P40E - 18th FG, 44th FS

[MnkyMeat]

It needs more than just black lines to indicate panel lines.
So far it looks more like a drawing instead of a texture.

The example above,,,   compare them, ,  well except for the lines ,, beacuase those need to be adapted to look well in 3D
The example pic has weathering and changes in tone, , , you should try adding that to your skin.

I dont know what program you are using but  in photoshop.. here is a way to make the lines look better.

- First Duplicate the layer with the lines than modify it by cranking the brightness and contrast all the way up. This will make the lines white.  
- Move this layer underneath the black line layer.
- And now nudge the white lines one or 2 pixels to the South and East (or West what ever U feel is better)  
- now apply a guassian blur of .5 or up to 2 pixels (assuming you Texture is at 1024 res wich it should be)
- Change the layer From Normal to "overlay" this will make any other layer coulors show through it.
- Now take your black lines layer 80-70% opacity .. and maybe apply a slight blur to it,,  lets say .5 pixel.. if the lines are still to sharp.

- paint all your details on seperate layers, below your  panel lines layers.

Oh One More Thing.... Please make sure that any colours especialy black or white are not 100% true.  becuse you can't add highlight to 100% white ,,, thats as bright as it gets.   same with black but with shadow.  save true black for things like the shell Eject holes on bottome of wings etc.

Hope this helps.

I will post my WIP soon,,, so maybe it will help.


MonkeyMeat

hope this helps.

[Octavius]

I've been using Paint Shop Pro 8 and I actually did what you describe, only a little different.  The first several pics were adjusted (colors, contrast, etc) and don't do the panel lines any justice.  From a distance it does give the look of merely a black line.  I agree, it looks a tad bogus.  Up close it's different.  I can tweak it a little more.

[MnkyMeat]

Yah looks better close up,  but still like black lines. ..  try bringing the highlight of the panellines  ... uh  make it brighter and the black lines make the a lil more transparent , , , also  ., try adding abit of detail to the paint job,  
   i.e. some tones so the white is just a tad more grey,,, so that you can actualy see the white highlight from the panels on them once you bring that up.

The rivits look pretty good. . .  thats one thing i haven't done on my texture yet, , ,  im not sure if I will, , , they look good close up  but from a distance ,,, depending on the plane some are Unraped better than others,,,, they look really busy and kind of distract from the actual texture, , kind of  starts to look like a grid patern    , ,, hmmm gonna have to think about that one.

Well keep it up almost there.


MonkeyMeat

[Octavius]

[SlapShot]

^^^ HOLY CRAP !!!

It looks like I can reach out and touch it !!!

Now ya just gotta make it dirty and that baby is ready for the flight line.

You know your gonna have to add the shark's mouth when ya get done with this one ...

[Krusty]

I think the star on the wing is too large. Compare to the photo of the shark's mouth version and the 102 version in the original post. The star is about 15-20% smaller than the one you have on the wing. It's a minor detail, but a detail nonetheless.

I think this skin looks awesome. I'd like to see the 102 version with the striped tail instead of the solid white, as well.

[MnkyMeat]

Wow nice detailing there!

Hey check out my Tyffy skin post in the forum.
Its got alot of dirt and scratches....
not that that much are nessesary   but...  even a litle bit of varitaion in the coulours ands alot.

MonkeyMeat

[B17Skull12]

still got 3 flags there dweeb.  4 is what is needed.

[Wadke]

Then white lines on the P-40s was for identification as to which side they were on. When American Pilots first fought combat in the Pacific they would shoot at planes flown by RNZAF pilots because of mistaken identity. It worked for a while but the planes were shot at again so more lines were painted on the wings,fuselage and tail. Also drawings were handed out to depict what RNZAF planes were detailed in IE(color, stripes, wing markings)

[Octavius]

[B17Skull12]

ok now yer good.

[Kevin14]

Holy shi* Octavius, it looks so much better now with actual panel lines instead of black lines.  So awesome!

[Howitzer]

I concur, that is sweet!

[MnkyMeat]

Hey Octavious!

looking way better now, ,

Try adding some warping in the metal. . . If you look at an alluminum plane there is a lot of dents and warping in the metal.

You can do this by painting ontop of the colours (on seperate layer)  with Black and white squigles and lines ..  paint them 10-15 opacity. .  or less. . . u can tweak it by playing with the overal layer opacity.

Use a soft brush, ,  and make the lines  so that they sorta relate to whats going on in the paneling and rivit lines. .  
if ya know what I mean?

MonkeyMeat

[Octavius]

Submitted to AH-Skins.com

[edit]:  ahh crap!  I had a brain fart and submitted it as the 18th FG instead of 13th.  I'm retarded - sent a message to Lucull to delete the original.   I resubmitted the corrected version.  doh  [/edit]