Model colorings, patterns and textures

[Mattokun]

Hello,
When I look at paper models (esp. "professional" ones), then they always have very nice textures and patterns. They don't look "computerized" but actually natural.

For example, the other day I saw the "Betty" and "Ju 188" GPM models, the Betty has really nice coloring incl. wear-and-tear, and the Ju has very cool "natural" Nordic camouflage.

How/where do I get/create/generate such coloring schemes? Fiddler's Green has simple models like the Aircamper and the Pou du Ciel that come as black and white as well, and it would be cool to color them and have an individual look.

Thanks!

[3Turner]

The level of detail in the livery of any one model depends on how long the designer takes to color the model as well as how skilled they are to make it look natural when printed.

If you want to try your hand in putting a livery on a model, you will need some sort of graphic software; Inkscape, GIMP, Photoshop, Corel Draw, etc.

Search the forums for "recolor" or "repaint" and there are threads upon threads of information, and sometimes gems of information in a post within a thread of a different subject. And speaking of Fiddler's Green, go on over to their website and find the repaint tutorial by Rob Carleen. Look on the left side for a link for designers.

[Mattokun]

Thanks.

I thought that some graphic software would be part of it... I don't have Photoshop, and GIMP is not so intuitive, I know it must be me b/c it's widely used w/ great results, but the learning curve is steep (for me), and I think it's quite a while until someone can come up with a livery/paint scheme that looks natural (and not like it was generated on a computer).

But thanks for the forum idea, I'll check that out for sure!

[k5083]

Basically we're talking about the same skills that are used to create photorealistic environments in video games, whether first-person shooters or flight sims. It's artistry, plain and simple. A lot of computer artists find fancy graphic software very helpful, yet some can produce incredible results with simple, free or cheap tools.

August

[Swampfox]

I've worked in the graphic arts for almost 30 years and it just takes lots of time and practice to develop the more advanced techniques. I still can't do lots of what I see on the models that some designers create.....

Some people are under the impression that because they own a copy of Illustrator or Photoshop that they are artist's.

That's like saying I own a car, that makes me a race car driver.........

Practice as much as you can as often as you can and you'll get there some day...... But not overnight.

Good luck in your quest.

SFX

[Mattokun]

Thanks again all. I'm not illusional enough to think that I will be able to master this any time soon... or even late. I have barely enough time for building "kit" planes, much less designing my own, much less even to color etc.

The reson I asked was just out of curiosity, those liveries are often really cool and I was just wondering how it is done.

And talking about it, Swampfox, your B-24 is amazing...

[Swampfox]

Originally Posted by Mattokun

Thanks again all. I'm not illusional enough to think that I will be able to master this any time soon... or even late. I have barely enough time for building "kit" planes, much less designing my own, much less even to color etc.

The reson I asked was just out of curiosity, those liveries are often really cool and I was just wondering how it is done.

And talking about it, Swampfox, your B-24 is amazing...

Thanks for your comment on "The Dragon and His Tail".
I may have built it, but the ARTiST and designer of that beauty is the One and only JOHN DELL.

Check out some of his other work at ecardmodels.com. His work is just remarkable, mucking' refarkable.

SFX

[thorst]

The big question is: What makes a color sheme looking unnatural?
I thought a long time over this question, and I came to the conclusion that it's the perfectness of the plain colors. In nature, you always have some accents which disturb plain color areas, and it doesn't have to be dirt or what we call "weathering". Even if you paint your house fresh in a plain color, you will find streaks where the color gets thicker, and areas where it doesn't cover completely.
In graphics programs you now either can try to duplicate these effects one by one, or simplify them. For example I found a nice tutorial online which introduced a new layer over the whole paint sheme, and then added a "plasma" filter to it. This filter generates a whole new picture with random colored areas with different size, brightness and shape. You can use this as representation of all the random effects from the real world, and mix it to your color sheme by just changing the layer mode (below are two screenshots of a recent project where I just added a plasma layer for illustration of this post. To be complete, I also changed the plasma layer's saturation, and then it's layer mode to multiply. Nothing else, about 5 clicks.).
There are a lot of other methods on the web.
But allways think back if you are not satisfied, ask the question from the beginning of this post.

Thorsten

[k5083]

Yes, that is right. Just a little color variation goes a long way. You can also achieve a nice effect just by running an airbrush tool set to "darken" lightly over the panel lines, mimicking a technique used by plastic modelers.

Another good trick is to know that less is more when it comes to representing surface detail. For example, on the screen shots you've just posted, I see you've used an emboss type filter to give a 3d effect to your panel lines. That's good, but I would suggest toning down the panel lines (e.g. by having them in a separate layer with less than 100% opacity) so that they are not stark black and white and are a little less prominent against the surroundng color.

August

[thorst]

Yes, that's true, but I first want to see how it looks when printed. A model which looks good on screen doesn't need to look good in reality. And the detail you see here is VERY small, so it won't probably show up at all when printed.

Thorsten