Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Aces High General Discussion => Topic started by: CurtissP-6EHawk on April 08, 2004, 02:46:32 PM
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Guys this is my first AHII skin.
VMF-312 Checkerboards
#530 Flown by 1Lt M.O. Chance, Okinawa 1944-45
pic edited
(http://bellsouthpwp.net/a/u/austi262/Web%20Pages/530air.jpg)
Official VMF-312 Web Site (http://www.f4ucorsair.com/vmf312/312.html)
Merritt O Chance (http://webzoom.freewebs.com/cafcorsair/Original530.html)
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Some comments if I may.
First, Hitech released old skins with the lot of new planes. They haven't had the chance to update the skin. So basically you're stretching a 216x216 pixel out to 1048x1048 (roughly). Hence you can see a lot of the pixels.
I'd either wait until they release the new high graphics skin, or work on cleaning up the old skin to be ready for 1048x1048.
Next, the checkerboarding on the nose goes too far. You need to cut back on 2 of the lines. From counting on the website you gave, the checkboarding (if considered horizontally) goes white black white black white black. So 6 squares.
Lastly, increase the opacity of the checkerboarding. It really really looks washed out.
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I am aware of the old skin and stretching, however, how do I work with the "increase the opacity" part of it?
The numbers should be a bit smaller. Thats the best I could do right now. Any smaller and the numbers are unreadable. Maybe this will change with the new skin releases of a larger pixal scale.
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What program are you using? Also, which F4u version is it?
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Paint shop has a neat feature which sharpens up the graphics.
http://home.comcast.net/~lasersailor184/f4u1d.zip
If it's the F4u1d that you're using, here are 2 jpgs (to save space) that have the sharpened graphics.
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I do have paint shop pro. I used sharpen but saw no diff. I will try again. Yes, it is the F4U-1D
I can email you the zip file if you would like it.
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You can use 1024 X 1024 skins now.
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Nice starter Hawk. Looks good.
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Ok, here's what to do for a good base to work off of.
1.) Open the file.
2.) Use rect marquee and select and copy everything
3.) Create a new file, 1024x1024.
4.) Paste in what you copied, move it to the top left corner.
5.) Scale it out so that it fills the screen. Hit enter.
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Also, use the files I put in the zip as a base. It's the same thing as the skin in 1024x1024 but in a Jpeg.
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rect marquee
I am computer stupid. Never herd of that term and I caint find it anywhere. I assume you mean select copy and past?!
After I copy and past into the upper left hand corner of a 1024 new file, I cant get it to "expand" to fill the page.
THINK I GOT IT NOW
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(http://bellsouthpwp.net/a/u/austi262/Web%20Pages/ahss14.jpg)
Any better?????
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Ok, first off, the opacity is above the list where it lists all the layers. The opacity of the tail needs to be higher. (The higher it is, the less you can see of the background).
Next, did you do the steps I described? Or did you just turn on Anti Anialising?
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lol, this is getting tooo complicated. I still cant find "opacity" and if I used "Anti Anialising" it was a default process.
"Throws paintbrush down, and walks back over to real airplane project :)"
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(http://bellsouthpwp.net/a/u/austi262/Web%20Pages/ahss15.jpg)
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(http://bellsouthpwp.net/a/u/austi262/Web%20Pages/ahss18.jpg)
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Originally posted by CurtissP-6EHawk
(http://bellsouthpwp.net/a/u/austi262/Web%20Pages/ahss18.jpg)
What the....? How the heck you open the cockpit canopy? :eek:
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Anti Aliasing is something a graphics card can do.
Take a look at your first picture. Take a look at the next one. On the edges of the plane you can see the pixel edges on the first.
This makes me believe that you just turned on Anti Aliasing in the graphics part to make the entire thing look better.
However, that doesn't change the quality of the skin, it just blurs some aspects.
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The first one was the default skin pixal. The second one was the 1024 enlargement with the sharpen you told me about.
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dunno if its just me, but the Star seems kinda blurry, other than that awesome skin for a first, wtg!:aok
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Thanks Maddog. The star is AHII default !!!
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rgr that:)
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How about now?
(http://bellsouthpwp.net/a/u/austi262/Web%20Pages/ahss27.jpg)
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PSP has many features. Take some time to learn the program.
If you are just "playing around" with skinning as practice in order to develop better techniques then ok. But as is there will be a limited number of skins per plane (15). So these will need to be top quality.
Right now there are very few folks who are making skins that are "good" enough to make it. So if you are serious about learning how to make good skins you will need to spend some time learning how to master PSP.
There are plenty of tutorials and sites that help with techniques.
I am not saying I am an expert. In fact I am still learning myself.
Here's an example of my current project: (I have an updated version based on some suggestions fester and others have offered its just not quite ready...)
(http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/334_1081354984_jg23.jpg)
The first thing I would suggest is enlarging the image to 1024 x1024 or higher, find a good set of 3-view drawing and take the time to do a template. This is the most time consuming part but once you get a good template you can use it over and over doing different paint schemes.
Be advised though all the planes that are currently 256 x 256 will be re-done to 1024 x 1024. There may in fact be some changes in the model and changes to the textures. A skin you redo from 256 x 256 to 1024 x 1024 may not work right.
Also I would stay away from checkers and the like because a lot of the AH textures are stretched or mirrored. You will run into all kinds of headaches trying to get them right. In most cases you wont be able to find a fix.
Check out Fester P40E thread. There are a lot of useful tips.
Good luck...
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HOW DO U OPEN CANOPY??????????????????????????????
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That looks very good Curtis. Good work.
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BATZ
I was seriuos untill I was told AH would release new skins. After that I decided not to waist my time. I did simply use the existing F4U-4 skin, streatch to 1024 and add the checkers, save to F4U-1D. So there doesnt seam to be a need for "top quality". All I did was add the checkers to HTC's already (low quality?) F4U skin! I have asked any of our skin experts if they could do it for me i.e. limited to 15 skins, but got no replies. Now I dont feal there will be a rush to fill the 15 skin limit. If so them if the limit is reached, those skins can be upgraded or replaced by your top quality skins. The only problems I see are around the "round" cowling were it allows the actygon type shape to show as well as on top of the cowling were the checker squares slants and look like pryamids.
Thanks lasersailor for you help!!!!! :)
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Some planes will reach the 15 skin limit quickly like the Spit, G-10, and P-51D, but others like the F4F, F4U-1, Zeke, Ect will probably not have a huge flood of folks submiting skins. I'd like to do some of the early F4F-3/SBD Pre-war high visibility (silver/yellow) paint schemes and some other somewhat obscure things like the Atlantic ASW schemes for the FM2/TBM's that flew on the hunter/killer CVE's.
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Grits like this one?
(http://bellsouthpwp.net/a/u/austi262/Web%20Pages/45_1.jpg)
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Yup, thats what I was talking about, I have a TBD Devastator I did like that, and I've got a Tamyia F4F I painted just like that one but a different squadron.
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Very nice job!
Keep up the good work!
Cheers,
Solo
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F4's perfect...now all it needs are some flames, some Spitfire "GRRR!" teeth, and a headless pilot.
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Originally posted by zmeg
You can use 1024 X 1024 skins now.
Just went in and saved F4U skin to resubmit to Skuzzy. The skin I just saved was 256. Were do I fint the 1024 skins?
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Were do I fint the 1024 skins?
You either wait till they are updated to 1024 x 1024 or start from scratch and build your own 1024 x 1024 template and hope that when they do update to 1024 x 1024 that the model itself doesnt chnage.
Search for Cits P40 thread.