P-51D Skin Wanted - But Can It Be Done?

[Vraciu]

The neutral value is a RGB value of 128, see this screen shot.

Excellent!!!!!!!  Thank you.  That is perfect.

[Vraciu]

You're talking about the specular map now correct? That is what adjusts the shine on individual parts. On the Spec. map, black is pure flat and white full shine. When you make yours, avoid using pure black or white. You will never find real components that flat or shiny, ever.

Well....  Compare the following to my original skin.   I brightened this one by 20 percent or so.  Ignoring everything but the natural metal...is this how to make it look more "silver" like the real airplane?  (First is brightened, second original.)

[Devil 505]

Well....  Compare the following to my original skin.   I brightened this one by 20 percent or so.  Ignoring everything but the natural metal...is this how to make it look more "silver" like the real airplane?  (First is brightened, second original.)

Well, I've never tried to replicate bare metal on any of my skins. I wouldn't necessarily make it any lighter, some skinners make the base colors too light and to me it looks fake. That said, making a realistic bare metal effect is hardest thing about skinning. I'd ask Greebo how he does his, since he is hands down the master of bare metal.

[Greebo]

Looking at your bump map I see you have made the panel lines and rivets subtly different from the base grey in order to avoid the effect being too stark. This isn't the best way to do this. This is because although there are 256 shades of grey available in the bump map the game does not read 256 variations of level from it, I'd guess its more like 16 or 32 levels of bump. The problem with using subtly different shades of grey is that sometimes the game will treat them both as the same level of bump.

A better way to tone down the bumps is to edit the P51D_B_d.txt file. The last line of this has two numbers and the second of these is the one you edit. If it has for example a value of 0.250000 it means the maximum bump (black to white on the bmp) will be three inches (0.25 of a foot). So reducing that figure to 0.025000 would make the biggest bump 0.3 inches. You can then make your blacks and whites on the bmp a lot more vivid and they will be read by the game but not cause massive bumps.

I'd suggest looking at one of my default bare metal skins' specularity maps to get an idea of the shades I use. The P-47D-25 or Ki-43 for instance. Basically though anything painted will be dark grey and anything bare metal light grey. Also dark panel lines and any shadow effects should be transferred to the spec map. Looking at your last screenshot the anti glare panel looks far too shiny. With that area turned much darker on the bump map than the bare metal it will kill that shine and look much more realistic.

I linked my old bare metal tutorial in your "working in layers" thread. Its a bit out of date as AH didn't have spec maps then and the material.txt shown is invalid for the current game, but for painting the basic skin its worth reading.

[Vraciu]

Excellent input as always.   I definitely agree with you on the anti-glare panel.  That was what jumped out at me the most with my first view of the bump map on.  (I have so far only messed with that nose section until I can understand the settings).   Still cloning the additional layers for the full bump map...

I will look at everything you've suggested.

That said, I need to loop back to one point.   Am I going to have to repaint my base layer if I want the metal to look lighter or can I accomplish that by adjusting brightness, contrast, color balance, etc.?  (Probably in your tutorial, which I read, believe it or not.)

http://www.swissmustangs.ch/mediac/400_0/media/413287.jpg

[Greebo]

If you have made the painted areas of the skin as different layers to the bare metal layer then you can simply change the colour of that layer. If you have painted it all on one layer then you'd have to use a colour picker tool to select the bare metal area to adjust. It doesn't look like it needs to be lighter to me though.

[Vraciu]

If you have made the painted areas of the skin as different layers to the bare metal layer then you can simply change the colour of that layer. If you have painted it all on one layer then you'd have to use a colour picker tool to select the bare metal area to adjust. It doesn't look like it needs to be lighter to me though.

Even compared to the actual photos?   Fair enough.  Thanks, Greebo.

[Vraciu]

The base looks pretty good, but it seems a bit too clean and: No weathering, exhaust stains, smoke stains from the guns, etc. Lack of these details kind of makes it come across as rather flat and lifeless.

Playing with bump mapping and spec mapping...    Trying different things.  I think I have figured out what to do with the cowling panels.

I see what Saxman was trying to get at.   Even this little bit has made a difference...

[Greebo]

It could do with a exhaust stain along the fuselage. If you look at the photo you can see a faint stain running from the rear of the exhaust and curling down with the airflow across the top of the wing.

There doesn't seem to be a lot of difference between the specularity on the bare metal and the painted areas. Are you using a spec map on it?

[Vraciu]

Ok will try that.

Spec map is still being built.  I am trying to figure out what to do.  The tail seems glossy in the color photos so I figure the yellows will be shiny, the insignia and nose flat.  Would you agree?

[Greebo]

I'd suggest the yellow and red might want to be a little more shiny than the markings and anti-glare strip, but a lot less shiny than the bare metal.

Make the yellow and red areas on the spec map a separate layer from the insignia and the anti-glare strip. That way you can easily adjust the shade of grey on each.

[Vraciu]

I'd suggest the yellow and red might want to be a little more shiny than the markings and anti-glare strip, but a lot less shiny than the bare metal.

Make the yellow and red areas on the spec map a separate layer from the insignia and the anti-glare strip. That way you can easily adjust the shade of grey on each.

I will give it a shot.

[Vraciu]

Per your suggestions Greebo.   (Note, I noticed I am slightly off alignment on a few of the specular sections.  Also need to do the inboard wing stripes.  They are bright shiny right now and not duller like the tail--I didn't get them first time through.  Will fix those before the final version.)

It looks REALLY slick with the shiny metal.

The gun bay doors are a little over bumped.  I will have to back that down.  Same with the flap and wing rivets.  I tried max power on the right wing.  Don't like the result.

[Greebo]

The spec map has made the skin look a lot better.

The skin could do with some weathering though. Looking at the photo there is a faint exhaust stain running back from the exhaust and curling down in line with the airflow running across the top of the wing.

You could also try creating a noise effect across the skin to avoid the colours looking too solid and fake. To do this make a copy of the base paint layer in the main skin file and name it "noise effect". Place the layer above all your paint and metal layers and then change the colour of the layer to a solid mid grey like 128/128/128. In Paint Shop Pro the noise effect is reached through the menus via Adjust, then Add/Remove Noise, then Add Noise. I set the dots to random and 50% then click OK. You'll have to figure out exactly how to reach this effect if you use Photoshop or Gimp or whatever. What the noise effect does is create loads of little bright red, green and blue random dots all over your grey layer. Now reduce the opacity of this layer until you can barely see it, say 2%-4% opacity. The paint and metal will now have a slightly scruffy, worn look to it.

[Saxman]

Also, weren't the upper wing surfaces on the Mustangs generally painted, lacquered, or something? I seem to recall reading somewhere that the wing tops were seldom actually BMF like the fuselage.