Skin: Bf110 of ZG26 in North Africa

[Kweassa]

Ah.. so, using the layer as a tracing paper is the trick?? I've never thought of that!

 Thx for the advice!

[gatso]

I use the exact same basic method as crowbaby for all my skins, great tips.

A few things I do different though.

1. Areas that have a highlight next to a panel line.  Draw the panel line in black as normal and add a highlight line in white next to it.  Then change opacticity to get the desired impact, much easier IMHO than drawing in highlights by hand after the panel lines.

2. Really! work in 1024x1024.  Different programs have different ways of reducing the image size to get acceptable detail.  In PSP use Bilinear Resampling to reduce the image size to get good results.

3. Layers. In order bottom to top: Paint, Markings, Panel lines, Rivets, Other lines, Weathering, Dirt1, Dirt2

4. Paint is just that. Pristine unhighlighted block colour showing the base paint layer and blended transitions between colours.

5. I put the markings seperate because I can then paint behind them without messing them up.

6. I use 3 (at least, the sea hurricane had 4) layers for panel lines/rivets etc. I put things like the lines on the rudder and aelirons on a seperate layer. I use a black line, width 2 anti-aliased for ALL panel lines (in 1024x1024 texture size), then I adjust the opacitity to get the right sort of look. The reason I use so many layers for these is so I can adjust the darkness of any group I want easily.

7. weathering is stuff like chipped paint, wear and tear rather than dirt. Usually found on leading edges and anything that sticks out.

8. Dirt, I use 2 (again at least) layers for dirt. Usually one for each colour of dirt. Rust is a different colour to mud which is different to exhaust which is different to gun blast etc etc.

9. I trace panel lines etc in exactly the same way as crowbaby, I just increase image size to 1024x1024 first.

Anyway. There's no 'right' way of doing this. I hope some of these help some people.

BTW, can someone tell me if Photoshop will open PSP .psp files? and if anyone wants them I have 1024x1024 Hurricane IIc and F4F panel lines and rivets in layers.  Send me an email and I'll send them to you. These are the things I really want someone to host on the web rather than full skins. the F4F rivets and panel lines took me about 8 hours! Bloody thing.

Gatso

[RBug]

Originally posted by mustang
So what about the 109G-2 that has the huge swasitkas on the wings?  From what I have read no 109's even had them on the wings like that, but I'm not sure.  However, where was the no swastika policy then?

A Swastika in the National colors of Finland. However this marking had nothing to do with Nazi symbolism. Some people might argue that Finland wasn't an ally of Germany, but if you fight (and die) together against a common foe, you're as much an ally as you'll ever be - but to stay neutral in this argument the term co-belligerent preferable. So if we leave the politics out, and focus on the fight against the Soviet Union, then by all means this is a correct point of view.

The so-called Von Rosen Cross, named after the Swedish Count Erich von Rosen, had been the Finnish national insignia since 1918 and consisted of a light blue Swastika on a white roundel, the Finnish national colors. During the latter part of the Continuation War of 41-44, the white background was often replaced by RLM 65 Hell Blau, in an effort to make the a/c less conspicuous.

[Wilbus]

Could it be legal reasons? I know some countries prohibit the displaying of the swastika, since HTC has an internet/ international bussiness going here I would imagine they would have to keep that in mind.

This is in Germany mostly, however, they can't do anything, nor say anything about downloadable online games such as AH, there is no way to "ban" them. Games that you buy in Germany have less gore, no Nazi Swastikas (nazi swastika flipped 45 degrees) etc.

It's no big deal for me, would be nice to have the planes skinned like they were but as some people think it is offencive it's better left out. Doesn't affect gameplay.