Author Topic: Adventures With Gimp (Read 2818 times)

Aviar · « **on:** July 18, 2009, 01:43:00 AM »

This is what I'm trying to do:

I have a template of a plane with rivet lines.

I have a skin of the same plane without rivet lines.

I want to take the rivet lines from the template and place them onto the skin.

Is this possible using Gimp?

I have isolated the layers from the template that contain the rivet lines and want to merge them into one layer. Then I want to take this 'rivet' layer and merge it into the skin file so the plane will now have rivets.

I've spent hours trying to do this with not much luck. Any advice would be welcome, as I'm pretty much up against a wall.

Aviar

_AH_Twisted · « **Reply #1 on:** July 18, 2009, 01:49:07 AM »

1. On your template with the rivets hide all layers but the layer(s) with the lines and rivets you wish to copy over.
2. Open your other skin.
3. If you are able to. Click anywhere on the template with the rivets and lines. Select copy.
4. Click on your other skin. Look for "Paste new Layer". If that isn't available create a new layer. Call it what ever or rivets. What ever make sense to you. Then paste your clipboard onto that layer.

~S~

Aviar · « **Reply #2 on:** July 18, 2009, 05:54:13 AM »

I've tried that many times. It doesn't work. Basically, here is what I do:

-I open the template with the rivets.

-I have already identified the layers with the rivets, so I make these 'visable' by enabling the 'eye' for each of these layers.

-The 'eye' for all the other layers is off, except for the 'Background copy'. (I have tried both ways, with the 'eye' off for the 'Background copy', but that doesn't work either.)

-Now I use the 'Flatten Image' command to merge all of the rivet layers into one layer.

-Now I 'Copy' the single rivet layer.

-Now I open the skin file (with no rivets).

-Now I Paste as 'New Layer' onto the skin file.

This is when things go bad. The rivet layer does not look transparent. It basically overwrites the textures of the skin file. No matter what I try, I can't make the rivet layer transparent when I Paste it.

At least that's what I think the problem is. I've tried other methods too, with no success.

Aviar

_AH_Twisted · « **Reply #3 on:** July 18, 2009, 04:16:47 PM »

I think what is happening is you are also selecting the background which you can't in order for this to work.
Watch this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckL9UOmgBWQ&feature=related

~S~

Aviar · « **Reply #4 on:** July 18, 2009, 05:00:09 PM »

Well, I tried the things in that video but they didn't work either.

You see, working with two simple images can be very different than working with skins and multiple layers. That's why many of these tutorials are not really helpful at all. Unless they are dealing with your exact situatiion, it can actually be more confusing than anything else.

In any case, I'm still working at getting this done.

Edit: One thing I wanted to mention about that tutorial. Early on he tells us that we need to make a copy of the background layer but he doesn't say WHY. For the life of me I still can't figure out WHY....he never tells us. This is what is so frustrating about these videos. You can't stop and ask a question. So, many times you end up just mimicking what you see on screen without actually learning anything.

In the past week, I've learned much more by trial and error than these tutorials. Plus, these tutorials are not specifically about skinning, which would probably be a lot more helpful.

Aviar

_AH_Twisted · « **Reply #5 on:** July 18, 2009, 05:37:52 PM »

I've never made copies of the background layer either unless I want to keep an original for some reason. I create a new layer that is transparent, rename the original background to something else, name the new layer to background then make it the bottom or first layer. It does the same thing.

You have to make sure what ever you are doing that the rivet layer is selected, all others are turned off except the transparent layer it seems. Then you copy that. Since I don't have Gimp I'm not playing around with it. However the steps seem very similar to those of Paintshop Pro or Photoshop just slightly different ways of achieving it.
Paintshop Pro and Photoshop are completely different programs yet you can achieve very similar results by doing things slightly different. It is trial and error as you've said.

Remember a layer is a layer. If you've highlighted "selected" a given layer then click copy it will only copy that layer. That is how image editing software works and has for over a decade. I can't image the creators of Gimp wanting to change that for the sake of it, since it is a free program and the point is to get people to either switch or use it instead of a paid version. You'd want to keep some sort of similarities so those used to paid ones will switch instead of buying a newer version.

Have you thought of going to Gimp's website and see if you can get help from there either from a forums, or email?

Aviar · « **Reply #6 on:** July 18, 2009, 07:06:06 PM »

The reason I'm trying to stick to IL-2 forums is the same reason I don't like these 'general' tutorials. They don't address your specific needs. In this case, it's working with IL-2 skins.

The chances of someone on a Gimp forum knowing how to work with IL-2 skins is pretty remote. Also, you can usually get a lot more help from your own community than from a bunch of strangers, don't you think?

I mean, if I can't get my answers from the IL-2 community, I may as well hang up the old paintbrush...:)

Edit: Funny (or maybe sad) story. I got so desperate that I asked on HL for any Gimp experts. I finally get this guy from Germany who comes on my TS. After about 10 minutes of strange conversation, it becomes apparent that I know more about Gimp than he does and he's asking ME questions. Strange journey.

Aviar

_AH_Col._Hogan · « **Reply #7 on:** July 19, 2009, 05:20:46 PM »

Das wird oben gebumst!

S!

Aviar · « **Reply #8 on:** November 06, 2009, 05:59:36 PM »

I can't believe it's been almost 4 months since I started this thread. I never had intentions of becoming a real 'skinner'. I simply wanted to expand my horizons a little. I also got tired of asking others to make me skins that I wanted.

One reason I got started so late was that I did not want to start something that would take up a lot of my time. I was plenty busy with mission building and hosting. I knew that I would probably get hooked on skinning and I purposely stayed away from it.

Well, I'm still skinning and still learning new things, almost every day. I don't have the 'passion' for skinning that I have for mission building, but it is still very addictive. I'm sure I have spent a few hundred hours in that darn GIMP program.

It's funny when I look back at some of my early posts. I was such a silly noob. I did learn some important lessons in the process. I had originally thought that I could find one or two mentors to help me just a little while I get started. That never happened. I would say 95% of everything I learned was from trial and error.

Sometimes, I think this may be the best way to learn something in the long run. You really get an appreciation for the subject. This is how I learned mission building.

Anyway, I know everyone here has been on pins and needles wondering how things have been going. I'll never be nearly as good as some of the great skinners in this community. That's ok, because I'm really happy with my progress. Skinning can actually be fun and relaxing, when you're not frustrated and ripping your hair out. So, I just wanted to stop by and say thank you to all who helped me way back then.

Aviar

_AH_Col._Hogan · « **Reply #9 on:** November 06, 2009, 06:50:16 PM »

Av is hereby awarded the "Skinning" ribbon.

S!