Simviation Forums

Greetings All,

I am interested in getting into paints. My computer has Corel Paint Shop Pro X2, but I have no clue what I am doing. Does anyone here use it? Know of any tutorials? Most of my repaint kits are in .PSD files, but the finished repaints in the texture files are .BMP. I tried doing a very basic paint, basically changing the base color of a .PSD file, saved it as a .BMP and when I view it in FSX the aircraft is black everywhere I altered the color. Not sure if I am screwing up the layers or what. Any help would be appreciated, including the name of a better program if Corel is junk.

Thanks

Hi,

the Corel programm is great, for editing textures, but i use the GIMP, which - to my mind - is even better. But more important is DXTBmp, a small programm, which can convert normal BMPs into extended ones, that are used by the sim.

The textures of FSX and FS9 are no normal bitmaps, they are extended ones, that can include an alpha channel, containing informations about shine or transparency. DXTBmp is used to manipulate the alpha channel and to convert BMPs into other formats, it can also convert dds textures in other BMPs.

To edit a texture, load it first with DXTBmp and export the alpha channel. Then edit it with your favored graphics programm and save it as a BMP. Load this BMP again into DXTBmp and import the alpha cannel; now you can save your work as an extended bitmap, that works in the sim.

Greetings from Germany

Dieselpunk

Old one but fact is with gimp you can export to DXT and add alpha all in the programme you need this plugins

http://registry.gimp.org/node/70

DOne

wanna get into repaints huh

give ya a piece of advice to start,,, find ya some ol' pane you don't give a hoot about,,,, and just start painting away,,,, learn what all the icons do, and how to paint textures and Paste objects onto other objects without messing the quality of the file up to badd.

Also learn how to use that Clone brush, comes in real handy at times, once ya get the knack of it.

and have plenty of tons of patience,, a lotta of that !!!!

I been painting for a few years now and I still am finding out new things .