file/F32PNWBF11S8SYA/

 

I believe this is the same file just in case....

 

http://www.deadbored.net/qt3/DDS%20Plugin/

[Lupus]

I had the same problem. I found it here...

 

http://www.instructables.com/file/F32PNWBF11S8SYA/

 

I believe this is the same file just in case....

 

http://www.deadbored.net/qt3/DDS%20Plugin/

 

Found that one.  Tried it, when I went to "Save As" it said "Unsupported input format".  I can only imagine that means that my version of Photoshop is to old.  I'm running photoshop CS version 8.0.  Am I right?  The Nvidia site said it supported Photoshop CS.

Edited December 26, 2014 by Lupus

[Yakdriver]

Then DXTBMP by martin Wright is for you.

http://www.mwgfx.co.uk/programs/dxtbmp.htm

save your result as a Bitmap, and convert with DXTBMP
You can even add your own alpha channel in that program

[Lupus]

Then DXTBMP by martin Wright is for you.

http://www.mwgfx.co.uk/programs/dxtbmp.htm

save your result as a Bitmap, and convert with DXTBMP

You can even add your own alpha channel in that program

 

Thank you.  That did the trick.  Guess I need to get a more current version of Photoshop.

[Yakdriver]

CS2 is free
 

[Lupus]

Where do I get it and how?

 

*Edit* NVM, I found it.  Thank you.

Edited December 27, 2014 by Lupus

[Lupus]

Excellent!  I have a working copy of Photoshop CS2.  Now can someone show me where I can successfully download the Nvidea plugin?  I need the full installer, cause the one with just the dds.8i won't work by itself.  Tried that one.

[Yakdriver]

Others have  fixed the issue with a PC reboot after installing the plugin

[BlitzPig_EL]

Can someone explain the Mip Map thing to me?

 

What are they?  What do they do?

 

I have done a couple skins so far and have DL'd some as well, and I see that some have a series of ever smaller copies of themselves when I open them up.  Mine do not and work just fine, I think.

[79_vRAF_Friendly_flyer]

Man, this thread bring back memories of IL2 glory days!

[Lupus]

Ok, I really need someone to host the 32bit installer please.  I managed to get the 32bit installed on my copy of Photoshop 8 CS and it worked differently than the one that is just the drop in, but since I couldn't make it work I deleted it.  Now I really wish I hadn't.  I got the 64 bit installer, but since the CS2 is a 32 bit program, it does nothing for me.

[Yakdriver]

Can someone explain the Mip Map thing to me?

 

What are they?  What do they do?

 

I have done a couple skins so far and have DL'd some as well, and I see that some have a series of ever smaller copies of themselves when I open them up.  Mine do not and work just fine, I think.

well MipMaps are just that. Smaller copies of the Skin, to be applied when the Object is farther away.

 

Lupus, on the Nvidia site, the link for the DDS Plugin.exe, 32bit version is this:

https://developer.nvidia.com/sites/default/files/akamai/tools/files/Photoshop_Plugins_8.55.0109.1800.exe

i am sending a copy to filedropper in case you cannot get the above to work - but that might take a moment.

[Yakdriver]

http://www.filedropper.com/photoshopplugins85501091800
is where its at...

[BlitzPig_EL]

Thanks. Have it all working now.