Work in progress "Green 5" 109G6

[Motherland]

Black paint doesn't wear very well. Smooth spots get polished into it by repeated access, footsteps chip away at it showing what was underneath, and in general black fades as it weathers in the sunlight.

Just leaving it a solid paint-bucket-fill of black color doesn't do it justice, IMO. You're really going to need to weather it, to sell the skin when folks use it.

As much as I'd like to agree with you, many players will use anything that's solid black. See the black 110 skin.

[Krusty]

As much as I'd like to agree with you, many players will use anything that's solid black. See the black 110 skin.

ugh... I know.

But trust me, they will appreciate it that much more when it's got more depth.

[Lord ReDhAwK]

I absolutely agree with this.  However, I was gonna wait until I saw the weathering application and make my suggestion there.

ReDhAwK

[Krusty]

Noting the majority of "black" skins in the game don't have any, I wanted to head it off at the pass before it was fast-tracked to the outbox.

[Klauss]

Just woke up, Redhawk, what do you want to see exactly want to see? The final product after "panel/rivets" + and solid color are put together? Krusty, i will listen to your advice, and i want to ask you if it is accepted to weather the skin by our own imagination, because the only pictures i have are from a miniature model (that does not show pretty much any weathering on the plane). It may just be me, but i see that the plane is not completely black, seems that it has some sort of dark blue "glow to it". I will try to make the skin after your suggestions, because my lack of "know how" in any picture editing program is almost zero. Motherland, i did put the RLM 22, instead of the black skin, look ok, but in the sun, looks more like a very very dark green/olive, is that right? or i should apply any other layers with diff. colours above it. Thank you all again for the help/tips

[Geophro]

Don't be too alarmed by the green hue that you are getting.  It is definitely possible to introduce noise into the skin during the conversion process.  The Bright program mentioned is very clean.  I was having a similar problem on a skin that I was working on, and was able to determine that my noise was a function of how the game renders the lighting effects on the skin.  Try looking at the same spot with different sun angles and see if the green moves.  An easy way to do that is to take off from different directions from the offline field.  If the green moves, it is lighting.  If it stays in the same place, it is noise in your skin.  Once you have applied the age and wear to the skin, the effects will not be as noticeable.  They will still stand out to you, but most of the rest of us will not be able to see them.  Don't give up hope.

[Xasthur]

Photoshop has a 'Bright' plug-in that I use when exporting skins.

Try to pull back the intensity of that black a little... it is very, very deep.

If this makes sense... try to make it a more 'shallow' black with a bit of texture to it... Darker and lighter parts... bit more gloss and and matte here and there for scuffed areas and untouched areas.

[Lord ReDhAwK]

Heya Klauss,

Geophro has a good point of light rendering the green effect and I completely agree that the weathering should take care of any of those issues.  So I really dont have anything to offer until the weathering is done.  When it comes to your weathering of the aircraft, everyone has their own ways of doing it.  But you will probably have the following Layer Sets when you have it completed....

Background
Paint
Panel Lines
Rivets
National Markings
Weathering
Originals

So on and So on and So on.  Typical skin for me (on the low side) around 10-15 Layer Sets.  Multiple individual layers within each set.  Now, that includes the panel lines 1-2-and 3.  Rivets 1-2-and 3.  Individual paint layers.  Ect, ect.  I actually make a Layer Set to manage my layers.  Example..

Layer Set Name...                           Weathering
Individual Layers in set.....                o Chipping
                                                   o Scratches
                                                   o Oil
                                                   o Dirt
                                                   o Bleaching
                                                   o Gunpowder
                                                   o Scorch

The only reason I write all this down for you is where you mentioned you dont know really where to start with the weathering.  Think about the way an aircraft weathers over its lifetime.  Sharp chipping of the paint (access hatches) vs. worn down areas of paint (walkways.)  Think about the discoloring on the wing as old paint is worn away, sun bleached, dirtied by mud on the shoes of the maint personnel and then wiped away, areas re-painted to cover paint that has went away (due to weathering or replacement.)  What would the aircraft look like at this point in history.  Best resource you could EVER have will be a period photo of the aircraft.  Then, as a skinner, you use your toolbox of tricks to emulate that exact paint-scheme!  Emulate that exact weathering!  If you cant find that exact aircraft, find another in that unit and base your skin from that.

Anyway, wrote far more than intended.  Everyone on this board will be very happy to help you with anything we know.  I guess I just wanted to give you an idea of what generally goes into a skin as this is really your first one and you seem to want to do it historically accurate.

ReDhAwK

[Klauss]

Sorry that i haven't posted in hours. Just got back, thank you all for the help on my problem, nice idea with the layers RedHawk! I will try and research more about what you said. I think the best way to learn without bothering you gents with my "how do i do.." type of questions is by trial and error and by following/reading tutorials for photoshop.

One last question, though it may sound childish, how many like the skin? I, personally am very happy about me finding this skin ( always tried to found a all-black 109G ).

[1pLUs44]

I think it's great, any new skin I see is great.

[VonMessa]

One of the best (IMO) things to do is to research your a/c if you can.

When was it used?  (will help determine what was available for materials for paint, and the quality of the paint, how fawst did it need to be painted?)

How often was it flown?  (more air time = more wear & tear)

What theater did it operate in? (a sandy African plane would have different wear then a late war, muddy dirt field Easter front plane, etc)

I, personally have about 50 layers going (I make a copy of a few to see how different changes look immediately without having to undo a lot.  I just turn the different layers on and off)

Weathering is a personal preference, I guess)  I try to approach it like it would happen in real life.  i.e.  Primered, 1st coat of color, 2nd coat of color, top coat, etc.  Instead of adding the weathering (for the most part) I remove it.

With each above layer of paint (as mentioned above), I start erasing my weathering and exposing different layers of paint in different degrees, just like in real life where paint would wear, layer by layer.

Also don't forget about the ground crew guys opening/prying hatches open, putting wrenches to things, and walking on the plane.

As for my opinion, I will agree that the black is much too dark as well as the other observations offered.  It's not a quick or easy process.

Also play with the material file (No offense to HTC, but the default is too cookie cutter)  On the other hand, if they tweaked each and every one, what fun would be left for the skinner guys?   

The best advice that was given to me which , as time goes by, I realize to be true is.... DO NOT RUSH the job.   There is no hurry to submit it.  Most guys will respect the fact that you have called "dibs" on a skin.   Another thing is to just walk away from it for an hour, a day, a week.  You will get a different perspective some times.

[oakranger]

Man that is one sexy 109 G6.   

[Klauss]

oakranger, you are damn right my friend  , all our search was worth it. Will work hard in the next days to post new pics.

[Klauss]

Motherland, the font for the "5" is not that one, it's NL PREWAR, check the photo. I can send you the font if you need it.

[Motherland]

Interesting. I've never seen that before.