Author Topic: I need help on how to make a new skin (Read 335 times)

Austin · « **on:** April 30, 2006, 08:14:58 PM »

when i got to select "save default skin" and after i do that i don't know how to creat a new folder in the skins directory and i don't know where the skins directory is.

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Lord ReDhAwK · « **Reply #1 on:** April 30, 2006, 10:04:02 PM »

Hey Austin,

When you selected "save default skin" a folder was generated in your c/program files/htc/aces high 2/skins directory. Just navigate to there and go into the folder (for example, if a p51d, the folder will be named p51d.) Inside you will find lots of bitmaps. Just find the one named p51d.bmp. You may need to preview a few different ones until you find the one you need.

Hope this helps.
ReDhAwK

gnubee · « **Reply #2 on:** May 02, 2006, 01:56:35 PM »

Hey all...i've got a bit of a question too.

I've lurked on this particular part of the bbs for some time (cause I just love seeing the sweet stuff you guys are putting out.)

But now I'm thinking of taking the plunge so to speak. I've read Festers photoshop guide (it's chock full of great info) and I'm decent enough with photoshop.

But my question is this... keep in mind it's really stupid.

How the Heck are you supposed to know where to draw? Geeze! For example, I opened up the pony-b skin (export file etc) and I looked at the bmp it self.

It makes no freak'n sense to me where to paint what I would like to paint as far as how the image will be wrapped on the 3d model. So my follow up question is this. Is it all just trial and error? Do you just put the panel lines down for a wing for example and hope they show up in the right place?

Or is there a rosetta stone out there that can point us newbies in the right direction?

Thanks guys.

Pooface · « **Reply #3 on:** May 02, 2006, 02:06:20 PM »

you take the bitmap, and put a new transparent layer on top so that you can see what you're doing. usually, you just go over the panel lines on the default skin, like tracing them, but on some you might want to do your own.

just look at how it appears on the default, and make sure that yours has everything in the same places as the default:aok

Mustaine · « **Reply #4 on:** May 02, 2006, 02:07:29 PM »

gnubee... the default skin should show the wings and fuselage and all that, but yes you have to figure out where things wrap and meet.

notice there are 2 top wings, and 2 bottom for example. 1 matches with another. exactly where they end and meet is something of a dilema, and there are different ways of figuring it out.

on ah-skins there was a file called skin finder or something. basically a grid of letters colored differently. you can put that on the plane then know approximates.

there are also templates of just panel lines and stuff on ah-skins.

personally what i did was make a blue/white checkerboard where each pixel alternated. i pasted it over and over along a wing edge leaving the underside blank. in the skin viewer i could follor the number of pixels that showed, and know to the exact pixel where the wing edge ended. i did that along the whole surface of the plane (i know took a long time) once i was done i had a black background and wherever it was blank was the plane surfaces. i then pasted someone elses panel lines over the top of that, then re-drew them according to books and images i found. i made sure each matched as precisely as i could.