Aces High Bulletin Board

General Forums => Aces High General Discussion => Topic started by: Sundog on September 08, 2002, 04:52:17 PM

Title: Aircraft Skins - Anyone here like to make them?
Post by: Sundog on September 08, 2002, 04:52:17 PM
Hey everyone,
HiTech has alluded to possibly making aircraft skins changeable per terrain. As such, is anyone here experienced at skinning aircraft, especially in regard to historical markings? If you are, and would like to make some for AH, let me know. I have made a few in my time, but I have enough on my plate to do as it is.

If you are interested, please send me the url/sample pics of some of what you may have done. Thanks.
Title: Aircraft Skins - Anyone here like to make them?
Post by: NUTTZ on September 08, 2002, 05:22:17 PM
soon as the templates are available, I'm sure many people will jump at the chance.

NUTTZ
Title: Aircraft Skins - Anyone here like to make them?
Post by: SFRT - Frenchy on September 08, 2002, 05:56:58 PM
You bet :D
Title: Aircraft Skins - Anyone here like to make them?
Post by: Voss on September 08, 2002, 06:25:34 PM
Yeah, I've warmed up to this myself and I'm looking forward to it.
Title: Aircraft Skins - Anyone here like to make them?
Post by: Urchin on September 08, 2002, 07:15:42 PM
I just wish I was smart enough to understand how to make them, I'd love doing it.
Title: Aircraft Skins - Anyone here like to make them?
Post by: Innominate on September 08, 2002, 07:38:11 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Urchin
I just wish I was smart enough to understand how to make them, I'd love doing it.


I'd guess it will be fairly simple once HT releases the basics of how it will work.
Title: Aircraft Skins - Anyone here like to make them?
Post by: Grimm on September 08, 2002, 08:05:00 PM
The best Skin man I can think of is FIDD, from the Kraits.

I would suggest you talk to him, and see if any of the hundreds of skins he has can be used or converted.
Title: Aircraft Skins - Anyone here like to make them?
Post by: Fidd on September 08, 2002, 08:44:30 PM
hehe, thanks. I don't think I'll be doing a "SAC" quantity (1000+ skins), but I am looking forward to trying it. I did ask Hi-Tech for a specimen image months ago, to look into it, but never recieved anything. I have kept all my working images from SAC, at least the more recent ones, in 1200 pixel square .psp form, still with layers, so if some of them are useable to develop AH skins, then I'd have a heck of a head-start on the rest of you! Brett Young "Famin" was a very good skinner too, so maybe he'd help?

Attached is a a spit V of "screwball" Beaurling, from the defense of Malta; one of my favourites from AW3. It's reduced to 256 pixels square, and has 256 colours as well.


Quote
Originally posted by Grimm
The best Skin man I can think of is FIDD, from the Kraits.

I would suggest you talk to him, and see if any of the hundreds of skins he has can be used or converted.
Title: Aircraft Skins - Anyone here like to make them?
Post by: faminz on September 08, 2002, 09:53:12 PM
Standing by, awaiting the call Fidd....  lol
Title: Aircraft Skins - Anyone here like to make them?
Post by: akak on September 08, 2002, 10:01:34 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Grimm
The best Skin man I can think of is FIDD, from the Kraits.

I would suggest you talk to him, and see if any of the hundreds of skins he has can be used or converted.


Unfortunately FIDD has retired from making skins. His skin of Robin Old's Scat II P-38J skin from the 479th FG is and always be my favorite.  I was really hoping that he could remake that one for AH.


Ack-Ack
479th FG
Title: Aircraft Skins - Anyone here like to make them?
Post by: Dux on September 08, 2002, 11:08:37 PM
Count me in, Sundog.
Title: Aircraft Skins - Anyone here like to make them?
Post by: CAV on September 08, 2002, 11:11:15 PM
Hi

I think Laz525 will be happy to see this. He made a few skins for AW using the "Krait SAC". The down side was once he starts making skins... he stops flying.  LOL

old AW VMF-525 skin page...
http://vmf525skins.tripod.com/index.html

CAV
Title: Aircraft Skins - Anyone here like to make them?
Post by: Soulyss on September 08, 2002, 11:24:16 PM
I did a couple skins back in the day for EAW, I'd chip in and give it a shot, should the opportunity present itself. :)
Title: Aircraft Skins - Anyone here like to make them?
Post by: Fidd on September 09, 2002, 05:59:37 AM
This is the old SAC website, if any of you want to see what it did, or just take a trip down memory lane. NB the email address is defunct

http://www3.mistral.co.uk/mthuff/index.html
Title: Aircraft Skins - Anyone here like to make them?
Post by: CAV on September 09, 2002, 06:45:45 PM
....trip down memory lane.....

The one thing I remember is the Kraits coming out with SAC made the last few years of AW lots of fun.

CAV
Title: Aircraft Skins - Anyone here like to make them?
Post by: Sundog on September 10, 2002, 04:30:04 PM
You know,
Looking at how many want to make skins, and as Nuttz stated, I am sure there will be more, perhaps we should ask HTC to add a 'Skins' Forum? That way, say Nuttz or I or whoever are working on a specific terrain, we can just request, say Eastern front summer '44, skins, etc.  Then you guy's can post them for everyone to use. Of course, I expect Voss to put up a ton of P-51 schemes for us to choose from :) BTW, please make me a P-51D of the 1st Air Commando Group with the black lightning bolts :)

For those of you who haven't made skins, there are plenty of links out there to help you learn, and you won't learn until you just dive in and do it :) .

Here are some references:
RAF Colors (http://home.attbi.com/~flyingcolors/rafcolor.htm)
RAF Colors (http://www.jpsmodell.de/shop/jpsraf_e.htm)
UK, US,  and German Aviation Colors (http://www.concentric.net/~Rojo1/camocolors.html)

RAF Fonts (http://members.aol.com/p5219/fonts.htm)
RAF Roundels (http://spitfirecmraaf.tripod.com/roundels1.html)
RAF Squadron Codes (http://www.btinternet.com/~lee_mail/rafcodes.html)

The Hangers Skin Tutorial (http://thehangar.dogfighter.com/Paint.htm)
The Aluminum Cloud Tutorial (http://www.aluminumcloud.com/skinning.htm)

Much of the above information should be useful in getting started. There are also many people who fly AH who are well versed in the use of various graphics software packages who  will also be able to answer your questions. All you need is Photoshop or Corel's pixel editing software, and, for those on a  budget of zero, you could use Gimp, which is free shareware.

Also, you will find if you concentrate on working on one plane type and don't flatten the main source file, it will be much easier after you make the first skin to make others (For those of you who haven't made skins before ;) -)

I can't wait to see what all of you create!