Howto:Edit a livery: Difference between revisions

This HOWTO is intended to be a help guiding the potential livery artist as well as the more experienced one needing a refresher.

A ''livery'' is the way an aircraft from as an example an airline or a fighter wing is painted, in some other flight simulators and games they are sometimes called ''textures'' instead, as they are wrapped around the 3D model representing the aircraft.

Most aircraft in FlightGear comes as a ZIP file which contains a few text, 3D model and image files organized in several directories. In that structure is one or more liveries and on or more text files, XML files, describing it's use. The liveries can usually be found in the <tt>..Models<tt>, <tt>..Liveries</tt>, <tt>..Models/Liveries</tt> or some other directory, depending on how the aircraft's original author organized the files and directories.

There are a few ways to make a new livery. First of all have a look at the [http://liveries.flightgear.org/index.php FlightGear Livery Database], to make sure you don't duplicate someones else's work. You can also download templates for liveries, called ''paintkits'', there for a few aircraft , but usually paintkits are included in ZIP file with the aircraft.

* Check the FlightGear Livery Database, to avoid duplicate work,

* find reference images,

* get a paintkit if available,

* make the livery, and

* share the livery

To do a good livery based on a real aircraft you simply have to have reference images to look at while making the livery. You will need images from both sides of the fuselage, images of the top and bottom, and a lot of close in images of details. Make sure you also have images from an angle as well. Having a three way drawing can be helpful, specially if you want to add rivet lines or if there was no paintkit available.

Make sure you have a lot of good reference images of the aircraft livery you want to make.

There are in general two ways to edit the livery: Using a raster image editor such as GIMP or Photoshop or using a vector graphics editor such as Inkscape or Illustrator. GIMP and Inkscape are both free and open source software. If you don't have experience with a vector editor there's a bit of a learning curve, but after you have passed it a vector editor can be more rewarding, as you can more easily adjust, scale and rotate elements in the livery such as warning labels, stripes and cabin windows. Vector images also have the great advantage of having the possibility to later make a higher resolution livery in a snap.

''Start'' the work by saving your livery while it is still empty. That way you will not get carried away, forgetting to save it just to be reminded in the harshest way, maybe having hours of work lost. The file should usually have a size of 1024 x 1024 pixels, but any square with n² pixels side, for example 256, 512 and 2048 pixels, will do. Larger image size will result in more detail being shown, but also a slower running FlightGear.

If you are working with raster files, remember to use a two or four times larger size, while working on the livery, in case you later on need a livery in a larger size.  When you are done you can save a version in the right size.  Save the file in a larger size also when creating a raster image paintkit from scratch.

While working on the livery save the file in different versions while you are adding new features, so you don't end up messing your ''only'' file up by mistake. Copy the file, with the right size, to the aircraft's <tt>..Models</tt> directory or <tt>..Models/Liveries</tt> directory, depending on how the original author organized the aircraft's folders, and name it default.png.

* use '''FGRun's''' built in viewer at the aircraft page to look at the model, which is rather slow, or

* use '''3DViewer''', a neat, small and fast viewer, or

* use the 3D modeller '''Blender''', which has quite a steep learning curve.

Lastly, when done give the livery a proper name. For hints on airliners etc. have a look at the livery database. It is usually a good idea to have aircraft model and airline, possibly also years it was used in the file name.

Please consider sharing your work on the forum, and in the case it is a real livery, and doesn't have parts of non-free images, also the livery database under the GPL license.

On the forum there are sometimes a topic for the development of an aircraft as well as a sparate topic for liveries to the same aircraft. Use the forums search function to find any already existing topics. I you doesn't find one make a new one in the [http://www.flightgear.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=13 Development &gt; Aircraft &gt; Liveries] subforum with the name of the aircraft somewhere in the new topic's title.

You can upload your liveries to the livery database using [http://liveries.flightgear.org/contribute.php a web form]. When uploading, please consider the following (quoted from the contribution page):

 

# Zip '''only''' the files you've changed and/or added (eg. textures and livery xmls) and upload them using the button below. Keep in mind that:

## you use the correct ICAO code (can be found at [http://www.airfleets.net/home/ Airfleets.net]) for your livery. If the airline does not have an ICAO code, or the livery is based on a private one, the registration of the aircraft can be used instead.

# Include a JPG image of the livery (of the flying (!) aircraft) in a 350*250 (w*h) resolution.

Some one else would likely want to have a try at liveries for the aircraft you are working on. When you are developing an aircraft or are making a new livery for an aircraft without a painkit, please consider making a paintkit for that aircraft. Also consider that the aircraft will more likely get higher quality liveries and more liveries if your paintkit are of high quality.  

== See also ==

* [[Livery over MP]]

* [http://www.google.se/imghp Google image search] The obvius