Weathering

[Legioneod]

What are yalls tips for weathering aircraft? Do you use any custom brushes or just go at it with references?

 

I'm having a hard time getting the right look for weathering be it oil/dirt or paint chipping, etc. How do yall go about it?

[NETSCAPE]

I am not good at professional level textures. But thank god you are thinking this way... I can't stand fresh, clean, glossy planes!!! 

[DetCord12B]

1 hour ago, Legioneod said:

What are yalls tips for weathering aircraft? Do you use any custom brushes or just go at it with references?

 

I'm having a hard time getting the right look for weathering be it oil/dirt or paint chipping, etc. How do yall go about it?

 

I mean it's all up to you. Though I tend to stick with moderate to heavy weathering as the aircraft went through varying seasons of varying severity and were typically stationed on expeditionary airfields. The environment took a toll on the birds, really on the EF and during the latter stages of the war given that they were almost constantly airborne fending off British and American bomber formations. 

 

As for brushes, I'd suggest doing a Google search for PS brushes with keywords like chipped paint, erosion, scratches etc. You'll come across a lot of freebies, especially on DeviantArt and Brusheezy. As for their usage in obtaining the desired result, again, that's up to you, mate.

 

Example - This one I've been working on is fairly heavily distressed. 

 

[Legioneod]

9 hours ago, NETSCAPE said:

I am not good at professional level textures. But thank god you are thinking this way... I can't stand fresh, clean, glossy planes!!! 

Yep, can't stand super clean and shiney aircraft. I prefer a worn and used look. Always thought the aircraft in this game were to shiney.

 

 

9 hours ago, detcord12b said:

 

I mean it's all up to you. Though I tend to stick with moderate to heavy weathering as the aircraft went through varying seasons of varying severity and were typically stationed on expeditionary airfields. The environment took a toll on the birds, really on the EF and during the latter stages of the war given that they were almost constantly airborne fending off British and American bomber formations. 

 

As for brushes, I'd suggest doing a Google search for PS brushes with keywords like chipped paint, erosion, scratches etc. You'll come across a lot of freebies, especially on DeviantArt and Brusheezy. As for their usage in obtaining the desired result, again, that's up to you, mate.

 

Example - This one I've been working on is fairly heavily distressed. 

 

 

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

 

 

 

I really can't wait for the japanese aircraft so I can do some heavy weathering like this:

 

[szelljr]

7 hours ago, Legioneod said:

Yep, can't stand super clean and shiney aircraft. I prefer a worn and used look. Always thought the aircraft in this game were to shiney.

 

 

 

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

 

 

 

I really can't wait for the japanese aircraft so I can do some heavy weathering like this:

 

...Why you need Japonese planes for that? Make with  P 40, A20B......JU 52.

[Legioneod]

48 minutes ago, szelljr said:

...Why you need Japonese planes for that? Make with  P 40, A20B......JU 52.

 

All the references I've seen don't show this severity of weathering. I could do it for other aircraft of course but I haven't seen any real references for it.

[Raptorattacker]

16 hours ago, Legioneod said:

I could do it for other aircraft of course but I haven't seen any real references for it.

Y'don't need references really. Just suss out where the weathering IS (leading edges/exhaust/joints and panel edges with paint chips) and go for it. Also, don't forget to enhance it on the Alpha as well (shiny for paint chips, dull for oil and smoke stains etc). Go mad, go dirty!!

[Legioneod]

4 hours ago, Raptorattacker said:

Y'don't need references really. Just suss out where the weathering IS (leading edges/exhaust/joints and panel edges with paint chips) and go for it. Also, don't forget to enhance it on the Alpha as well (shiny for paint chips, dull for oil and smoke stains etc). Go mad, go dirty!!

Thanks. Just having a really hard time trying to get it to look right. Do you just do it with brushes only or do you use mask or other techniques?

[Raptorattacker]

10 minutes ago, Legioneod said:

Do you just do it with brushes only or do you use mask or other techniques?

Juusst brushes. Mess around with opacity and flow (and the brushes) but yeah.

