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Peter Watkins Developer Interview Conducted by Dominic Smith Development Peter, when did you start painting liveries and what initially got you interested in it? I started painting in June 2008 when I purchased the Abacus FS Repaint program. I only intended to do a couple of efforts for my own amusement and decided to paint Dave Molyneaux's FS2004 Miles Messenger. I put up a screen shot of my effort on the Britsim site (Classic British Files, as it was known back then) and the late Leif Harding who ran the site, asked me to upload the paint. I had always been an aviation enthusiast and used to make and paint many plastic model kits. It occurred to me that I could actually continue this interest in the flight simulation world. When choosing a project, do you look for something challenging, or perhaps a livery which is eye-catching? I focus mainly on British aircraft or British-registered aircraft, although I have been known to deviate from this if I particularly like a certain non-British aircraft. Most paints are challenging in one way or another but I like to select liveries that are eye-catching and/or have a specific historical importance (such as Amy Johnson's Gipsy Moth). /ima Peter, in the quest for realism, how far do you go when creating a livery? Are you the kind of artist who uses the correct font for an aircraft's registration for example? I will not paint a livery until I have thoroughly researched it for accuracy of colors, fonts, markings, patterns of camouflage and any badges, etc. I will not accept any guesswork and would rather not do a livery if I am not sure of its accuracy. When somebody asks for a fantasy livery, such as a Lufthansa livery on Concorde, is it something you'd consider, or do you stick solely to reality? I try to avoid fictional painting. There are enough painters who enjoy 'what if?' painting and that is fine. Personally, I think I have painted about three fictional aircraft liveries in eight years! When you choose a model to paint, do you think about what resolution the livery will be? Does this influence what type of aircraft you paint, i.e. texture definition pix/meter? I prefer to use the largest resolution possible, but mostly it is governed by the modellers paint kit. I do however resize texture files if necessary in order to portray finer details. Do you use vector elements in your liveries? Not extensively; mainly when creating badges, logos, etc. What do you consider your best or most popular work? I would have to say my best work is the Gloster Meteor series created by Rob Richardson, particularly the T7.5. In terms of number of downloads, the paint of Dave Garwood's Mosquito depicting Guy Gibson's aircraft is the most popular. What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of a project (texture mapping for example)? That's easy; overcoming texture mapping anomalies in the model I am painting. Where I have a rapport with the developer before he/she releases the model, most issues can be overcome. The main problem is where a developer sources more than one component from the same texture area. This makes it impossible to paint an accurate livery and has terminated many livery attempts. I have to say this occurs mainly with payware aircraft that are already released. Peter, what have been your favorite projects to date? As well as the aforementioned Gloster Meteor series for FSX by Rob Richardson, I'd also have to add Dave Molyneaux's FS2004 Auster series plus Keith Paine's Percival Provost and Proctor creations. What software packages and tools do you use when creating liveries? I use Corel Paintshop Pro X8 for creating .bmp files. The process of converting to .dds format is carried out by DXTBmp, although GIMP is used for converting 4096 size files. Bump maps are also created using GIMP. Who would you consider to be your mentors or inspiration in the development world? I have to give thanks to two people who are sadly no longer with us: Leif Harding, for talking me into publishing my repaints and constantly encouraging my efforts, and Garry Russell, for his valuable advice in using the PaintShop Pro software. Both these gentleman are greatly missed. I must also give thanks to Dave Molyneaux and Keith Paine for their FS2004 models and Rob Richardson for his FSX creations. All three people have been very patient with my requests for texture mapping modifications. The Team Peter, when creating your liveries, do you work alone, or as part of a team? Also, have you ever worked with any other developers? I work alone mostly, as this enables me to fit painting in with other real-world activities and set my own priorities and timescales. I have also worked closely with the three developers mentioned above when they were developing new aircraft. Real Life Do you have any experience in real aviation? Mainly as a cadet in the Air Training Corps. I have flown in a number of aircraft that would now be called vintage - Avro Anson, Avro Shackleton, Percival Pembroke, Westland Wessex, De Havilland Devon, and lastly the De Havilland Chipmunk. I have also flown in many training gliders. What started your interest in aviation? I do not remember when I was not interested in aviation. I experienced my first flight in a De Havilland Dove at a Leavesden Open Day when I was 12 years old. Do you have any memorable flights in real life? Yes, my first low level flight in a Chipmunk at RAF Oakington around the Cambridge countryside; a Shackleton MR2 flight from RAF St. Mawgan flying low over the Cornwall coast, plus a flight in a Royal Navy Wessex HU5 from RAF Wattisham (landing in Clacton Football Ground). Most recently, a 30 minute flight in a T6 Texan in Kissimmee, Florida, where I handled the controls and actually performed loops and rolls. Would you like to share what you do in real life? I am now retired, but spent the majority of my working life at the Rolls-Royce site at Leavesden, the former De Havilland factory. Future Peter, what simulators do you design for now and which ones do you plan to develop for in the future? I mainly paint liveries for FSX/P3D, although I still dabble in FS2004 whenever Dave Molyneaux or Keith Paine create a new model. Your Thoughts What can sites like FlightSim.Com do to support you and the hobby better? Continue to provide a popular site for me to publish my repaints and discuss issues in a friendly forum. How do you feel about the future of flight simulation in general? I don't have a crystal ball, so can't really tell. However, I think it's safe to say that I don't foresee a reduction in the popularity of flight simulation, especially in regards to the near future. Perhaps a new simulator package will be created? Lastly Peter, what would you like people to know about you and your work? That I enjoy creating freeware paints of aircraft I like and working with developers who are open to suggestions. I consider all requests for a particular livery, providing it is not fictional. Peter Watkins Download Peter Watkins add-ons
