Hey guys, I'm new to the AVSim forums. Just want to say hello, and was wondering if anyone here would be able to help me figure out how to get a metallic flake candy apple red color to paint a plane with. Here is an example of the color I'm looking for with metallic flakes in it.The base color is a candy apple red, with light silver flakes.Any help is appreciated.AdawgPS if this is in the wrong section of the forums, I appologize.

I would guess that you'd probably have to change the reflectivity of a base red colour by varying the grayscale tones on an alpha channel. If I was going to try it, I'd go into the alpha channel in Photoshop and then use either the 'despeckle' or possibly the 'add-noise' filters on that alpha channel (in monotone) to create a speckled alpha channel. That would presumably then sparkle a bit in FS owing to the different areas of reflectivity being created by the noisy tone on alpha channel of the texture.Al

Ok my first attemp at a metallic paint. Opinions?By the way don't mind the engines and the tail as I "threw" the fuselage on and that's it.Adrian

A good start!Another useful additional tool for metallics is to make a specific spec texture. A normal spec is merely a colour negative which has been desaturated 50% and lightened 50%. To get the metallic effect, keep the normal spec, but on the areas that are supposed to be candapple (in your case) paint the spec texture cherry red with gold flakes (add noise filter, single colour, gaussian) - I have also just posted some pictures in another recent post about metalic paints.