Slow down dudes, take your time!

[Kweassa]

I am very careful to mention this, and worried about it a lot before deciding to post...  because I didn't want to give out the wrong impressions.

 Making skins is a fun work, and many of us just can't wait to see more and more variety of wonderful skins on our favorite aircraft.

 However, I must comment that some of you guys are just doing it too quick. It sort of feels almost as if its some kind of competition to see who can "mass produces" skins more than others.

 And with a very careful and reserved tone, I have to point out that such haste and speed does take its toll in terms of overall quality. You can't rush a job and expect it to be as good as when you take time to depict stuff carefully.

 This is why I was so careful to mention it. I'm not saying some of the skins you guys make are 'bad in quality' or 'you guys suck' or 'I make better skins than yours'. I'm saying that many of the works I've seen had much better quality, but then suddenly, at some point, the skins seem to be "rushed in", and a new skin is announced every 3 days or something.
 
 I generally take about a week or two to finish a single skin. It's because I have only limited time to work on it, but it's also because that I take my time, and constantly try to improve it.

 The most recent skin I did, the III./JG2 Fw190A-5, was still under works and I submitted it only today. After flying in it, and looking it from all angles carefully, and then comparing with Waffle's excellent default skins, I thought about ways to improve the level of detail. I also tried to imitate some of the methods Waffle uses, and through trial and error learned some new ways to make the plane look better.

 I'm a slow worker and not very efficient, but at least after my skin is finished, I know I did the real best I could, and it is as good as I can ever do according to my current 'skill level' with graphics programs.


 So guys, slow down.

 Take time to depict stuff, go over errors, get rid of jagged edges or misplaced lines, faulty coloring and etc etc.. Nobody is gonna suddenly come up with 15 skins and 'take your spot'.

 And when you are really sure the quality of the skin is as high as you desire it to be, you'll be really satisfied to see it in the game.


 Slow down guys!

[oboe]

The only advice I can offer along these lines, and I have been guilty of not doing this myself consistently, is to set your skin aside for a day or two when you think you are done.    Get it off your mind for a while, then come back to it fresh and examine it very closely from all angles.  You may see errors or something now you want to change and you will be glad you hadn't submitted it yet.

Also, a very early but sometimes omitted step- when crafting the panel line layer, be sure to go in the game and operate all the aircraft's control surfaces (rudder, ailerons, elevator, flaps) and examine closely to make sure the 3D model's control surfaces line up with the panel lines.    Not all the panel line schemes line up correctly, no matter how detailed or accurate they might appear.    You may have to modify the panel lines to fit the model's surface.   It's tedious but well worth the effort.

The hardest part I think of any skin is the paint wear/chipping and dirt/oil/grime layers.   But this layer, done well, adds immense quality and authenticity to the skin - take a look at Greebo's A-20s to see masterful jobs of paint chipping/wear patterns.

[TexMurphy]

I think both the above posts provide very valid points.

Quality before quantity, ALWAYS!!

I think the best way to ensure quality is to post skins here before submitting.

A skin might be good enough for acceptance but with the input of 5 or 10 co-players it could be made even better.

Tex

[Raptor]

I wont submit anything unless I have posted it here first. Then I usually wait a day and see what others think of it. I think someone else may point out something I might not have noticed before and gives me the opportunity to go back and change it. Then I will post a picture of the changes made and if no one replies with a suggestion then I submit it.

[Elyeh]

I agree with all points made.

I get real picky when choosing a skin  for my aircraft.
I'd rather see one or two outstanding attention to detail type of skins then "something i just threw together type of work"

Thanks to all of you that make such excellent paintjobs:aok

[Krusty]

Also keep in mind that HTC doesn't just let every skin in. If you send it in and wait all the weeks for a response, do you want to simply have them say "Needs work" or some such thing? They have a quality control, of sorts, running internally. Take your time now, and it will save you time later.

[SELECTOR]

im a musician and there is a saying when your recording.. " listen with fresh ears" this means have a break for a while then come back and you will find all sorts of things to fix..

with skinning all i can say is do the same.. leave it a week or so.. then look again..

[thebest1]

I agree totally Kweassa