included some pics of the bmps in the skin i posted for another player to help them.
the dark shadows are just black sometimes with some shading but the darkest part is black with little or no transparency.
the actual control surfaces havent been done yet theres only basic outlines of where the ribs etc are which might tray shading or smudging and bluring dunno
ive tried masking each panel and using the smudge tool to adjust the shading on and around the panel lines on the very first pic of the p40 with grey wings but the later aircraft pictures are done in a manner that allows the background camoflage to change freely without disrupting anything. I will probably do this finishing touch as final step on this skin.
its important to make everything but the actual camoflage transparent.panel lines, rivets, markings, numbers, nose art all of it needs to be semi transparent to allow it to look painted onto the plane instead of pasted on. the amount of transparency is in the eye of the beholder but some is always needed.
make panel lines black and then creat anothe rpanel line layer and invert its colors and offset it forward and up or down. moving it forward will simulate overlapping panels but make this highlight layer very transparent too.
copy the black panel lines and rivets: blur the crap out of them until they wont blur anymore. once they are totally blurred out of recognition adjust their transparency and even layer properties to color burn or linear burn if using photoshop. again make this blurred layer fill and transparency low or to your own tastes.
im attempting to go for realism as much as possible and this p40 is my first attempt so it will take much more practice to get anything resembling realism of the planes ive seen and flown.
but panel lines and rivets are nto very visible on real aircraft, sometimes rudder and aileron and elevator joints can be highly visable if there are gaps in them. but panel lines dont have gaps. they are jammed up against eachother or overlaying one another and though they are visable they are faint.
ive flown little airplanes for many years and also worked on the line at the local airport so ive seen what the real ones look like from point blank range on the ground and in flight. you have good reference working with f15s but remember f15s flush riveted where not welded or composited and all panels are flush with none overlapping like old ww2 planes.