|
Post by leonrl on Feb 9, 2009 20:09:11 GMT -5
Hello there! My first post here, but I´ll do my best to make it as understandable as possible, so bear with me. I´d like to say that I´ve searched across the forum a bit, but couldn´t find a solution to my problem. If it´s because I haven´t looked good enough, I can´t comment on, but here goes. Having started skinning recently with Photoshop 7.0 (which I find easier to use than CS3), I´ve banged my head straight into a concrete wall concerning the FZ5. My issue with the car is in particular found here: On the rear fender(s). I tried adding a vinyl, in this case a tribal, which started at the lower half of the door, and continued diagonally across the side of the car and - was suppose to - end on top of the fender right before the taillight. But I found it impossible to get the vinyl aligned correctly on both halves of the fender, even if I used the Master Skinnerz skin kit, and CMX Viewer for the job. Is there any golden rule regarding this exact issue, or is it simply that I´m not good enough with Photoshop? With regards - Leon
|
|
Tim
Advanced Skinner
Posts: 157
|
Post by Tim on Feb 9, 2009 20:16:09 GMT -5
I love 7, it's what generally skin with, however, the FZ doesn't tend to interest me...I'll have a fiddle and if no one else has replied I'll let you know what I find...
|
|
|
Post by mikebydzine on Feb 9, 2009 22:01:18 GMT -5
it could be a stretching issue, you do have to compensate for logo stretch by about -33%, that is reduce the horizontal width by a third, because as the image is wrapped it stretches. I have found that curved surfaces differ depending on the severity of the curve, so maybe you could post a screenie of the actual skin file and a CMX shot as well?
|
|
|
Post by MAGGOT on Feb 10, 2009 0:09:53 GMT -5
One thing to note is that you have to take into account the actual curvature of the body. You will not be able to cut the decal straight and have it align properly - in nearly every instance of logo/detailed graphic alignment you WILL have to redraw part of the logo to get it to align. That may not have made sense as I'm extremely sleep deprived and half in the bag. This is one of the things I plan on making a MSz mini-tutorial about when I get the time (which doesn't appear to be anytime within the next 2 weeks God I miss sleep...). Without seeing your actual jpg flat and a shot from the CMX viewer my best advice is just keep trying. Post an image from the viewer along with the JPG flat (maybe with the wireframe shown at a reduced opacity, and cropped to just that location) and we can be of more help.
|
|
|
Post by fichtenelch on Feb 10, 2009 12:48:29 GMT -5
I stretch the whole File to 3413x2048 Pix and then size of decals on the sides matches the stretch factor of the viewer. Other Possible would be to stretch decals to 60% of original size to use it on a 2048x2048 Pix file...
|
|
|
Post by leonrl on Feb 10, 2009 21:05:31 GMT -5
First of all, thankyou for all your replies. Reading through the replies, I get the feeling that several people might have got the wrong idea of what my problem actually is. Problably my fault, because I´m not english, so you´ll just have to bear with me I´ll try again and be more thorough. When I apply the decal I want on the side of my FZ5, the idea is that the decal travels diagonally along the side of the car. Due to the fact that the car has such wide rear fenders, the decal has to travel from the side view of the car, to the top view. An image for reference: Is there any golden rule or easy method of getting the decal to align correctly on both the top (Where the arrow is pointing)- and side view of the car, without too much fuss. - Leon PS: I usually stretch my skins to 2560x2048px. Gives me the best results.
|
|
|
Post by robbymac on Feb 10, 2009 23:21:19 GMT -5
You have to use the wireframe as reference. For example, in your side shot, the E intersects the joint of two meshes (1 triangle back from the door seam). Should you wish to continue the E onto the top view, you would need to continue it at the mesh joint, also 1 triangle behind the door seam.
To compound the problem, side views may be skewed or stretched differently from top views. This is why the wireframes are invaluable tools, because you can use them as guides for aliging seams in decals and paint across the seams (side to top).
Because of this, the odds are good that the top view E would need to be rotated, skewed and possible misfigured to get it to align with the side view and appear seamless. So an artistic touch is needed to manipulate the two joining pieces in order to: A) Be seamless B) Look good/like it belongs
|
|
|
Post by MAGGOT on Feb 11, 2009 0:06:04 GMT -5
Your english is perfect, no worries at all there. Your image is not displaying for me, though, so I can't see exactly where you may need help. That being said, I do know exactly what you're talking about As Robby says, you need to use the wireframe to see where the corresponding pieces of the decal should go. And, as I said before, take into account the curvature of the bodywork. Because the fender bulges out laterally (with a curve), the part of the decal on the top side of the fender will be terminated in a curve and not a straight line like the bottom portion of the decal is. This makes alignment very tricky in some cases. Hopefully that made sense (probably not, though. Half in the bag... again..). I'll try to find some time this weekend to rig up a quick tutorial or something on the issue.
|
|
|
Post by fichtenelch on Feb 11, 2009 11:16:40 GMT -5
And notice that the sides and the top have each different stretching factors. for fz5 imho its 60% sides and 90% top. I use it on 3151x2048 and then you get 100% sides and 67% top...
|
|
|
Post by leonrl on Feb 18, 2009 21:51:24 GMT -5
So what you guys are saying, is that I have to cut the decal in half, and then "rebuild" it on the top half of the fender?
Damn. My skinning capabilities don´t stretch that far.
Oh well, thankyou all for answering my questions.
|
|
|
Post by robbymac on Feb 18, 2009 21:53:35 GMT -5
Dont sell yourself short. Try a test run using a simple shape like a circle or square. Test run until you get it to line up and look good. If you can do that, then you can do text also... it will just take longer is all
|
|