Open letter to skinners

[Zargos]

Hello dear skinners,

 

It's been many months that we can make skins for IL2-BOS. Thanks to the excellent public templates and to the clever mapping, making skins is both easy and pleasant. Thus many new skinners take the opportunity to make their firsts skins. It's a real enjoyment to discover all those nice creations. But …

 

To be honest I'm a bit disappointed that many skinners don't try to make skins completely of their own: they just create the paint scheme and use the weathering and alpha layers of the public templates. The result is that even the paint scheme is really good (and it is more than very good more than very often), all the skins tend to be alike because they have the same weathering and paint chipping. I consider it is a pity for two reasons.

 

The first one is that even though the public templates are excellent, the weathering and paint chipping are often to strong and doesn't render the look of real planes. Very often too (but that is my opinion) the alpha layer make the painting too glossy while real war paintings were rather matt.

 

The second one is that, as I told it before, all the skins look almost the same as if it were the same person that had made them.

I'm an old skinner (mostly by the age and a little bit by the experience) who had started with the first IL2 Sturmovik in 2001. At this time we didn't have layered template: we used to start our skins from a "void" file (a single layer bmp file with only the aircraft parts and the panel lines and the rivets). So we had to make everything from scratch: panels lines, rivets, paint scheme, markings, stencils and weathering. Since each skinner make things his own way, there were as many styles as skinners and it was possible from a simple screenshot to guess who the author of the skin was.

I'm not sure that it is that simple with many BOS skins.

 

I consider it is a pity that so many talented skinners as you are don't take the time or don't make the effort to make their own weathering and to create their own alpha layer. Your paint schemes are really good and I'm sure that if you do that you shall make even better skins.

The weathring is the "soul" of the skin. Why not try to print your mark on this soul ?

In addtion, I'm sure you'll get even more satisfaction to make something really personnal and to share it with the community

 

Don't misunderstand my word:  it is not my intention to criticize the work of any of the skinners, not at all. I just want to give my point of view and try to stimulate the skinners community. Challenges and friendly emulation make things to improve

So, keep up your good work ...

But stop being simple painters and become true skinners!

Edited December 16, 2015 by UF_Zargos

[6./ZG26_5tuka]

I'm good with explaining my position:

 

The official templates are very good and detailed as expected from a comercial product. That does not mean they're perfect ( or better say well suited) for different types of skins. Paint shemes differed greatly from plane to plane, theatre to theatre, pilot to pilot. Weathering is telling sth about the history of the airrcaft, where it was flown, how much combat it saw, how long it's service life is - with other words it is very important to make a plane appear like it's a combat aircraft.

 

The weathering layers in the templates are generic, they're applyed on all official skins ingame making them look somewhat generic (as Zargos explained).

Thats why I use a combination of finetuned official weathering layers (where and if it's suits my refference and appeal) and self made weathering.

 

I'm honest, I'm not very professional at it and my work is mostly based on trial and error when it comes to such details. However, like with everything else, you can learn, adopt and improve on it.

 

Alpha layers also are a major part of the skins appearance so I create new customized alpha layers for every skin I make. Again default alphas are not bad, but generic and include some trivial errors like shiny cockpit textures and panel lines. Another major benefit of customizing the alpha channel is advanced material modeling, which I tried to explain in y Alpha channel guide. It can upgrade a skin from 100 to 150% awesomeness with little more effort if used right.

 

However, not everybody is up to the job (time, expirience, fun) to do all this on his own and resorts to official ressources instead, which he is not to blame for.

[BlackHellHound1]

Heey Zargos,

 

If you have followed my museum then you will see that a while ago I started a project to do just that. Change the templates to my own liking with new scratch, exhaust and other dirt patterns.

Like I stated in my museum: I wanted to do this a long time ago but thanks to school I had to put the project on hold.

I have recently started updating my skins with the new templates. You can find more info on my museum.

As is typical for me I made use of many ww2 pictures to construct my template and alpha layers. I probably wont make unique patterns for individual skins except for those that actually have clear differences.

 

However, I did choose to do something that some might not like. I wanted my skins to be unique but at the same time I did not want them to look strange amongst the games original skins. To do this I kept a look that is similar to that of the skins in game. Of course with my own personal additions and alpha layer. The reason why I only slightly change the look of the the alpha layer effects is because they already look quite realistic. (I did have to rebuild them completely)

 

I my honest opinion: the templates provided by the devs are not all that bad. Of course there are flaws here and there (that is why I have remade some of the skins) but apart from those flaws they are really good. 

 

Making these custom templates is not easy though. Lots of research, time, experience and trail and error are needed in order to make a good looking custom template. I would like to see some more people with there own template but I am well aware that not everyone has the time and/or abilities to do this.

