Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Films and Screenshots => Topic started by: crowbaby on October 20, 2002, 08:52:15 PM
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hmm, started this about 12 hours ago, take out lunch, dinner, etc. it's taken about 5 hours solid work and it's not even finished.
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some of the better original photos i was working from....
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I've only just compressed it down to 256 colours. What i need to do next is pick some of those colours to put back in the detail i've lost, particularly in the smokestain and on the yellow parts of the engine nacelles.
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whats up with the Box instead of the swastika???
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HTC don't want them. (I prefer an Iron Cross instead of a diamond).
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Originally posted by SFRT - Frenchy
HTC don't want them. (I prefer an Iron Cross instead of a diamond).
meh. i think they should have them. if it was on the plane it should be on the plane. but neeeww[no]......to many whiners think its "offensive". HTC's gotta be politicaly correct... :rolleyes:
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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.
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Soulyss is right, some countries have barbaric laws against freedom of speech. Mostly those ashamed of thier past.
Anyways, an absolutly beautiful skin.
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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?
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Mustang,
Other countries and religions used the Swastika through the centuries. The 109 G2 in AH is marked in Finlands National markings. They used the large ones on there wings.
Berserkr
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1. crow, that is brilliant :) I could only hope to figure out how skinning in potential layers is really done in such beauty! Another excellent study material for a neophyte skinner like me!
2. Freedom of speech is not an absolute right. It applies so long as it is in alignment of the fundamental constitutions of universal democracy. Nazism is politically and officially an undemocratic ideology which promotes racism, discrimination, and right-wing terrorism. Only the USA allows the freedom of speech to outright Nazism followers. In the USA, the potential grounds for filing a lawsuit against Nazism is not about its political background, but on obstruction of property or mental damages. All other countries limit the freedom of Nazism on the grounds that allowing free speech for Nazism is a self-denial to democratic beliefs.
3. The "swastika" is an ancient symbol found in many religions: far-east, middle Asia, ancient pagan symbols of the Germans, Indo-Aryans, Slavs, Vikings and etc etc. Thus the historicity or the meaning of a certain symbol is to be derived/judged upon what context it is used. The "swastika of the moon" that is used in Finnish airforces, though identical in image, is in different color and symbolizes different things. It has a different context. Therefore, it is generally accepted the Blue Cross of the Finns is in totally different meaning from the black swastika of the Germans. If the black swastikas would be used on German planes, it would mean Nazism in both symbol and context. Therefore, the black one is rejected, while the blue one is accepted.
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Kweassa, i'm by no means an expert on this, but i can try to explain how i use layers. I find it saves me a lot of work and it's very flexible. I use a separate layer for just about everything, which means i can adjust each element independantly.
First off i open the original Bmp from the savedtex folder. I convert this to RGB colours and use it as my base layer. I work in 256*256 pixels from the start - i hate lowering resolution: this way i get to see exactly what i'm doing.
I start a new layer. Photoshop lets you name layers, which is very handy! On this layer i copy all of the panel lines. I can change them later if i want. This layer floats fairly high on the pile.
Next new layer is a base coat. I mask off any bits that don't want it, i.e. wheels etc. and then just fill the whole layer. Now i've got something that looks like this:
(though in this one i've got a lot of shading and crap on the same layer as the panel lines)
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Next layer will be first camoflage coat. Then i'll use the eraser on a low setting around panel lines/contact points etc. to weather it off a bit.
After that, each layer is much the same, until i've got a huge pile, each one a little weathered so that the layers below show through.
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Then pretty much the last layer is the 'dirt' layer. A lot of this is general dirt, and is blurred.
Specific things like smoke trails from exhaust and guns i try to find in photos first and then spend a lot of time on them. Exhaust should follow the flow of air from the prop or over the wing. This gets quite a high percentage of the 256 colours at the end to try and keep it subtle.
I'll often work with the intermediate layers turned 'off' so that i can better see what i'm doing.
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Crowbaby great work!!
Kweassa well said!!
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Ah.. so, using the layer as a tracing paper is the trick?? I've never thought of that!
Thx for the advice! :)
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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
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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.
(http://www.xs4all.nl/~rhorta/finland.gif)
(http://www.xs4all.nl/~rhorta/109g2_fin.gif)
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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.