doing repaints of various aircraft paint kits

[Guest viperBAT32]

i am VERY new to aircraft repaints...so be patient with me!i have dxtbmp and gimp 2.6.4,along with fsx gold edition...i have downloaded CamSim's boeing 700 repaint kit and wish to use the tools that i have installed.i need an a to z course(using what i have)in how to paint and load the skin into fsx gold edition.i have tried several times,but the shell of the ac disappears and just shows interior of ac.just need the A to Z for what i have!please help! :(

[Chock 17,769]

Okay, you need to look in the aircraft folder for the texture you want to repaint and check the name of it and what type of file it is. The easiest way to do that is to right click on the textures and open them with DXTBMP, that should allow you to find the skin texture. When you've found the right file, go to save it in DXTBMP and check what format it is goes to by default and make a note of it (i.e DXT3 with alpha, DXT1 with no alpha etc etc), don't bother saving it, just find out that format and quit DXTBMP.So, now now you know what format you'll need your repaint in. Next, you open up your repaint kit in your paint programme. These are typically .PSD files, which means they are a layered Photoshop file, but you can open them in other paint programs which support the PSD format, including GIMP. The layered structure of the file means you can paint just the aircraft paintwork layer of course and leave all the other stuff intact, such as dirt layers, windows etc. You'll find that transparency and shine are on the channels rather than the layers, so you might have to screw around with those too (typically anything that is black on the channel will be transparent and anything that is white will be opaque, with 256 levels of gray in between for varying shades of opacity).So, having done your repaint, you need to flatten the layers and save the file as something which DXTBMP can open, i.e a png, jpeg, bitmap or whatever (make sure it's a format which supports alpha channels if you have transparency on your texture). Save it from your paint program in one of those flattened formats and then open up that saved file in DXTBMP and save it from there with the name and format you made a note of when you originally checked out your texture in the aircraft folder. When you've saved it, drag it into the aircraft folder and replace the texture with your new one and 'Robert's your mother's brother'. (might want to back up the original first in case something goes awry).Al

[Guest viperBAT32]

Okay, you need to look in the aircraft folder for the texture you want to repaint and check the name of it and what type of file it is. The easiest way to do that is to right click on the textures and open them with DXTBMP, that should allow you to find the skin texture. When you've found the right file, go to save it in DXTBMP and check what format it is goes to by default and make a note of it (i.e DXT3 with alpha, DXT1 with no alpha etc etc), don't bother saving it, just find out that format and quit DXTBMP.So, now now you know what format you'll need your repaint in. Next, you open up your repaint kit in your paint programme. These are typically .PSD files, which means they are a layered Photoshop file, but you can open them in other paint programs which support the PSD format, including GIMP. The layered structure of the file means you can paint just the aircraft paintwork layer of course and leave all the other stuff intact, such as dirt layers, windows etc. You'll find that transparency and shine are on the channels rather than the layers, so you might have to screw around with those too (typically anything that is black on the channel will be transparent and anything that is white will be opaque, with 256 levels of gray in between for varying shades of opacity).So, having done your repaint, you need to flatten the layers and save the file as something which DXTBMP can open, i.e a png, jpeg, bitmap or whatever (make sure it's a format which supports alpha channels if you have transparency on your texture). Save it from your paint program in one of those flattened formats and then open up that saved file in DXTBMP and save it from there with the name and format you made a note of when you originally checked out your texture in the aircraft folder. When you've saved it, drag it into the aircraft folder and replace the texture with your new one and 'Robert's your mother's brother'. (might want to back up the original first in case something goes awry).Al

Hey Thanks Chock,I'll Try This And Get Back To You If I Get Stuck!!!

[Guest viperBAT32]

no go Chock....the files(through dxtbmp check) are 24 bit .bmp files.no problem i suppose......the camsim boeing 700 texture.paint file includes the following:a paint tex. file that has all of the ac's textures like:ground vehicle textures,interior textures,pilot texures,and the engines,wings,tail(2) and 3 fuse. files listed as fuse_t_blanc,fuse_t_blanc blanc,and fuse_t_blancMast.but,in the main texture file(texture.paint)has the afore mentioned paint texture file,but,outside this file within the texture.paint are the .bmp files listed as follows:the thumbnail.jpg,787ext_t.bmp,787int_t.bmp,787tail_t.bmp,787eng_t.bmp,789wings_t.bmp,fuse_t.bmp,gris_t.bmp,and pilot1.bmp.are these last few the ones i want to paint or the paint textures file(which i have tried,per your instructions,to no avail)?hope i dont sound dumb as i can take off in a 777 and fly anywhere and stick a good landing with no problem.but,as far as painting i'm just having problems(apparently)just understanding proper file selection and execution of the programs i have.just trying to understand the proper way as i have several good ideas for custom paints...i.e.:heavy metal band skins(for personal use!)among others!so i would appreciate ANY help in holding my hand( :( )and taking me through...maybe exploring the camsim boeing 700 for yourself if you haven't already....thanks!

[Guest viperBAT32]

well an update,i figured it out!now all i have to figure out is how to add a nice glossy texture over my black aircraft.i can't seem to understand how to add that layer over the black w/o it disappearing!