The PMMF Livery Helpdesk
Posted: 20 Oct 2014, 22:32
Ladies and gentlemen,
I don't want to toot my own horn, but as you know I've kinda helped out with quite a few liveries for the various series across the PMMF. Unfortunately, as life is rather encroaching on my time I have to downscale. RealRacingRoots suggested that I suggest ways to lighten the loads on all of the usual painters across the forum, and hopefully this thread will encourage you to try some designs yourself, find some feedback and even maybe attract new livery hobbyists!
Firstly, I will mention that I will absolutely be around to design other liveries apart from my own if it's a concept that attracts me, or if it's specifically requested of me to do so. I'll be doing the AR2.0 liveries, of course, and I'd imagine Aerond would still want F1RWRS stuff (although that's something to think about later, when I might have more time...).
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So, livery design. Here's a few basic rules I tend to follow:
- The livery must have a cohesive scheme. If you're using angular shapes, you need to stick to that ethos throughout. If you use different shapes, the livery tends to look messy.
- Try to limit yourself to a minimum of two to three colours.
- Look at existing schemes and see whether they go together well. I've made a red and light blue car before, which really didn't look good at all.
- Try to make any sponsors fit the scheme of the car. If you've got a black sponsor and a dark coloured car, don't just stick a white box around the logo. Try to change the colour to fit.
- Use the wireframe layer! It's a great reference for the shape of the car, and so you should check it to ensure that the colours are going to fit together cohesively.
You've got an idea in your head, and you feel like taking the plunge to make it yourself. How can you turn your dreams into reality?
The simplest way is Paint.NET, quite frankly. It has the added bonus for rFactor users to convert to .dds, which is what all the game's texture files come as. Once you get used to the program, it has quite a simple interface, with the ability to use layers, curves and other helpful things in livery design. Pasta_Maldonado knows more than I about Paint.NET, so he might be able to tell you a touch more about it than I can.
Another way is GIMP, another free tool which is quite similar to Photoshop in many respects. Again, it's not a program I use, so if someone can help out with GIMP a little more than I can that'll be grand. Basically, learn by using I guess is the best way forward.
What I DO use is Adobe Photoshop CS2. New versions are pricey, but since support stopped for CS2 then it was "released" free to those who had previously owned it (but let's be honest, they don't care. You can get it here) and there's a serial key you have to enter on start-up which should be available on the Adobe website. I think...I have it also if you need it and can't find it. It's a really good bit of kit if you know how to use it, which is the only real struggle. Once you've got a good grounding in the pen tool (watch/read some step-by-step tutorials online if you're struggling) then you're going to be flying with it. If you have questions about PS CS2, I'll be happy to try and help.
So you've downloaded the software, and a template for one of the series here. You've drawn some shapes and you think you're ready. What next?
First things first is to decide on the base colour. From there, start a new layer and start building up the designs. You might want to start out simple, but once you've got the taste for it you can start to create more complex liveries and shapes. Once you're happy, then you can start another layer and start sticking on sponsors. I strongly recommend you start to build up a folder of logos, preferably in .png format (if you're familiar with vector graphics, knock yourself out, but I find them a royal pain in the arse for liveries). If there's no .png available, don't worry.
Select a sponsor, and if it's got a white background you need to do one of two things (note: this is targeted for Photoshop. Your experience on other programs may vary.)
1) If the layer is named "background" and has a lock icon next to it, you need to right-click and select "create layer from background". From here, you can either select the white space and delete it or select the letters/shapes in the logo and drag it into the file. You need to use the Magic Pen tool for this.
2) If the layer is named "Index", you must click "Image" in the top menu and click "Mode/RGB Mode". Then follow step 1.
Once the sponsor has been dragged into the car template, you may wish to change the colour. You could use the fill tool on the letters, but that doesn't look so great. Instead, you need to go into "Layer Style" (or equivalent, if there is one) and use "colour overlay". Then you can resize with the "scale" function under "Edit/Transform...". Try not to scale the shape up, because unless it's a vector logo (.svg format, for example) then it'll just look crap.
That's the basics, you've probably just got to type in some numbers and then you're away.
There's a lot more to it, but again, you learn with practice. Just experiment with different functions and tools and see what works for you.
If you've got general queries with the software, or you have a livery that you want feedback on, please drop a post here! Just a final few tips.
- try not to save over the template. Get into the habit of saving as a new .psd before you start (ie. Save As.../teamname.psd) and then go from there.
- different games require different formats, although you can probably get away with sending in as a .png. Try not to send in as low-quality .jpg files. If the series owner uses rFactor, they require .dds files, but if you're not sure on that we have the tools to convert them into that.
- don't use the brush tool. Please. It looks so, so sloppy and it's one of my biggest bugbears. Get used to using the pen tool, it might not be easy but once you master it you can get a hang of it easily. There are tutorials out there, if anyone wants anything explained then please don't hesitate to ask.
- Don't merge the existing layers in a .psd template. By all means, merge the artwork layers together and the sponsor layers together, but if you want help on something and we find you've glued the wireframe to everything else, it's past the point of repair.
- Lastly, have fun! Look at other racing cars, I find GP2 has great livery concepts, and you can adopt, adapt and improve your style. Don't expect to be great overnight, but with the time and effort you'll get a real knack for it.
I hope this works for you, again, don't hesitate to ask if you have queries, liveries that require looking at, or whatever else.
