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Old 03-18-2010, 07:53 AM
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Mauri Mauri is offline
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Mauri's tutorials #1 - Redrawing/Recoloring tutorial

Dear friends,
While working on a "Spanish Sahara" version of Fiddlersgreen's T6-Texan for the FG Modeling Madness Contest, I prepared what I hope will be the first of many quick tutorials on designing/redesignning models.

I would like to share with you some of my tricks, hopefully this will be helpful to someone...

First of all I start with a complete redrawing of the original model. I do this mainly to be able to gain total control over the outline of the model. I achieve this goal by grouping the outlines in 3 main groups: Parts / Panel lines & ribets / Tabs.
Mauri's tutorials #1 - Redrawing/Recoloring tutorial-all-lines-example.jpgMauri's tutorials #1 - Redrawing/Recoloring tutorial-outline-example.jpgMauri's tutorials #1 - Redrawing/Recoloring tutorial-panel-ribbets-example.jpgMauri's tutorials #1 - Redrawing/Recoloring tutorial-tabs-example.jpg
With this division of types of lines I can apply different graphic styling to them, therefore quickly achieving a nice relistic result. Let me show you an example I have prepared with one wing of our Texan:

1/With our favourite art software (Photoshop in my case), we prepare different layers that will help us organize the parts and apply the styles.
Mauri's tutorials #1 - Redrawing/Recoloring tutorial-01_wing-tutorial.jpg
2/ We throw some color and we have a basic artwork that would already do the job, but let me show you a couple of tricks that really add a touch to it.
Mauri's tutorials #1 - Redrawing/Recoloring tutorial-02_wing-tutorial.jpgMauri's tutorials #1 - Redrawing/Recoloring tutorial-03_wing-tutorial.jpg
3/ We duplicate the Panel lines & Ribbets layer and set one to be “shadow” and the other be “light”... to get this, the “light” one gets white fill so the line is bright, and gets a “Soft light” effect sith whatever layer oppacity you find to look nicer. The “shadow” one gets a similar effect to the layer.Then, just move this last layer a couple of pixels down and left, so both "shadow" and "light" lines stand together... they create a nice effect!
Mauri's tutorials #1 - Redrawing/Recoloring tutorial-04_wing-tutorial.jpgMauri's tutorials #1 - Redrawing/Recoloring tutorial-05_wing-tutorial.jpg
4/ Now let’s go for some general shadowing... we select all the area, an fill it with black. Then, keeping our selection active, we modify it by “contracting” 30px and adding a 10px Feather. We delete the selection and apply an Overlay effect + 40% oppacity to the layer and ... voilà!
Mauri's tutorials #1 - Redrawing/Recoloring tutorial-06_wing-tutorial.jpgMauri's tutorials #1 - Redrawing/Recoloring tutorial-07_wing-tutorial.jpgMauri's tutorials #1 - Redrawing/Recoloring tutorial-08_wing-tutorial.jpgMauri's tutorials #1 - Redrawing/Recoloring tutorial-09_wing-tutorial.jpgMauri's tutorials #1 - Redrawing/Recoloring tutorial-10_wing-tutorial.jpg
A couple touches here and there, and we have finished our wing!
Mauri's tutorials #1 - Redrawing/Recoloring tutorial-11_wing-tutorial.jpg

Thanks for reading... more to come soon!
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Last edited by Mauri; 03-18-2010 at 08:04 AM.
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Old 03-18-2010, 08:23 AM
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3Turner 3Turner is offline
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Wow, this is great. Thanks for the quick tutorial. When you start out on the panel lines, tabs and rivets, do you create 3 different documents and erase the lines you don't need? Did you use background eraser?
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Old 03-18-2010, 10:52 AM
WVA WVA is offline
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Great! Thanks, and I hope you will continue. I have wanted to add some things such as wear marks and scratches but don't know how. Maybe I can learn how to do at least that much. How do you get the page into Photoshop in the first place? Scan, I suppose. At what resolution - or what ever the measure is?
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Old 03-18-2010, 12:33 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WVA View Post
Great! Thanks, and I hope you will continue. I have wanted to add some things such as wear marks and scratches but don't know how.
Then you have just given me the subject for the next tutorials

Quote:
Originally Posted by WVA View Post
How do you get the page into Photoshop in the first place? Scan, I suppose. At what resolution - or what ever the measure is?
No, I don't start with a scan... I actually open the original FG PDF file directly with Photoshop or Illustrator and use it as template. I create the lines directly on 3 different layers so, if they are all active, you see it as a whole. So the complete image is in fact the addition of the 3 layers...
Resolution depends on the level of output quality you wish... anything from 150dpi is good, with 600dpi being excellent.
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Old 03-18-2010, 01:08 PM
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Great! Similar to Roberts question - how do you make the outlines at all? I know you cant be tracing them all.... that would be a lesson in frustration
Chris
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Old 03-18-2010, 01:31 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cgutzmer View Post
Great! Similar to Roberts question - how do you make the outlines at all? I know you cant be tracing them all.... that would be a lesson in frustration
Chris
Not necessarily! For instance, if you were using GIMP, you would use PATHS to create the lines, simply adding points in at every place where you'd need a corner, and adjusting the paths occasionally to match a curve.
Once you have a path in place, you can select that path and "stroke" it or fill it as needed.

Ryan
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Old 03-18-2010, 01:52 PM
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This is great! Paths...Photoshop CS4 has that function, but I had almost never used it, since I was not really sure How to use it.

How about the little rivets? How did you do them? Was there an easy way, aside from doing it manually?

On a side note; if you are actually going to re-draw the whole FG version, had you considered forwarding the final B&W version to Chip? It would be fantastic to see it available for others to use, as there are so many potential paint schemes out there.
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Old 03-18-2010, 02:18 PM
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I really like your shadowed panel lines. I'll have to try converting the trick to be used in Corel Draw.
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Old 03-18-2010, 03:02 PM
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Mauri Mauri is offline
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The Photoshop paths would not be too comfortable to use in this case, as you'd need to draw by hand and afterwards manipulate (move, erase, change, align,...) multiple anchor points until the lines fit the template of the original model.

So my first step really is to open the PDF files from the model directly into Illustrator. Then, I set the original design as the template (at the bottom layer). Then I start placing one point and a second one... the program draws the line between them and I have to ajust de curve. I proceed like this dozens of times until I complete all the lines. At the same time I separete them in the mentioned groups...
This is exported layer by layer to photoshop, and here is where my tutorial starts... maybe I should do another tutorial just for this? Like "Getting started"?

Btw, Chip and I know each other well from the times I designed the Sikorsky S-39 for him, back in 2006. So don't worry, if he agrees all I do from his models will end up in his collection

Thanks for your interest and see you all soon!
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Old 03-18-2010, 03:04 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by avro202 View Post
How about the little rivets? How did you do them? Was there an easy way, aside from doing it manually?
The little ribbets are just standard Illustrator line set to "dotted", then imported into Photoshop together with the rest of the "Panels & ribbets" layer
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