being new at LFS, i have decided to see if i can do my own skinning instead of requesting things. I downloaded paint.net (because its free).
I was trying to find some good default skins with dark backgrounds and came accross masterskinnerz, however, their defaults are .psd and paint.net does not accept these...
Secondly, pls can someone briefly explain how to use layering when creating skins...
GIMP is also a free editing program (similar to PhotoShop) and is free (wow, I said that twice). And I do believe it supports the .psd files from Master-Skinnerz. Their skin kits are a great way to skin since you have a view of the modelling of the car.
As for the rest, well, creativity and everything else. There are some "to be finished" and "base" skins found somewhere in these forums (which I forgot) and many other things. I think it's in the templates section. There's also lots of stuff over there at MS too.
And layering well... Um... What do you mean exactly?
Cool, thanks. with layers, do you use different layers to make a skin or is the entire "car" done in one layer, or is it, say, the left hand door is on one layer, then the roof on another, and maybe the bonnet on a 3rd. i dont really understand layers.
That`s pretty much it. You`ll have little bits here and there spread over different layers. At a very basic level you might have the base colour on the bottom layer, the panel/body details on another, some decals on another layer, then the shadows on top. That sort of thing.
The more detailed your skins get, then usually the more layers you`ll use, so it`s more flexible. You might want to later on remove/change a fuel filler or you might wish you hadn`t added a carbon bonnet. With layers you`d just open the file again, hide the layer with the filler/bonnet and resave your skin again. If you weren`t using layers you`d have had to either start the whole skin from scratch again, or manually edit out the filler/bonnet by hand which could take a while, and depending on skill level, might not look so good.
Just as an example, on my skins, I`m usually using around 30 layers minimum on even a very simple skin. More complicated skins or especially on interior/exterior textures It can be several hundred layers, right down to 20 layers or so just for a door handle (base, gradients, various shapes, washers, bolts, bolt recesses, shading, highlights, etc. All the dirt/grime/wear textures that I`d create to blend into those parts will also be on their own seperate layer)
This just allows me at any time later to go back and replace or reuse any single little part of the skin in a matter of seconds.
Just use your own judgement, and decide if you`ll maybe want to re-edit or change any parts/decals or whatever later, and if so, stick them on a seperate layer to make life easier for yourself.
thanks, that does help, even tho its long. Anther stupid question tho, say u have your background/base colour on the bottom skin. i then add a layer, is this a blank layer again or is it a duplicate of the first layer.
How do i then get to see what the full skin will look like, ie, how do i merge all the layers? You understand what im asking? when i try create different layers and in the one layer, bumper is red, in the other layer, the doors are yellow, how do i see all these layers together?
Generally a new layer will be transparent (if not, there will be a setting to allow it to be), showing everything on the layers below. When you add your graphics on the new layer, it will usually look just like it would if you were adding another graphic onto a single layer skin.
Im really struggling with downloading GIMP. can anyone help me, i install the installation file, but when i try to run it, it tells me the setup files are corrupt or missing?
ok, i downloaded GIMP and am getting cracking at some skinning. ive downloaded kits from master skinnerz and am starting to figure out the layers thing...
What im not quite figuring out are the wirelays? ive read the explanations relating to 3D this and that, but to me, it just looks like millions of triangles!
The Wireframes are the outline of the 3d car model faces. They allow you to see where the exact edges of the model of the car lie to make it easier to skin accurately.
If they are getting in the way then either click the eye icon to the left of the wireframe layer to hide it, or just set the opacity of the layer to a lot less so it isn`t as visible.
They not getting in the way. i figured out how to hide them using the eye thing :-) i was just curious how to use the wireframe to make the skin look more "proffesional".
So basically, u can use it to make sure that your graphics arent gonna look funny cause they overlay onto a surface that isnt quite flat etc?
Once you get used to them, they`ll help you visualise how the model is shaped, as well as showing you where the edges of the seperate skin sections join together on the model.
Here`s a very quick example pic. The thin green lines show you which edges are joined on the car, even though they aren`t on the skinfile.
The purple lines point to a few areas of the skin and wireframe that touch each other. It would have been a lot harder to match up the edges of the white faded curve (purple arrows) if there wasn`t a wireframe to show where and at what angles the edges line up.
Press "B" or select the "Create and edit paths" tool. Left click once on the canvas to start your line, then select another place, right-click and hold the mouse button down while you drag the mouse. This`ll give you a curved line. You can drag the arms that stick out of a dragged point to alter it`s angle and length. You can keep adding points to make more complex curves, or join your last point to the first one to make a closed shape.
Once you`re happy, In the tool properties for the "Create and edit paths" tool, click "Create selection from path" to make a selection that you can cut, copy, fill, etc, or you can click "Stroke path" just to make a solid line along your path.