Ataxia.
I don't want to toot my own horn, but as you know I've kinda helped out with quite a few liveries for the various series across the PMMF. Unfortunately, as life is rather encroaching on my time I have to downscale. RealRacingRoots suggested that I suggest ways to lighten the loads on all of the usual painters across the forum, and hopefully this thread will encourage you to try some designs yourself, find some feedback and even maybe attract new livery hobbyists!
Firstly, I will mention that I will absolutely be around to design other liveries apart from my own if it's a concept that attracts me, or if it's specifically requested of me to do so. I'll be doing the AR2.0 liveries, of course, and I'd imagine Aerond would still want F1RWRS stuff (although that's something to think about later, when I might have more time...).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So, livery design. Here's a few basic rules I tend to follow:
- The livery must have a cohesive scheme. If you're using angular shapes, you need to stick to that ethos throughout. If you use different shapes, the livery tends to look messy.
- Try to limit yourself to a minimum of two to three colours.
- Look at existing schemes and see whether they go together well. I've made a red and light blue car before, which really didn't look good at all.
- Try to make any sponsors fit the scheme of the car. If you've got a black sponsor and a dark coloured car, don't just stick a white box around the logo. Try to change the colour to fit.
- Use the wireframe layer! It's a great reference for the shape of the car, and so you should check it to ensure that the colours are going to fit together cohesively.
You've got an idea in your head, and you feel like taking the plunge to make it yourself. How can you turn your dreams into reality?
The simplest way is Paint.NET, quite frankly. It has the added bonus for rFactor users to convert to .dds, which is what all the game's texture files come as. Once you get used to the program, it has quite a simple interface, with the ability to use layers, curves and other helpful things in livery design. Pasta_Maldonado knows more than I about Paint.NET, so he might be able to tell you a touch more about it than I can.
Another way is GIMP, another free tool which is quite similar to Photoshop in many respects. Again, it's not a program I use, so if someone can help out with GIMP a little more than I can that'll be grand. Basically, learn by using I guess is the best way forward.
What I DO use is Adobe Photoshop CS2. New versions are pricey, but since support stopped for CS2 then it was "released" free to those who had previously owned it (but let's be honest, they don't care. You can get it here) and there's a serial key you have to enter on start-up which should be available on the Adobe website. I think...I have it also if you need it and can't find it. It's a really good bit of kit if you know how to use it, which is the only real struggle. Once you've got a good grounding in the pen tool (watch/read some step-by-step tutorials online if you're struggling) then you're going to be flying with it. If you have questions about PS CS2, I'll be happy to try and help.
So you've downloaded the software, and a template for one of the series here. You've drawn some shapes and you think you're ready. What next?
First things first is to decide on the base colour. From there, start a new layer and start building up the designs. You might want to start out simple, but once you've got the taste for it you can start to create more complex liveries and shapes. Once you're happy, then you can start another layer and start sticking on sponsors. I strongly recommend you start to build up a folder of logos, preferably in .png format (if you're familiar with vector graphics, knock yourself out, but I find them a royal pain in the arse for liveries). If there's no .png available, don't worry.
Select a sponsor, and if it's got a white background you need to do one of two things (note: this is targeted for Photoshop. Your experience on other programs may vary.)
1) If the layer is named "background" and has a lock icon next to it, you need to right-click and select "create layer from background". From here, you can either select the white space and delete it or select the letters/shapes in the logo and drag it into the file. You need to use the Magic Pen tool for this.
2) If the layer is named "Index", you must click "Image" in the top menu and click "Mode/RGB Mode". Then follow step 1.
Once the sponsor has been dragged into the car template, you may wish to change the colour. You could use the fill tool on the letters, but that doesn't look so great. Instead, you need to go into "Layer Style" (or equivalent, if there is one) and use "colour overlay". Then you can resize with the "scale" function under "Edit/Transform...". Try not to scale the shape up, because unless it's a vector logo (.svg format, for example) then it'll just look crap.
That's the basics, you've probably just got to type in some numbers and then you're away.
There's a lot more to it, but again, you learn with practice. Just experiment with different functions and tools and see what works for you.
If you've got general queries with the software, or you have a livery that you want feedback on, please drop a post here! Just a final few tips.
- try not to save over the template. Get into the habit of saving as a new .psd before you start (ie. Save As.../teamname.psd) and then go from there.
- different games require different formats, although you can probably get away with sending in as a .png. Try not to send in as low-quality .jpg files. If the series owner uses rFactor, they require .dds files, but if you're not sure on that we have the tools to convert them into that.
- don't use the brush tool. Please. It looks so, so sloppy and it's one of my biggest bugbears. Get used to using the pen tool, it might not be easy but once you master it you can get a hang of it easily. There are tutorials out there, if anyone wants anything explained then please don't hesitate to ask.
- Don't merge the existing layers in a .psd template. By all means, merge the artwork layers together and the sponsor layers together, but if you want help on something and we find you've glued the wireframe to everything else, it's past the point of repair.
- Lastly, have fun! Look at other racing cars, I find GP2 has great livery concepts, and you can adopt, adapt and improve your style. Don't expect to be great overnight, but with the time and effort you'll get a real knack for it.
I hope this works for you, again, don't hesitate to ask if you have queries, liveries that require looking at, or whatever else.
Ataxia.