SurClaro Flight Simulator Resources

Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 12:33 pm Post subject: okay...

Okay, once you have your wing map in photoshop, open new image (your bug logo), with the selection tool select the white area, then in the selection menu choose "inverse". You will then see the selection outline shift from the surrounding area (the white part) to the central oval area (the logo), then it's copy and paste and possible transform depending on the scaling of the logo image once pasted on the wing map. Once done, dont forget to "merge visible" in the layers menu before saving.

Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 3:39 pm Post subject:

Sweet, thanks G.S., this will be a big mystery solved if I can make it work. I've always wondered how just the logos were applied to aircraft paint jobs.

Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 7:03 pm Post subject:

There's 2 more ways of doing it.

1. Use the eraser tool, and erase the white section. This will make that section look like white and gray grid blocks. That part is now transparent.

2. Create a new image the same size as the logo box, and click the transparent box. Now use your magnetic lasso tool, and go around your logo. Then move it using the move tool, to the transparency. Viola, done.

Then just move it to where you want it on your WASP. Sizing may need to be done, as GS said.

RD

Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 1:54 am Post subject:

The Logo resembles the plane alot.

Nice job Hark,

Fokker

Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 5:02 am Post subject:

Thanks RD, your first of the the two methods might come in very handy. I'll have to look more closely at your second suggestion in order to get it I guess, this is pretty new to me. So far, G.S.'s method of inverting the selection worked for me. I'm giddy...this is a very close to the end step here. I'm burnt on this WASP, I want to kick it out and not look at it for two weeks! I did a little bit of light weathering on a few panels, wee wind streaks, and spent one evening getting that WASP logo decent...then spent this morning 'til now getting these wings finished up. I'm done like dinner on this project...looking at this monitor right down to the pixel level all day is making me dizzy (well, that and other weekend activities). Some contact points to set for the body & wings, a few niggling details here and there and then it's mostly packaging stuff. This aircraft development stuff is crazy. Shocked

Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 5:49 am Post subject:

Looks good hark.

When time permits, I'll send you a tute on the different ways to get it done.

RD

Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 5:46 am Post subject:

Thanks RD, I need all the tips I can get. I am however sailing along with layers now in photoshop. I was pretty sick of this thing yesterday after all the bitmap work, but after my housework and some fooling around today, I finally dove back into bitmap heaven after dinner. What was I up to?

Scratches
Paint chips
Rust
Soot
Dings
Divots
Streaks

Yup, about 3 hours worth of weathering the WASP. It got a bit tedious towards the end but I knew that if the maps rendered up like I was hoping I would have a pretty effective look when you zoom in close to inspect the paint.
Did 4 maps..the midbody, the butt segments, the jets, and I re-did the patch on our buggy pilot's flightsuit.
Did all the maps, one by one - without converting them through DXTBMP to look at them in the sim. Then when they were all done I converted all 4 and threw them into my texture folder. Time to fire up FS9 and have a close look at my baby on the tarmac in the mid-day sunshine of Barbados.
Folks...this may be the last time I need to re-visit these textures....they look...darn good, if I don't say so myself. Sorry, that sounds like horn-blowing...what I mean is that for once a project has turned out amazing to me and now with countless meticulous hours of texture creation and refining, learning all the way...the paint job has enhanced my model beyond my hopes...this is A BLAST!!

It's funny...as I was typing this little gleeful update post I realized that while checking my weathering job I completely forgot to open the canopy to see what my flightsuit tags looked like...I put a little wasp logo on his chest, with a nametag and some gold 'wings'. Gonna go have a look now.

Thanks for listening...you'll see what I'm talking about very soon, here's a list of the few things I need to wrap up before a quick shipment to RD for some quick beta testing and maybe a wing-paint job.

Body contact points - easy.
Clean up texture folder - yipes!
Consider cleaning 75 or so unused materials out of gmax to facilitate one final, smaller .mdl file export. - Yipe, yipe, YIPE!
Re-name .AIR file and configure small final details. Should be straightforward.
Sort FX files and appropriate textures and include properly in package.
Clean up misc. crap leftover in .CFG file and write a description and some brief performance statistics.
Final packaging, Zip-up, unzip, retest and UPLOAD!!!!!!

I'll chip away as fast as possible early in the week, get an invite off to RD and maybe he can 'get 'er done' fairly quickly as well - I'm getting sort of excited and anxious now that I'm this close! WOOHOOO!!! Twisted Evil

Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 6:53 am Post subject:

eh?!?!?! Your not done yet??????????

ugh.... I've been in front of this thing since Friday, hitting send/recieve on my email account, waiting for the "Yousendit" link. You know, the one you said you would send sometime this weekend????

So I take it, I have wasted the last 53 hours, 22 minutes, 44 seconds, 45 seconds, 47 seconds......... AND YOUR NOT DONE!!!!!!

Satan has had it better (the spider). So I'll just slide out of my chair, and sleep for the next two days on the rug. se e y o u l a t e rrrrrrrrrzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 6:58 am Post subject:

good night RD sleep tite dont let the bedbugs bite.

Cool

Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 7:33 am Post subject:

I'm pretty slow at this, but she's sailin' along pretty good now. Yeah, I should shut my yap 'til I'm ready to ship, I know...honest, I'm almost there! The hours seem to slide by pretty fast while I work, then the weekend is gone and I'm fighting to fit in a bit of developing during my mornings. Soon come, as they say in Jamaica, where you may be beta testing this thing...they're getting pretty sick of 6 A.M. flight tests in Barbados. Twisted Evil

Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 4:33 pm Post subject:

Can't wait Hark! Laughing

That thing sounds neat!

Cheers!
SU37Berkut

Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 6:39 pm Post subject:

Unbelieveable!! I rushed to get .ZIPS off to RD and G.S. and realized I had forgotten the Effects files 10 minutes after the files went!!!!!!!! CRAP!!!!

Have to rectify tonight after work - 3:00 A.M..

CRAP!! RD, if you have time - will you hook G.S. up with your NAV_Blu3's and Tomcat's nav blue? (R.I.P. Steve, and thanks man.)

CRAP!!!! Talk later. rushing off to work now. CRAP!!!

Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 7:14 pm Post subject:

Hark, if you fancy personalising your W.A.S.P. Have you thought about using Shockwave's 3D Lights, I added them to my Beech 300, effects are awesome.

All Nav & landing lights.

http://www.shockwaveproductions.com/

And now on the Maddie Beech 300 http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9JBxySWfbB0

Mel.

Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 8:17 pm Post subject:

What kind of clouds are you using there mate?

Cheers!
SU37Berkut

Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 9:20 pm Post subject: