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Post by oli17 on May 21, 2009 4:47:23 GMT -5
hi, i'm fairly new to making skins, i have photoshop but use GIMP. i'm getting S2 soon and am scheduled for racing in my first league in about 5 weeks. the car is XFG, and i was wondering if anyone had any tips for making a skin that looks really cool but also like a racing car (sponsers etc.) and anyone got any good files for modding the appearance, such as lights, interior etc. as i say i'm very new so can u use basic terminology please thanks, Oli
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Post by TsunamiSephi on May 21, 2009 8:38:13 GMT -5
As you can see, especially on the forum, everybody has a particular style. Some go for simple, but stark, others like a lot of noise and keep their skins busy. Personally, I go a bit flamboyant with my skins, as it's not common to see everyday. Creating a style for yourself is key in skinning and standing out. Do something that no-one's tried yet, use colors that arent commonly used. One of my favorite skins is an FXO uses a pee-stain yellow, but on the car looks great. Don't be afraid to experiment for sure. The one thing I'll tell you now is don't expect perfection if this is your first year skinning. I've been doing it for 6 or so years now and I still look like poo compared to most of these guys here. Be proud of whatever you do in terms of skinning and always take criticism lightheartedly. Here's a great example of my style (even though there's no camoflauge )
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Post by teazR on May 21, 2009 14:26:22 GMT -5
I'd start with replicas to get an idea of the basics. Just do what you like and go from there.
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Post by oli17 on May 21, 2009 14:28:57 GMT -5
wow that is unusual lol. i think i'm ok mostly on the actual basic skinning, it's just any particular techniques or ways of skinning (e.g. size of sponsor logos etc.) and if you have any good interiors and/or lights you could send me that'd be great
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Post by MAGGOT on May 21, 2009 15:51:36 GMT -5
For sponsor sizes, have a look at real world paintschemes to get an idea of the 'norm.'
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Post by oli17 on May 22, 2009 14:49:36 GMT -5
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Post by MAGGOT on May 22, 2009 15:53:07 GMT -5
First comment is about the low resolution of the skin itself, which makes the whole thing blurry. The gradient on the left side doesn't align with the gradient on the top. I'd remove the Ferrari badge from the car as it's clearly not a prancing horse . If you're dead-set on the carbon fiber on the rear, find a way to make it tie into the scheme better instead of just ending at the sides of the mapped area of the rear. Maybe a nice line, or have it fit just in the rear hatch only. Same goes for the carbon fiber hood; carry it onto the front of the hood. Also, use a smaller weave for a more realistic look. I like the red cross over the carbon fiber on the mirrors (again, i suggest a smaller weave, though) and I like the pinstripes down the side. I think the driver name in red gets lost though, there's not enough contrast so it's hard to see. As this thread has race in the title, I assume you're going for a race car scheme in which case a number would be appropriate. The tribal design on the rear also seems out of place as it doesn't exist anywhere else on the scheme. I'd remove that and go for the simpler look. Or, of course, you could incorporate that elsewhere on the car. If you decide to do that, be careful to not just tack on tribal designs to the rest of the car or else it will look just that - tacked on. Designs like that need to all work together and work with the car itself. Tribal, I find, is tricky to work with as it usually just winds up looking like a decal some kid pasted on the side of his tuner; and that's exactly what it usually is. It should tie into the design across multiple body panels and flow with the car. That's about all the criticism I have for it. It's a nice start, keep at it.
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Post by oli17 on May 22, 2009 16:20:26 GMT -5
thanks do u have any idea where to get the things u suggested (e.g. small CF weave, higher resolution generally, what colour should i use for my name, and how do i get the CF to particular areas (e.g. bonnet and back hatch)? the number's on its way (http://www.lfsforum.net/showthread.php?t=57175).
thanks for the help by the way
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Post by MAGGOT on May 22, 2009 16:27:47 GMT -5
No problem, that's what this forum is for. For a larger, use the Master Skinnerz Pro Kits. They're 2048x2048, and contain a wireframe layer to help in aligning things across multiple panels. For positioning carbon weave (or any texture) that method depends on the software you're using as they do not all handle things the same way. I've never used the GIMP so I can't help with that. For a small weave, again that will depend on your program. You should be able to scale the texture you use somehow to make it smaller in relation to the skin's pixel size, though. For your name, easiest option is white (generally, I'll use either white or black for maximum contrast against the backgroun colour), however you could also use the same green as the end of the pinstripe. Ryan
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Tim
Advanced Skinner
Posts: 157
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Post by Tim on May 22, 2009 16:49:46 GMT -5
I tend to use the CF texture from the download section here, it suits the scale of the Pro-kits IMO, remember to squish it horizontally a bit (yes, that's a technical term ) Personally, I'd go for white for the name for punchy-ness (another tech term...) a nice blue etc would go with the green but white will be most legible in the current placing. I actually avoid red/green combos entirely. The Pro-kits from here have the extremely useful wireframe, but also have layers such as 'hood' etc which should help with cutting your CF, in Gimp, using wand tool, Shift+Leftclick will select multiple areas, such as the top and front of the bonnet (hood) Basically though, just play about and have fun EDIT: Seeing Maggot's avatar and mine one after the other allways makes me chuckle, basically the same shot but...
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Post by oli17 on May 23, 2009 9:30:18 GMT -5
so what is/how do i use the wireframe? i saw it but don't really understand the point of it. also, with the bonnet thing, how does it being a separate layer help? and how do i paste the CF so it only goes right on the bonnet?
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Post by MAGGOT on May 23, 2009 9:43:09 GMT -5
The wireframe shows where the polygons of the 3D model are mapped onto the skin itself. By using it as a guide, you can see where different elements of your skin cross body panels, assisting you in aligning your skin to prevent any seams.
As for the carbon on the bonnet bit; Paste your carbon fiber on a new layer in GIMP. Select the empty area around the 'bonnet', then activate the carbon fiber layer and delete the excess, resulting in a bonnet-shaped carbon fiber layer.
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Post by oli17 on May 23, 2009 10:02:40 GMT -5
i selected the "back" layer, but when i pasted the carbon fibre onto just the back hatch, as u suggested, it was pasted with the wire frame over the top. how do i stop this, and how do i trim the excess CF off? i can't work it out
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Tim
Advanced Skinner
Posts: 157
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Post by Tim on May 23, 2009 10:10:20 GMT -5
also, with the bonnet thing, how does it being a separate layer help? and how do i paste the CF so it only goes right on the bonnet? A quickie as I'm off for me dinner This is how I do a quick bonnet using Pro-Kit and the pre-squished CF 1 - Copy and Paste CF texture onto Pro-Kit 2 - Put any layer you want CF on top of this new CF layer 3 - Use the wand tool (highlighted) to select any parts you want CF, in this case both parts of the bonnet, by holding Shift and left clicking. Ctrl+i to invert selection. (In this case as it's only one layer you could just click the background of the layer instead) 4 - Select the new CF layer and hit Delete. Done. It should render like this:
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Post by oli17 on May 23, 2009 10:40:12 GMT -5
thanks, but that didn't work for me. when i deleted the CF layer everything went, including on the bonnet
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