how to paint skins?

[Darkling19]

Hi all, i'm new to skinning and i was wondering about a few things.

i know how to zip stuff up properly, what files to edit, how to turn stuff into pk3's and all that stuff.

 

what i was really wondering about is the paintwork itself, i've opened some of the stuff that needs changing for example the torso of the model, in my case the rodian.

 

what you get is a complex shape that get's folded around the model with a very very detailed picture of whatever part of the model it goes around, the head of the rodian was filled with blotches, skintones and wrinkles.

 

to get to the point, how do you change such a detailed image to something complety different?

do you just use your photoshop tools to paint whatever you like on the old skin picture as long as you keep the shapes the same?

or perhaps is the intention to paste photographs or something else into the picture?

cos i have no idea how i'm going to paint something in photoshop that's this detailed and still looks good when that complex shape get's folded around the model and still looks balanced and stuff, please give me a few pointers cos when i look at the stuff sinnet i really wonder how that is made.

[Dr. Outcast]

well,....

best thing to do is download the tutorial and tools from the JKII website. for skinning, the modview program is very good and usefull as hell (lets u see your skin). The tutorial explains what u need to do for making a pk3 file.

now for the painting part:

first of all u need to unpack a reference model (eg:reborn)as explained in the tutorial

then open any or all image files in your paint proggy

modify whatever u want (try a lot of different stuff, see what it does) ,save it in a new folder with or without different names and thats it....

Also , compare some other skins

 

For detailed parts, i'd use a magic wand (in paint shop pro, dunno whats it called in photoshop) it lets u select certain parts based on RGB or saturation. that way u can select all the green and turn only that green into pink. try to get a hold on some effects plugins like Eye candy 4000 or others. and play around a bit with layers upon layers, filters and fx, tryout anything untill ya like sumthing.

Hope to have been of some help.....

[Darkling19]

thanx you have, when i first opened the jpg files they looked so detailed and realistic i started doubting if i was actually meant to paint over them cos i figured it would be pretty hard to paint that yourself, considering all the great skins out there i wondered if i was meant to do it differently.

[Dr. Outcast]

if you've never done any photo enhancement or some graphic painting it could turn out impossible, but as u keep trying things out and move further, eventually u can do pretty much with a picture. just keep on trying out anything that is available, try and try again. Dont give up after 2 weeks/months seeing u havent made progress, just try a different fx, filter, brush, anything...

u will come at a certain point where u think its good, and thats what count

[BradFu]

I'm sure there are a few people out there who base faces off of photographs, but I think the majority just modify or create from scratch.

 

If you know the tools, you can do some pretty impressive stuff with Photoshop. I've been using it for about 6 or 7 years, and I think I've become pretty good at it, but I have a friend who can take a blank canvas in Photoshop and turn it into a near-photo-realistic picture, including scenery, people, etc. You just have to learn the tools

 

I think pretty much everybody uses the shapes and areas from the original skin image, otherwise it would be a lot more difficult to get it right. Some people will just modify the original stuff, recolor, etc. Others will simply take the area given and create from scratch.

 

The best thing you can do is to check out tutorials for whatever graphics program you're using, and practice practice practice Just play with different tools, see what they can do, and you'll start to realize how they can be used in skinning.

 

BradFu!

[Nanodagiardino]

Start Small.

 

If you try the impossible right away you will end up getting discouraged. You definitevely should use the default skins to start with. I myself think it's pretty often useless to draw a whole new set of hands, or eyes, or even a whole new face. Raven provided a lot of material, and surfing around the internet, you can find tons of textures and images(not only skins) you can freely use and get inspiration from. Start from scratch just when you have some confidence with your ability and the programs.