Edited December 16, 2015 by =[Coffin]=BlackHellHound1

[SOLIDKREATE]

I have used my own weathering for all my skins and I even re-make the service markings and national insignia's. I eve correct some panel lines as well. I wish we have access to the 'N' files (normal maps). Maybe then you would see completely re-done skin templates. This is all that is holding me back from doing just that.

 

I have corrected all Bf-109 skins on War Thunder back when I flew that. And I fixed the F4U-1 Corsair too. I also fixed the 109's in IL-2: 1946. Sadly due to an HDD crash I have none of those things anymore. Don't assume that all of us who skin are lazy. Most of our time is spent on research which is why I have not released my Hermann Graf F-4 yet. All of my Bf-110's I made for my unit differ in some way or another.

Edited December 16, 2015 by 6./ZG1=SPEKTRE76

[SCG_Space_Ghost]

I have used my own weathering for all my skins and I even re-make the service markings and national insignia's. I eve correct some panel lines as well. I wish we have access to the 'N' files (normal maps). Maybe then you would see completely re-done skin templates. This is all that is holding me back from doing just that.

 

I have corrected all Bf-109 skins on War Thunder back when I flew that. And I fixed the F4U-1 Corsair too. I also fixed the 109's in IL-2: 1946. Sadly due to an HDD crash I have none of those things anymore. Don't assume that all of us who skin are lazy. Most of our time is spent on research which is why I have not released my Hermann Graf F-4 yet. All of my Bf-110's I made for my unit differ in some way or another.

 

I remember when you started putting boot prints on the wing roots of your skins - genius!

[SOLIDKREATE]

I still do  =o)

[JGr2/J5_W0LF-]

Yup genius!

[707shap_Srbin]

Zargos mate.

 

For ~week I choose what I will paint. The most interesting for me, may be ace or something.

Then, I start to search reference. Photo reference, I mean, not just stupid "color profiles". 

"Target" aircraft, if possible - from all angles. 

If some part I dont see on the photo, the most interesting part starts.

1. I find out the date of photo.

2. I find W.Nr. of this aircraft, recognise factory and party of this aircraft, where and when it was built, and starting to search other aircrafts from this party (batch). Often they wear simular camouflage, just with different fast identification elements e.t.c., if not overhowled or overpainted.

3. I look on "style" of other aircrafts of thiss Staffel, how they wear markings, emblems e.t.c., to the last thing.

4. I look in Luftwaffe losss lists to find out possible pilot of this aircraft. Was is "personal" aircraft or just "spare" aircraft. For this, I need to look into Logbooks of several pilots, or into Logbooks of various Regiments (f possible).

 

I can say, that painting my last skin, 3U+CM W.Nr.4088 was a real challange! It was a very hard quest, since I saw only "408x" on photo, and knew that it was summer 1941, i.e. before ZG26 adopted its famous "HW" chield.

 

So, here is emlems of 4./ZG26 during 1941.

After 2-weel search, I managed to find out its pilot - it was Oblt. Hubel!

Edited December 18, 2015 by 1./ZG1_Panzerbar

[Jaws2002]

Agree with you on that one, Zargos, but, for me at least, I'm too busy, and too clueless, to do it from scratch.     The templates give me a chance to make some skins, even if I don't have the time, or experience, to do it right.   

 It's use most of the template, or don't do it at all.   I try to modify the template, to fix the overdone panel lines, weathering, rivets or the way too shiny alpha.

 

I absolutely agree with you about the alpha being way too shiny and in most cases, it's the alpha that will make all skins looking the same. No matter how much you reduce, or modify the weathering and panel lines, if you don't modify the alpha, once the game lighting acts on your plane, the same overdone effects will show on the skin. The alpha on the recent Mig-3 is the perfect example.

 

But as I already told you, sadly, we don't always have time, or the skill to do it from scratch.

[Jaws2002]

BTW. Now that we are at it, anyone know of a good Photoshop tutorial to make the alpha from scratch, I just hate the alpha on the Mig-3.

[6./ZG26_5tuka]

BTW. Now that we are at it, anyone know of a good Photoshop tutorial to make the alpha from scratch, I just hate the alpha on the Mig-3.

You might find this helpfull: http://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/15420-custom-alpha-channel-tutorial-gimp-advanced-skinners/ Although it's not Photoshop the principles are exactly the same.

[II/JG17_HerrMurf]

Hey Zargos,

 

I have been downloading you skins since '46. Keep up the good work. This game is young and some of the skinners are fresh. They'll get innovative soon enough and some already have. Salute to all skinners. I have yet to dip my toes in that pool.