Programs For Skinning? | Forums

[LuckyBoy1]

I am NOT a skinner, nor really do I wish to be one! Still, I am in awe of what you guys do!

I grew up with agricultural aviation. We couldn't afford a "real" crop duster, so we used surplus fighter/bombers to do the work. As a result, I have an intimate knowledge of how planes wear from a cosmetic standpoint and the skinners rarely even get close to having it correct. Mind you, I'm NOT complaining, far from it! After all, I can't skin at all! With that said, here's what you need to keep in mind...

1) The leading edges and the front engine cowling take the biggest and soonest beating.

2) Any cover that is taken off as a matter of routine maintaining gets crack lines along parrallel to the area flexed. even if the cover doesn't flex, it has screws that hold it in place and last time I checked, they were using steel screwdrivers in WWII.

3) Exhaust ports often get overlooked. It's not just a matter of soot, but heat as well and how it affects the paint. also, unburned or partially burned fuel that later gets heated on these surfaces produces distinctive colors and patters.

4) Not all grease trails run with the airflow. There are eddies and currents that take the fluids on some strange trips sometimes.

5) Most of these skins, even the ones where they are supposed to look worn look like they've never needed a pint of gas! Fuel spillage happens and especially in WWII they were dealing with gas by the drum and overworked support crews.

6) Seems a plane never had a little hydrolic seepage. If so, the seepage usually occured at startup and the fluids run down, not back.

7) Please do not mistake these points as me being ungratefull or even critical!


With all this in mind, what is the most complete paint type program to get all these details right?

[Jutocsa]

It depends on the skinner, not on the software used. Except if you use MS Paint you can achieve anything you want. Use either Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, Gimp, the only serious limit - except of your own self - is the 1024x1024 texture space and the mapping which is ready and unchangeable. That alone puts an end to some nice things.

Critique is good, no one feel that you are ungrateful because of that, and what you are saying is true. However it is true only for those - I guess maybe pacific - planes you have seen or used. Every plane and every nation and every era produces totally different weathering. For example I have never seen any of our Re.2000s with heavily worn off cowling
So basically its not enough to study planes in general, u must study the specific plane you skin I dunno where, maybe at skinnersheaven ? there is a great article about how different planes/air forces weatherred during the war

[LuckyBoy1]

So, MS Paint is the preferred program for skinning when it comes to detail?

By the way, that's a good point about environmental factors! Sea spray or cold or dry or wet weather all affects it. However, as far as the engine cowling thing goes, most are fooled by the fac tthat this part quite often got painted more often than other parts, except when campaigns were so hot and heavy, that they didn't have time to fool with that sort of thing. Ideally, the sort of "look" I want to see is of a plane that's been in such constant forward field duty, that all the spit and polish ideas went out the window long ago. I've seen this in actual military operational areas. You can talk about pictures taken during wartime, but let's face it, if you are going to take a picture of the bird, you will want it to look good for the shot! On top of that, you get into a truly forward area base, you are busy worrying about snipers, not getting pictures of the planes and as a result, there are very few pictures left that show it like it was.

[Jutocsa]

Lol no, MS Paint is the one you cant achieve anything but **** with. As for the article i was speasking about check Servals site and his article in the tutorial section at http://www.skinnersheaven.com/ A nice one Serval

[Taylortony]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by LuckyBoy1:
So, MS Paint is the preferred program for skinning when it comes to detail?

By the way, that's a good point about environmental factors! Sea spray or cold or dry or wet weather all affects it. However, as far as the engine cowling thing goes, most are fooled by the fact that this part quite often got painted more often than other parts, except when campaigns were so hot and heavy, that they didn't have time to fool with that sort of thing. Ideally, the sort of "look" I want to see is of a plane that's been in such constant forward field duty, that all the spit and polish ideas went out the window long ago. I've seen this in actual military operational areas. You can talk about pictures taken during wartime, but let's face it, if you are going to take a picture of the bird, you will want it to look good for the shot! On top of that, you get into a truly forward area base, you are busy worrying about snipers, not getting pictures of the planes and as a result, there are very few pictures left that show it like it was. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


well I personally base my weathering and skins on nearly 30 years of Aircaft engineering experience ranging from Real Spitfires, Stearmans etc through military fighters and combat Helicopters to Airliners and executive jets, both as a Military Engineer and Licenced Engine and Airframe Engineer covering maintenance, rectification, Battle Damage Repair and Full Blown rebuilds both restoration and crash rebuilds, operating from out in field from unprepared woodland bases in combat areas through shipborne and onto major airports............ does that give me an inclination as to whats needed?

I am glad someone brought this subject up and like the input

But where do you stop?
How far do you go?
How many layers do you make?

To be honest the skin below which i completed for a UBI Skinners competition has over 250 plus layers and has taken me months of trying to get it ot this stage for a plane that is essentially 1 colour, Bar reworking some of the undercarriage bays and the engines a bit, plus the markings, that gives it over 150 layers of just weathering............. Now I could increase this about 3 fold if you wanted to see it as accurate and as dirty as I know the underside should be, but most would never notice it, It has been test flown by a few and it was only when i mentioned have you looked underneath that they admitted they hadn't and that has probably a lot of the weathering carried out, I have even added footprints on the upper wing surfaces too..... but they wont jump out at you, but they are there!


Sorry if the pictures are a bit big, was the only way i could show you what i was wittering on about

[LuckyBoy1]

Taylor, now that's what I'm talkin' about!!!! Way to go! Everybody take a look at the underside of that plane. Look at the brown and black/blue tinged areas around the engine cowlings where the heat and oils have stressed the paint! Look at the screwdriver marks at the access panels! I can smell the avgas, hydrolic oil and sweat just looking at this picture and I'm actually glad you show a big picture because many would miss these details if it was smaller.

I wish www.il2skins was up because I'd go search for your skins right away! Well done!