X-Plane paint tutorials.

[Hampster]

Hi there guys!

I am currently finishing the first tutorial to my 'painting planes in X-Plane' tutorial series. It is aimed at the beginners to the Planemaker software, as a good paint is the key to a good plane. I hope to make five tutorials, and illustrate them clearly with good graphics. Basically I aim to set them up as the easiest to follow tutorials you have ever read!

In this tutorial series I am hoping to make:

1. The Windscreen.

2. The Fuselage and Body painting techniques.

3. Wings and Wing detail.

4. The Engine Nacelle.

5. Overview.

I hope to post the tutorials seperately, each with not only just a tutorial, but paint templates and examples of the work I have done for the tutorials. I will use Austin's experimental designs as the basic example aircraft.

(Below is a scrapped illustration as I felt was not explaining itself properly, but it gives you the picture of what's to come!)

I have pretty much covered everything for the first tutorial, but I feel there might be something missing.

The topic for the tutorial is 'Windscreens' as the windscreen is, I find, the hardest part to get right with not allot of experience.

I have covered: How to make a fighter-like cockpit, how to make a multi-window cockpit, how to add shading to the windscreen, how to choose the right colours, adding detail to the cockpit windscreen.

Is there anything I am missing? I can answer some questions for you in the tutorial if you have any...

On that subject, here you can also ask questions about your painting problems and I am more then happy to answer them. A good paint makes a good plane and that is exactly what I want to mentor you on.. Making the best paint possible.

I am enjoying my time here in X-Pilot, everybody is SUPER freindly, keep up the good work!

Happy painting - Hampster

[tkyler]

That's good illustration Hampster..the backbone of good tutorials. That and not skipping steps We're glad to have contributors who feel at home here and hope we can get folks a place to put their contributions soon.

[UltimateFlier]

ah.... I CANT WAIT TO SEE!!!!! very nice job on the preview...

[Hampster]

OK, almost done with the fist tut, anything else someone want answered by me?

[Leen de Jager]

Yes,

Painting cockpitwindows?

Contemporary X-Plane models have real windows.

No need to paint them , exept for some very simple , static models.

Leen

Edited September 18, 2011 by Leen de Jager

[Kesomir]

Painting cockpitwindows?

Contemporary X-Plane models have real windows.

No need to paint them , exept for some very simple , static models.

I think that this is "beginners to ..Planemaker". Correct me if I am wrong, but don't actual modelled windows require a 3d object modelled in an external app?

[Cameron]

That's correct, Kesomir.

Keep it up, Hampster! Thanks for sharing!

[Hampster]

Thank you very much!

And yes, I am not familliar with external 3D, as with many new aircraft builders that have just recently moved fron FSX / 2004, I think it is best to give the planemaker people a good guideline to painting the basics. It was definitely what the X-P community was missing when I started to paint myself.

Release date hopefully in the next week or so.

hamham.

[Hampster]

We are on final approach guys!

Tutorial 1 is under testing by some helpful helpers, soon to be out for you to enjoy. (hopefully tuesday)

[UltimateFlier]

Helpful Helper 1 Approves of Release!!

You are Clear to Land!!

[Hampster]

XPPT TUTORIAL No.1 - The Windscreen - IS RELEASED!

Long awaited by you guys, now here it is...

click me!

Thanks yet again for your support already, I am really happy with how this tutorial turned out, now it is time for you to be the judge!

[UltimateFlier]

YAY!!

Edited September 25, 2011 by UltimateFlier

[Airbus]

Very nice! I would love to see more!

[Hampster]

Well that is the plan!

Happy 300th post there airbus.

[Steve Hatfield]

A "Beginner" painting tutorial might be a tad 'advanced' for me; but, I'll muddle through even if I need to free-hand something. As long as there's "delete" and "undo", I'm good.

I wonder if a screen that I can input things with a stylus would work, instead of a mouse. I can't think of what to call it. It would be more like my humble 'Artist' days. And, maybe it would work better for fine details. (might be cheaper than Photoshop) ..or maybe think of that for later. Purchasing Photoshop is not doable now.

Steve

[Hampster]

It is good to see you on X-Pilot steve, and as I said, Practise and practise some more... You'll eventually get there!

[Leen de Jager]

Very good tutorial indeed.

My only question is ,why making a tutorial of making paintwork based on the strongly distorted textures produced by Planemaker wich really is old fashioned by now.

Only real flawles paints can be produced by using textures without distortion.( texturemappings by other 3D programs than Planemaker e.g. GMax )

In my opinion the distorted Planemaker textures will be history soon.

