I am interested in panel and gauge creation -- and I reckon I have the "intellectual"!! abilities for this line of FS -- BUT the thing that stops me in my tracks is the creation of the actual artwork -- ie the bitmaps. I even have ( intellectually) what it takes to use and understand graphics programmes ! :) -- BUT I AM NO ARTIST!!!!! I couldn't draw or paint anything to save my life. I have modified other peoples panels and gauges -- and have even modified their artwork a little, but that soon goes astray if I try to modify it too much! :(So what do all you panel/designers out there do? Work as a team?Any help would be much appreciated.Thanks Barry

Hi Barry, do you have Photoshop or the like? Don

Hi,Home alone.Get a panelpic from Airliners.Net and start modifying etc.I did and am very happy with it!Jan"Procul Negotiis"

>Get a panelpic from Airliners.Net and start modifying etc.>I did and am very happy with it!>>JanWould it be possible for you to post some "before and after " type pictures to illustrate what you have done?Thanks Barry

>Hi Barry, do you have Photoshop or the like? >>DonWell the answer to that question is "Yes and No!! :)I don't have Photoshop right now -- but could get it. In the meantime, I have "played around" with other graphics programmes. I appreciate the depth to which they can go and the mental difficulty that is involved to really come to grips with them.But , as I said, that is not my problem -- what is my problem, is that regardless of how well I learn to use a graphics package, that still does not make me an "artist" . The panels that I admire most have surely been rendered by somebody with strong artistic abilities. I know that some people have taken photos of actual panels and used them as a base for their gauges -- sometimes that can be good , while at other times not so good. Barry

Hi, Before and after:Jan"Procul Negotiis"http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/58965.jpghttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/58966.jpg

Hi Barry, I agree with Jan that the best way to learn is simply start making something. However, you will still need the tools for doing it. So I think you will need a graphics program to allow you to do the artwork. Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro are the two big ones I know of. I use Photoshop myself, it was not all that difficult to learn.If you are a student or associated with an educational institution, you can get photoshop for less than half price.Good luck, Don