How do I use photoshop or gimp to mock-up paint schemes?

[BrotherMole]

Mods if this is in the wrong spot please move it.

 

I see here and on other sites people using Photoshop or GIMP to do mock-up of paint schemes'  - can anyone tell me how this is done or point me towards a good tutorial?

 

Here are a couple of examples of what I'm talking about:

Andy's lovely X-Wing http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235000922-bandai-x-wing/&do=findComment&comment=2329826

 

and Gekko's great AT-ST alt camp schemes: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234978670-star-wars-at-st-camouflage-schemes/

 

These both look amazing and I'd like to have a go, plus it would be handy to try stuff out before committing to paint - can anyone point me in the right direction?

 

 

 

 

 

[Greenshirt]

You'll need to either find or create a three-view drawing of the subject. That becomes your base layer and then you can create color layers on top for each scheme. Hide or show layers as you want to see them. 

 

That may sound easy, but the first one is a challenge as you learn the intricacies of the app. The following ones become easier as your skills improve. Think in terms of 2-D modeling in the computer, followed by 3-D rendering of the model as the more advanced step. 

 

My first attempt took a few hours over three days for the line drawings of the 3-view. Coloring in the first scheme took another day and by that point I'd lost interest as I wanted to build the plastic model. I can hand draw with a pencil w/ notes quicker. But that's just me. 

[Andy Moore]

As Greenshirt said, you need to start with a decent line drawing of the subject. With a kit, the best place to start is the instruction manual, as there's usually a line drawing on the painting guide which you can scan into the computer. If you haven't got that, you can try a site like Blueprints.com, or just do a google search for a blueprint of the subject you're doing.

 

If you're using a scan from the instructions, you'll probably need to clean it up by erasing any existing markings to just leave the outline and panel lines. Sometimes it's easier (albeit slower) to make a new layer above the scanned image, then re-draw the lines yourself, using the lasso tool or the pen tool, and adding a 1 or 2 pixel stroke to the selection. I know this all sounds very techno-babbley, but it's not that hard, and there are plenty of graphics sites that can give step by step tutorials.

 

For the X-Wing illustration I re-did the line work myself, using a scan from the instructions as a guide. You don't need to show every line and panel; just the ones that are needed to help plan out the scheme you're doing.

 

The line work looked like this

Once you've got that, just make a new layer underneath the line layer and use the brush tool to paint in the whole of the subject. You can either use the lasso tool to create a selection around the outline of the subject, or just erase any painted areas that go beyond the lines. It doesn't matter what colour you use at this stage. It's just a block layer to act as a guide.

Once you've got that layer, you can either recolour it, or paint over all, or selected parts of it on a new layer above the original. If you link the new layer to the original block colour layer (by clicking between the two layers in the preview window, while holding the alt key), anything you paint on the new layer will only show up on the areas painted on the block colour layer below. Again, check a graphics site for a much better, and clearer, explanation than mine.

The red here was added on a new layer above the grey one.

After that, it's just a matter of adding new layers, and painting whatever you want on them. As long as you link the new layers to the original block layer, any painting you do will always be within the outlines. You'll need to keep the original line layer separate and on top of the other layers, but you can lower the opacity of the layer if you want the line work to be less prominent.

If you want to match a pattern, like the wing design below, you only need to paint it once, then duplicate the layer, mirror it and move it over to the other side

I used the same method with the AT-ST artwork, except I used a pencil sketch rather than a vector style line drawing. The sketch was done digitally rather than with a real pencil, but the method is the same.

Again, coloured layers were added beneath the sketch one by one. Some of the layers were to add shading, highlighting, textures and weathering, but you don't need to bother with any of that if you're just trying out possible camo schemes.

You can use the same method to produce anything from simple colour scheme layouts to fully rendered images, but the technique is the same in all cases. Just building up multiple layers. Everything below was done in exactly the same way.

 

 

Andy

 

[Head in the clouds.]

If I may ask, is this same method used to make replacement decals if you have no originals to scan ?

[Andy Moore]

2 hours ago, Head in the clouds. said:

If I may ask, is this same method used to make replacement decals if you have no originals to scan ?

 

Yes, you could design decals in photoshop using the same method. As long as you know the design you want and the rough size you want them to be, you can lay them out without having a scan of the originals.

 

Andy

[Head in the clouds.]

9 hours ago, AndyRM101 said:

 

Yes, you could design decals in photoshop using the same method. As long as you know the design you want and the rough size you want them to be, you can lay them out without having a scan of the originals.

 

Andy

 

Thanks Andy, next lesson then is to learn the workings of Photoshop.

[BrotherMole]

You guys are great. Andy and Greenshirt thank you very much. That gives me a really good overview to start from. Expect bad examples to start showing up soon!

 

Andy thanks for the tutorial and for showing off your digital art - it looks as good as your models. I particularly like that Sauber Merc C9, I remember them from when I was a kid, doing some crazy speed at Le Mans. Just googled it, it did 400kph (248mph) on the Mulsanne Straight... an absolute beast of a car! Now that's one more to add to my 'to be modelled' list. 

 

Cheers. 

 

PS Mods that's so helpful to beginners in digital art that maybe it could be a sticky?

[Bandsaw Steve]

Thanks for the tips guys. I'm keen to have a crack st this as well sometime. Thanks for taking the time to type this up.👍