[Legioneod]

51 minutes ago, Raptorattacker said:

Juusst brushes. Mess around with opacity and flow (and the brushes) but yeah.

Ok thanks.

[Legioneod]

Here's some of the work I've done so far.

 

Hows it look? Good or Bad?

 

[BOO]

Id be very pleased with it! 

[Raptorattacker]

So would I although I would say that it's a little TOO weathered, even for me!! Maybe just back it off a tiny bit, just a TINY bit?

I mean, on that plane the invasion stripes would've been one of the last things painted on it so they wouldn't be quite as weathered as that but then, if you want weathered then they look great. I been thinking of doing like a 'barn-find' skin for something lately... not got round to it just yet though.

[Legioneod]

47 minutes ago, Raptorattacker said:

So would I although I would say that it's a little TOO weathered, even for me!! Maybe just back it off a tiny bit, just a TINY bit?

I mean, on that plane the invasion stripes would've been one of the last things painted on it so they wouldn't be quite as weathered as that but then, if you want weathered then they look great. I been thinking of doing like a 'barn-find' skin for something lately... not got round to it just yet though.

 

I agree with you about the invasion stripes. Probably gonna back it down some and do something similar to this.

 

 

Looks like the black paint lasted a bit longer than the white, gonna try to represent that.

 

Also probably gonna add more variation in the colors, something like this:

Edited April 6, 2018 by Legioneod

[Raptorattacker]

Yeah, that's the kind of thing. I mean, it aint written in stone when y'do something. It's your paintjob so you can always go back and mess around with it and you don't really know how it looks until you put it actually ON the plane and test it, do you? Keep on keeping on, you're definitely in the ball park for sure!! 

A lot of the planes had variation in the overall colour schemes anyway. Not only from 'weathering' but also depending on what undersurface the paint was on (bare metal. canvas surfaces etc) and where they'd been patched up over damage 'in the field', y'know?

Edited April 6, 2018 by Raptorattacker

[The_Gunfighter]

I really like the weathered look of early war planes, but the wet look  kinda kills it for me, looks too much like a kid who went nuts on weathering a model plane, then gloss coated the bejesus out of it. 

 

And Legioneod, might hit up chappy and them, they use Japanese themed skins on FW190's and such for their Australia/Pacific theater mods, they might be interested in some of your work!

[Legioneod]

6 hours ago, VF31_Gunfighter said:

I really like the weathered look of early war planes, but the wet look  kinda kills it for me, looks too much like a kid who went nuts on weathering a model plane, then gloss coated the bejesus out of it. 

 

And Legioneod, might hit up chappy and them, they use Japanese themed skins on FW190's and such for their Australia/Pacific theater mods, they might be interested in some of your work!

I agree with you about the glossiness, I haven't edited the Alpha channel at all yet so its still glossy, once I'm done it should have a nice variation between gloss and matte depending on if its bare metal or dirt/grime, etc. 

[The_Gunfighter]

Oh that wasn't a poke at you Legion, it was more aimed at the game itself. I have seen in a few places that the devs want the wet look, which is mind boggling to me. 

[Raptorattacker]

Yeah but 'historically' the groundcrew kept the planes as clean as they could, conditions permitting. Personally I'm a great favourite of a 'matter' look but a lot of that is pure enhancement for the player of the game really. If historical is the aim then I don't think it can be faulted as the physics of a matte' plane governs that it quite literally makes it less efficient at doing what it's meant to do. A similar comparison could be levelled at gunsounds, for instance. If you wanted amore 'action-packed-sounding' experience then you would have reverb and such every time you hit the trigger but that aint what gunshots sound like is it? Someone did a great mod pack for WT with more realistic sounding guns and it's surprising how much like peashooters they sound yet this IS what they sounded like!!

I'd just say that the creators of the game do as much as they can to be accurate and if we want dirty and matte-looking planes then we can easily do that for ourselves. Simples, Sergei!! 

10 hours ago, VF31_Gunfighter said:

I have seen in a few places that the devs want the wet look, which is mind boggling to me.