Leen de Jager

Edited September 30, 2011 by Leen de Jager

[Hampster]

Just go to the Org and look at the new resources in the DM, Take away the scenery and repaints, and see how many aircraft are there... out of percentage how many aircraft are made in planemaker and how many are made in an external 3D programme? How many planemaker aircraft have good paint? I personally feel that Planemaker is coming on force, it is just that we have had a boom in new experienced 3D people who know how to run a programme that is REALLY hard to learn. Painting in planemaker is art, it is not meant to be easy, as with making planes in external 3D programmes.

[Kesomir]

Planemaker models will also have a new lease of life as AI in v10+

[Steve Hatfield]

I'm caught up with the class! (At 60, that's a good feeling!!) Windows Paint doesn't have the gradient ability, and some other niceties; but, If Jacques Brault can/could use Windows Paint successfully, at least I can slop some paint around with it. I can understand where you stress 'getting the Windscreen correct'. I spent almost 4 hours just on lining up the cowl, and the forward-lower line, getting it right. There's a 'seam' running down the middle of the fuselage that I don't think we've addressed yet; so, It's just fine until we do. I used black for the windscreen and a couple shades of gray picellating for a panel cap representation. Somewhere I came up with the idea to chose a fuselage color, so Pale Yellow it is, after another 2 hours cleaning the light blue construction lines left by PlaneMaker.

Curtis XP-3 Sport is looking good, if I do say so myself.

Steve

[Leen de Jager]

Windows Paint isn`t a paintprogram suiteable to make quality paintwork.

Better use Gimp or Paint.NET , they are "free" AND real painting programs.

Using these programs things go faster and better.

Regards

Leen de Jager

Edited October 1, 2011 by Leen de Jager

[Kesomir]

/agree with Leen.

[Steve Hatfield]

Thank you Leen de Jager, and Kesomir for taking an interest in my progress! I was referred by my sister to www.getpaint.net and found that it was GIMP. THIS Gimp actually has documentation and didn't look like the wimpy "gimp" that I had previously (from gimp.com); so, I downloaded it. I don't know if I can change horses in the middle of a stream (Windows paint to GIMP) or not. Starting over will put down several hours of work; The windshield WAS time-consuming to get right - I got it! Like Hampster says, practice, practice, practice; so, It depends on your feedback whether to start over, or not. (I think I know what the answer is.)

And going around the fuselage, removing the light blue lines was a pain where I sit. Come to think of it, I should have used light Blue to color my fuse so I didn't need to do all that pixel-changing. Oh well, chalk that one up to experience. Light Blue wings and tail will go good with a pale yellow fuse; or, take two seconds and change the fuselage color, too. ...nattering on....

I'm thinking (that's dangerous) of adding some thin accent stripes, like we would find on a factory Piper or Cessna when we get to that stage in development, so it won't look so 'plain'. (no pun intended, really).

Steve

[Hampster]

Well your are progressing really well now, I'm hoping to release a tutorial in the future that covers painting bodies a bit more, but until then keep up the good work!

Thanks yet again for all the support.

Happy painting everyone!

Edited October 2, 2011 by Hampster

[Steve Hatfield]

I figured what the answer would be, so I did a GIMP version of my Curtis XP-3 Sport -- Well, I got the wimpy-gimp again. Some issues are: 1) With Windows Paint, I didn't have to move the plane file back and forth from the X-Plane root directory to the General Aviation folder, to check it. 2) Wimpy-gimp doesn't have a functioning gradient feature. 3) Changing pencil colors with Windows Paint is a 2-click process; with gimp, it's a 3-click process. 4) I don't know how I changed the colors of the prop and landing gears to turquoise. There are a couple other things I can't recall, offhand - minor things I suppose; they'll re-call themselves with continued gimp use.

The Turquoise, light Blue and White Gimp version IS looking as good as the Windows Paint version; The light Blue came in when I picked the color of the lines for my fill color for the fuselage. That's when the Red changed to Turquoise. I'm going to pursue the Windows Paint version, along with the w-gimp version; THEN I'll decide which program to use for XP-1 and 2, later.

I'm going to try and keep an open mind about this w-gimp program; but, as it sits, it doesn't come close to the program Windows Paint is! And w-gimp isn't the program that I read about in www.getpaint.com . It's the same one as from www.gimp.com .

Steve

Oh well, it's being chalked-up as practice. ..looking forward to the next steps!!

Edited October 2, 2011 by Steve Hatfield