Hi All,As many of you already know, I've been bit hard by the painting bug :-) Part of being a newbie to the painting "profession" is the time you have to invest learning the tricks of the trade and the time to search out resources to help you along your path.Born is FS Parts Exchange! The concept behind FS Parts Exchange is to have a centralized site where painters, design groups and texture artists can share knowledge, tips, tricks and...well...parts! If you're a designer with parts (textures) you would like to share with the rest of the painters out there, we will assume the role of agent on your behalf. You grant us permission to distribute your parts and in turn, we ensure that your copyrights are protected. We are in the process of drafting a Terms of Use agreement so that you can feel confident we are working together and looking out for your interests! A side benefit is this will alleviate receiving multiple e-mail requests from different painters for the same texture (i.e. - a particular wing texture)For the painters out there. How many times have you hit a brick wall trying to figure something out only for it to take you days to find an answer? How many times have you shied away from posting a "silly" question in a support forum for fear of feeling "silly". With FS Parts Exchange, you can have access to support forums ranging from beginner to advanced. You'll feel confident posting your question in the appropriate forum based on YOUR skill level.The ENTIRE simming community can benefit from a service like FS Parts Exchange due to the expansion of tools, expertise, knowledge base and "parts" being made available to painters of all abilities with the goal of virtually eliminating

Mike, while I applaud you for the efforts, I am a little confused on the whole concept. Background, I paint, done all types of aircraft from CFS to FS9, from gliders to POSKY for VAs, so I know a little about it, and yes, it is addictive ;-) I rarely fly the heavies, more GA and rotary than anything else. I use PSP 7 and 8 and have used Photoshop for a brief period. I freely admit I don't know all the techniques used by guys like Steve Drabek, Ben Hewitt, Dickson Chan, etc, (even Edna) they produce some amazing works. Personally I think anything over 12-15 layers is a bit overboard, kinda like trying to see the difference between 60 FPS and 30 FPS, not being negative, but just my thoughts.Seems to be quite a few of the same repaints for the same heavy out there, just an observation when going thru the uploaded files. I don't see to many fictional repaints of heavies, which leaves a more definate number of real world liveries than not, and these seem to be covered. ( I actually thing American Airlines has less aircraft than there are repaints for them ;-) LOL)In saying all that, it seems that the new site will cater more to the painting click than to the gen FS public just learning to paint with "parts" being offered. I can see however whole paintkits being useful as many seem to not be able to paint nowadays unless they have a paintkit. I can also see the tips and techniques portion being very helpful, even to more advanced painters.As far as the "texture theft" (new one on me) issues goes. Seems offering "parts" opens the door a bit for this. This also seems a fine line between "ownership" of said textures, the painters, the original painters or the aircraft designer who did the originals.Again, this is not a negative slam, just some thoughts and observations (now I know where to go to get a dirt mask ;-) ) Regards, MichaelKDFWhttp://mysite.verizon.net/res052cd/mybannercva1.jpgCalVirAir International VACougar Mountain Helicopters & Aviation[link:www.cgrmthelos.com]Cougar Mountain Helicopters

Hi Michael,Maybe I can shed a bit more light....I freely admit I don't know all the techniques used by guys like Steve Drabek, Ben Hewitt, Dickson Chan, etc, (even Edna)This is where the site could come in handy. For those that aspire to offer the same high quality work as Steve, Ben, Dickson and Ed etc... this is where they could turn to as a reference. There are MANY tutorials scattered about and much like Avsim offers a centralized download seciton for files, that's what I would like to see for FSPX.it seems that the new site will cater more to the painting clickThey would be the primary audience yes...While it may be a niche site I hope it will grow more diverse in the future.As far as the "texture theft" (new one on me) issues goes. Seems offering "parts" opens the door a bit for this. This also seems a fine line between "ownership" of said textures, the painters, the original painters or the aircraft designer who did the originals.There have been several "public" instances of texture theft where parts were used without permission. This ranges from payware to freeware. Ownership still falls to the original author. For example, an "official" POSKY painter paints (textures) a wing for a BA 767 and allows us to "offer" it for general use. The readme file attached to the texture(s) is the "official" POSKY readme file with a "Terms of Use" seciotn inserted by FSPX. The painter who uses the texture is still required (as it is today) to acknowledge the original author of said texture. A case in point.. My Canadian B747. I was stuck on the wings. I e-mailed John T asking his permission to use his wing texture. He agreed, and I noted it in my readme file. The same procedure would apply with "parts" being offered via FSPX. We become the middle man so to speak. The "parts" section is only half of what we're offering. this is not a negative slamNot taken that way at all!! It takes many eyes to "see" if a plan will work or fail. :-)Thanks for the feed-back and I hope I shed a bit more light on the project?Mikehttp://www.members.shaw.ca/madamo/boeingsig.jpg

Hi Mike,Great idea and also please check your link address---should be http://68.144.208.218/FSPX/index.htmlEd

CRAP!!Thanks Ed...http://68.144.208.218/FSPX/index.htmlhttp://www.members.shaw.ca/madamo/boeingsig.jpg

Great Idea Mike.... :-)Andr

I think it is a great idea Mike..I know when i started painting it was very hard as there were no resources and few tutorials. :)

think its a cool inovation i would support it but also some files that make your individually stand out i would not share just from the hours of work that goes into them site looks great mike :)shane

Hey Shane,some files that make you individually stand out i would not share just from the hours of work that goes into themI couldn't agree more!! The great thing about this service is it's entirely up to the individual author whether he/she WANTS to upload that file. So far the feed-back has been very positive on the concept of the site which is enough for me to get it going!!Thanks for your feed-back!!Mikehttp://www.members.shaw.ca/madamo/boeingsig.jpg

Hi Ben,Thanks! I'm hoping to tap into the collective knowledge-base to bring as much how-to material as possible :-)Speaking from newbie experience, I spend more time reseaching at times than I do painting :-lolThanks for your support!Mikehttp://www.members.shaw.ca/madamo/boeingsig.jpg

yea mike i do the same thing hours and hours of researching for a couple of painting :)shane

I'm painting a lot still learning new effects to push myself beyond every project ;-)In the early days to learn painting it was difficult to find the right stuff related to FS...A lot of research on the web for new techniques....Site is looking great Mike...Andr

I'd like to lend my support to this idea. I've only recently started to teach myself repainting and although there are plenty of resources out there it all very disparate. I welcome the idea of bringing things together a bit more.Good idea MikeIsmetM

Hi IsmetM,Have you got any links you could provide me for the site? I've been struggling myself to find some good resources :-lolYou can e-mail them to me or pst them here if you wish.Thanks for the support!!Mikehttp://www.members.shaw.ca/madamo/boeingsig.jpg

Hi All,Overall, the response to the concept of FS Parts Exchange has been very positive!! Many designers have expressed their support and feel it will be a valuable contribution to the hobby. There was a very in-depth discussion on another forum which has provided me with a wealth of feed-back, comments and critique which I'll be using to make the site as comprehensive as possible.At this point, I'm looking for "donations" of links :-). If anyone has any links relating to aircraft painting techniques, PSP tutorials and/or PhotoShop Tutorials they would like to share, please forward them to me at [email protected]. All contributors to the site will be noted!!Thanks again for the comments and support!!Mikehttp://www.members.shaw.ca/madamo/boeingsig.jpg