Dull texture problem.

I have FS9 & Mike Stone's At9 Jeep which has a shiny finish. It's in DTX3 format I see using the DTXBmp texture manipulator.

 

I ran the fuselage texture through DTXBmp & MS Paint to change the serial number, & saved it in DTX3 format. My surprise is the finish is now dull & not shiny. Can someone tell me why?

Did you use the original alpha layer ? It seems that you now have a pure white alpha which would give a matt finish . If you still have the original texture when opening with DXTBmp you can move the alpha to your editor and then save this a a bmp texture , though I would recommend using something else other that MS Paint . Adobe have CS2 which is available from their site for free with activation code or GIMP . There are others ( too many to name ) .

If you have saved the original alpha layer , then open the texture you made before and choose " Import Alpha " . Finally save this as you did before .

 

John

Hello John,

Alpha layers are new to me. I've not tried to edit a shiny texture before & usually save to Extended 256 colour.

I have recently got Photoshop 5 & as it's more fiddly than MS paint I use the latter, which I've done for a few years now. I can change to PS5 if you think this is a better bet.....

MS Paint ignored the alpha channel and threw it out because it doesn't support alpha. Not sure about PhotoShop 5 either TBH. (but google PhotoShop CS2 and you can upgrade free, I know CS2 supports alpha (so does PS7))

 

To fix what you have, open the original texture(s) again with DXTBmp, "Export" the alpha channel to a file. Open your changed S/N version in DXTBmp and import the previously saved alpha channel, then save as DXT3 or 888-8 extended bmp probably with the "include mips" box unchecked for best results in FS9.

Thanks for putting it in " normal " English Jim , been away from the UK for too long . Having re-read my post it wasn't all that clear .

 

@gypsymoth

 

I've been using PSP7 for years and Adobe CS2 recently ( for converting to DDS ) but I still do most of my painting with PSP7 . Both programs mentioned may be old but they get the job done , there are more modern ones available but not free ( apart from GIMP ) . This " hobby " is expensive enough and buying an expensive paint program wont neccessarily make you a " better " painter ( own experience ) .

I second what Jim says regarding saving as Extended 32 bit bmp and although the textures are larger , you " lose " less detail in your paint .

One of the first things I used to do when making paints was to open up an already made paint and export the alpha layers to a special folder ( as long as there are no markings ) and later import them into any new paint . Now that I have been painting for several years I make my own .

Simply put with an alpha layer , the more white it is , the aircraft will be matt , the darker , more shiney !! Try a pure black one for a laugh but put on sunglasses first .

 

John Glanville

I pretty much re-stated what you already said John, sorry, your reply was spot-on. :o

Hello.

I tried this = "To fix what you have, open the original texture(s) again with DXTBmp, "Export" the alpha channel to a file. Open your changed S/N version in DXTBmp and import the previously saved alpha channel, then save as DXT3 or 888-8 extended bmp probably with the "include mips" box unchecked for best results in FS9".

 

I exported the alpha channel but didn't know what to save it as so named it fuslg_t as the file I was editing. Before adding the alpha channel it looked like grab_ 024. When adding the saved alpha I got a message that it would be changed to 256 colour & resized so I went back to DTX3 & it looks like grab_026 with the lettering I'd overpainted & repainted showing through. Ummmmm...............

 

And that is why I wrote ,

... One of the first things I used to do when making paints was to open up an already made paint and export the alpha layers to a special folder ... ... " ( as long as there are no markings ) " ...

It seems that the alpha from the original also has text included , as seem with the " ghost text " . I don't have the model so can't look at it but one solution is to make your own alpha layer by adding a new layer to the alpha you now have in a near white colour , for example using 230,230,230 to start with . The higher the number ( anything between 0,0,0 = black to 255,255,255 = white ) the more matt it is , lower the number , more shiney . Save to the same location where you have the other alpha but add _X_X_X ( the colour you used ) to the name . It's a bit trial and error this way but when you have done this a few times it will get easier . Now each time you load your painted textures with DXTBmp you can import the new alpha and try it out in the sim .

 

John

it looks like grab_026 with the lettering I'd overpainted & repainted showing through.

 

I think you did everything correctly, now you need to edit the Alpha channel.

 

It looks like the original Alpha channel is lighter where the reg number is, which makes sense as the reg number would be less reflective than the polished aluminum parts.

 

if you load the texture into DXTBmp and save as a Targa image, you can open it in PS with the Alpha intact. This makes it easier to edit the Alpha as it sort of acts as another layer in PS.

 

As an example, you can first edit the Alpha channel to remove the old reg number.

 

Then you can use the RGB channels to select your new reg number, then change to the Alpha channel and lighten the selection.

 

Now save the Targa.

 

You can then load the saved Targa back into DXTBmp and save as an extended bitmap.

 

I would use 32bit (888-8) for use in the sim.

 

I used Photoshop 6 for years and used Targa files as PS 6 does not support 32bit bitmaps.

 

peace,

the Bean

 

[added]

Sorry John, I did not see your latest post before I posted this.

