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Howto:Edit a livery: Difference between revisions
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Improved first section; Moved around images; +section: Editing the livery XML file; etc
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(Improved first section; Moved around images; +section: Editing the livery XML file; etc) |
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[[File:PC-9M Slovenian Livery.png|150px|thumb|right|Slovenian livery for pjedvaj's second version of the [[Pilatus PC-9M]].]] | |||
[[File:Finished Slovenian PC-9M livery (3DViewer screenshot).png|150px|thumb|right|3DViewer screen shot of a finished livery draped over the model.]] | |||
[[File:Finished Slovenian PC-9M livery (in-game screenshot).png|150px|thumb|right|FlightGear 2.0.0 in-game screen shot with the finished livery.]] | |||
By '''editing a livery''' you can give an aircraft a new paint job, a new ''livery''. In some other flight simulators and games a livery can be called a ''paint (scheme)'' or ''repaint''. A livery consists of one or more textures, wrapped around the 3D model representing the aircraft, together with an XML file needed for FlightGear to know which texture(s) to use. | |||
This [[:Category:howto|howto]] is intended to be a help guiding potential livery artists as well as the more experienced ones needing a refresher. | |||
[[ | |||
== Where to find an aircrafts livery == | |||
The installed aircraft can be found in <tt>$FG_ROOT/data/Aircraft</tt>, where <tt>$FG_ROOT</tt> is where FlightGear is installed. Each aircraft has a directory that contains a few text, 3D model and image files organized in several subdirectories. In that structure is one or more liveries and one 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 author organized the files and directories. | |||
== General work flow == | == General work flow == | ||
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Make sure you have a lot of good reference images of the aircraft livery you want to make. A list of websites containing such images can be found at the bottom of this article. | Make sure you have a lot of good reference images of the aircraft livery you want to make. A list of websites containing such images can be found at the bottom of this article. | ||
== Editing the | == Editing the texture == | ||
[[File:Vector vs Raster Graphics.png|150px|thumb|right|One pixel line width square and circle together with a gradient. Left side is a vector image, right side a raster image. Both are exported 20 times larger.]] | [[File:Vector vs Raster Graphics.png|150px|thumb|right|One pixel line width square and circle together with a gradient. Left side is a vector image, right side a raster image. Both are exported 20 times larger.]] | ||
[[File:Livery layers in Inkscape (Slovenian PC-9M).png|150px|thumb|right|Inkscape layer dialogue. The four top top layers are the paintkit, while the rest of the layers are the livery.]] | [[File:Livery layers in Inkscape (Slovenian PC-9M).png|150px|thumb|right|Inkscape layer dialogue. The four top top layers are the paintkit, while the rest of the layers are the livery.]] | ||
To be on the safe side copy the aircraft folder to some other place and work on the livery in the copied directory. | To be on the safe side copy the aircraft folder to some other place and work on the livery in the copied directory. | ||
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Lastly, when done give the livery a proper name. For hints on airliners etc. have a look at the [http://liveries.flightgear.org/contribute.php livery database's contribute page]. It is usually a good idea to have aircraft model and airline, possibly also years it was used in the file name. | Lastly, when done give the livery a proper name. For hints on airliners etc. have a look at the [http://liveries.flightgear.org/contribute.php livery database's contribute page]. It is usually a good idea to have aircraft model and airline, possibly also years it was used in the file name. | ||
== Editing the livery XML file == | |||
On aircraft that supports changing the livery shown to other MP pilots there are one XML file for each livery. The livery XML file usually is named as the livery file, except for the file type extension, and in its simplest form it can look something like this: | |||
<syntaxhighlight> | |||
<?xml version="1.0"?> | |||
<propertylist> | |||
<sim> | |||
<model> | |||
<livery> | |||
<name>Full livery name</name> <!-- The full livery name that will be shown in the MP livery dialog. --> | |||
<texture>Livery.png</texture> <!-- The livery file name. Needs no path if in the same directory as the XML. --> | |||
</livery> | |||
</model> | |||
</sim> | |||
</propertylist> | |||
</syntaxhighlight> | |||
The livery XML file sets up a few [[Property tree|properties]] used by the aircraft when changing the livery. In the above example the properties will be <tt>sim/model/livery/name=Full livery name</tt> and <tt>sim/model/livery/texture=Livery.png</tt>. | |||
Many aircraft has additional properties that are set up in a similar way. There can for example be separate livery textures for the fuselage, wings and tail. As always it is a good idea to look at the existing XML files of the aircraft you want to make additional liveries for. Also the simplest way to make a new one is to copy and modify an existing file and save it under a new name. | |||
== Sharing your work == | == Sharing your work == | ||