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repaint question

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dinovandoorn

repaint question

Post by dinovandoorn »

Hi,

Does somebody know why there is such a big difference in filesize between repainting in FSrepainter and when i use Gimp or photoshop CS3.
if edit with the default FSrepainter tool then i get a file of 500kb, but if i use Gimp and the same file with a minor change the size is 4MB !!
anybody a solution for this ?

Dino
Graham King
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Post by Graham King »

Although the texture files have a .bmp extension, Flight Simulator uses a specialised version.

These files are compressed to make them smaller and quicker to load. You have to use a program to compile them, FSRepainter if you have the paid for version or DXTBmp is freeware and is the program I use. For FS9 I save them as DXT3.

In Flight Simulator 9 the paint will not show if saved as a normal bitmap, I assume that is what you are doing with GIMP. As an example the last paints I made are 3Mb when saved as a normal bitmap but this reduces to 1Mb after they are compiled.

Also the files can have an Alpha channel which depending on the type of model can make the surface reflective or make parts of the model disappear. In the night texture the Alpha Channel is used to decide whether a part is lit up all the time for example cabin windows or just when the landing lights are on for example on the side of the fuselage.

There is only one other method to reduce the size of the finished files and that is to reduce the size of the bmp from the normal 1024 x 1024 to 512 x 512. This produces lousy quality for the main paint and is not recommended but is suitable for the night texture. This is something I have been doing for a while and reduces the size of the night texture from 1Mb to 256Kb which is a substantial saving when you consider the number of paints that can be in one of our packages.
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ronniegj

Post by ronniegj »

A really excellent and instructive post Graham. A real keeper, which will be printed and added to my how-to notebook. Well done.

Ron
dinovandoorn

Post by dinovandoorn »

Thx for your fast reply Graham !
i will start testing with this explanation :-)

Dino
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MIKE JG
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Post by MIKE JG »

Good info Graham, we'll make that a sticky. :wink:
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Victory103
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Post by Victory103 »

As a part of this great sticky from the repaint masters, I wanted to ask which programs the "Pros" would recommend to new painters?

I have a pretty good tutorial and have both DXTBmp and the stock Imagetool from MS. I also have an older version of Photoshop. I just read a review of Abacus's FSRepaint program. Strictly painting AI models only.
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djnocturnal
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Post by djnocturnal »

I use Adobe Photoshop CS2 its fairly easy to use. But i suppose anything that uses layers could work. I also keep all of my paints saved to the PSD file so I can easily go back in and make any chages later. My NBAI F-18 painkit takes quite some time to load lol.
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Post by djnocturnal »

A quick screenshot of how I keep things together, i've had some PM's asking.

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Victory103
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Post by Victory103 »

Thanks DJ for the quick shot.

I went ahead and purchased the Abacus FS Repainter program, my main reason due to my FS9 taking a good 10 minutes to load with all the AI packages I have. I like the ability to see your work/changes within the program instantly. I am starting with easy paints and working slow!

What is the best way to get unit markings on your subject aircraft, (ex: Find aircraft on aviation photo site)?
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Post by djnocturnal »

unit markings can usually be found on google or even the base websites most of the time. just try a quick google image search and you should find something. FS paint is great, I use it as well on the tough camo patterns and then I go back and touch it up in Photoshop.
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Re: repaint question

Post by Graham King »

Another good source of unit markings is to google including "decals" in the search. If you are lucky you will come across decals used by model makers. They show a sheet of decals which you can normally enlarge by clicking on them. Right click to copy it and then paste it into your paint program. They are not of good enough quality to be used in your paint but you can "trace" around them to produce an accurate copy. You can then copy that onto your paint, resize and reposition as required.

I always do the tracing using vectors as they are easier to resize on the fly. Another tip when using vectors is to use the fill element only, leave the outline with no colour so as you resize, normally making smaller, the smaller version keeps the same proprtions as the original. This is not always possible with some of the detailing and you have to compensate by reducing the size of the vector line.

Understand? Neither do I so here is an example.

Image

The first picture shows my original trace which is a fairly accurate representation. The second is the result of me reducing the size by 50% on the fly. You can see that the light detailing which are curved vector lines are now out of proportion. In the third picture I have reduced the size of the lines from 3 to 1 in order to restore the correct proportions.

Also notice that the dark outline has kept the pointed aspect at each end of the brim of the hat. If I had used a colour on the outline of the vector these would be more rounded.
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jinx
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Re: repaint question

Post by jinx »

I have used kit decal images in my repaints many times.
Great source, as said above...
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md11driver44
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Re: repaint question

Post by md11driver44 »

Does anyone here know if there are plans to update the aircraft for the WCANG?
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Firebird
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Re: repaint question

Post by Firebird »

At this moment in time as an org we are not producing packages or updates, for a variety or reasons.
Lack or painters being the primary one but also the drive to make what we have P3D compatible.

However, individuals - either singularly or collective - do from time to time publish replacements but we are not aware of these in advance.

A couple of years ago we were blessed with a couple of very productive Mark's but for various reasons have not been active in a while. We hope that they may return and we hope that others fill the void left by them.

Your post is now out there and you never know it may inspire somebody to update the individual units that made up that package.
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