[/added]

John & Bean,

I am very grateful to you for giving me your advice but I've been doing this for 2 days from scratch & thought it would be easier than making my airfields!! I also have to steal time away from looking after my elderly mother & dropping things half way through makes it more difficult at times. I also have only MS Paint & DTXBmp to use, until I learn how to use PSCS5.1 that I have to install.

 

I didn't see "no markings" mea culpa & making an alpha would be great but I don't have the right equipment. Also I've no idea what a Targa file is & my DTXBmp V.40096, doesn't have that facility. However, in the 15 mins I've been playing with things I have this but don't know what I did to get it. Something's not quite right still, so I must get PS5 installed & learn how to use that.

 

Looks like you are nearly there , there is just one more thing to add . When you are saving your paintwork always use Save as ... and save as PSP or PSD then save again using Save as... BMP . The reason is simple , you will always have a copy to work from ( PSP ) . The same PSD textures can then be used to make your alpha as well . In your paint you would then copy the text layers ( here in black ) and the tail striping and place them above the white ( alpha layer - this you can switch off while painting ) and colour the text and striping white using 255,255,255 ( you can use a lower number but not lower than 240,240,240 otherwise it will be too shiney as well ) . This means that in the sim these will have a matt finish and still retain the colour you originally painted them . With the ( white ) alpha layer switched on you then save again using Save as ... BMP but add _alpha to the name . Then with DXTBmp you merge the two and then save for use in the sim .

 

@ Jim & the Bean , the more the merrier , I'm glad that others joined in . My methods are not the only way to do this and this is how I started painting as well > I am just a bit rusty on the English so the " terminology " is a bit off .

 

John

MSPaint is OK, however once you get used to working with a proper image editing software you will be able to do so much more and to a higher level.

 

At the very least, a program that works with layers is a plus.

 

Being able to work with 32bit images also makes life easier.

 

...I've no idea what a Targa file is & my DTXBmp V.40096, doesn't have that facility.

Sure it does. Targa is a file format and DXTBmp can open/save Targa.

 

File>Save as...>Targa with Alpha

 

Not to worry though, until you get something more robust than MSPaint you are kinda stuck with 24bit images.

 

Keep plugging away, looks good so far.

 

peace,

the Bean

I tried importing a alpha file but got this 'The imported file will be converted to 256 greyscale & will be resized to match current image' so not knowing what it mean I didn't go ahead.

 

I'll run a copy of the current pale texture through my newly installed PS5 to see how it all works.

 

Thanks for your advice.

 

TW

I tried importing a alpha file but got this 'The imported file will be converted to 256 greyscale & will be resized to match current image' so not knowing what it mean I didn't go ahead.

 

TW

 

It's OK to let it do that as it only converts it for use with the main texture.

Keith

I tried it 10 mins ago but it didn't make the lettering & fin stripes brighter.

Having installed PS5 I thought I'd ask about alpha editing tutorials on a Adobe PS5 forum. A person there asked me What's a alpha layer? & then went ahead & repainted the screenshot I'd uploaded to demonstrate the pale stripes & lettering, & said he'd sorted it out for me !!!

 

I've pointed out he's repainted my screenshot but the problem is with the alpha channel on the aircraft texture as I'd explained in my first post but he cannot have read properly...................

You've called it PS5 and CS5 at different places in this thread so I don't know which version of photoshop you're actually using. PhotoShop 5 or PhotoShop CS5, the latter would be several years newer. If it's CS5 there's a sticky thread right at the top of this forum that might help you out, if it's PS5 the sticky thread likely won't apply. Just throwing that out there. :)

One way of fixing the alpha is to load your newly created texture bmp into PS5 & do the following:

 

1>Create a new transparent layer above the existing layer.

 

2>Open your original alpha bmp & copy & paste onto the new transparent layer. If there are any shaded areas where the original texture had the registration or paint that is not on your texture paint over using the background colour of the alpha.

 

3>Reduce the opacity (transparency) of the alpha layer so that you can see the texture below with your registration & paint.

 

4>Create a new transparent layer above the alpha layer. On this layer you will put the registration & paint that you dont want to be shiny. you can add the registration by adding the text & making sure its the same size & font & place it over the original registration, also colour it lighter shade than the background colour, do the same for any painted areas that you want to be less shiny.

 

5>Select the alpha background layer & increase opacity to 100%. You should now see a darker background & the bits you want less shiny highlighted.

 

6>save as a PSD (layered), so that you can go back to it if you need to change anything & then as a bmp.

 

7>Open your texture in DXTbmp & add your newly created alpha & save as 32bit-888bmp.

It's PhotoShop CS5.....I found your tutorial here Jim, in a web search & am trying to work out how PS works following your tutorial!

Thanks Paul. I have to work out how PSSC5 works but will give it a go!

I can't work out how to do this alpha malarky so I've saved as dtx1-no alpha with this result that I'm happy with for the time being.

 

However, thank you very much for your advice, & I will continue to play around with alpha...........

 

Terry.