Reskinning with Gimp

[rastis]

G'day! :wave:

So I figured it's time to tie loose ends between myself and the world of Trainz, it's time I started reskinning in Trainz. Now, I'm completely new to graphic design with Trainz, I have had some experience with Photoshop before but this time, I will be using Gimp, since I do not have Photoshop on my computer. I have read a few tutorials on reskinning, but I couldn't find one with Gimp that made sense to me.

Okay so, I want to do a basic reskin of PikkaBird's QR 1502 Class for my PERSONAL use in the this livery of the Tasrail ZC Class: http://www.railtasmania.com/photogal/showimage.php?id=23 I know, 1502 is not the right loco but hell, looks similar from a distance...

To get the photorealistic feel of that picture into Trainz, would I first have to take photos of that exact ZC Class? As that would be a pain since I no longer live in Tasmania.

Anyway, back on 'track' *brick'd* Does anyone know of, or have a simple to follow Gimp Trainz reskin tutorial?


Cheers!

Jake.

 

[Euphod]

No, I do not, but I do like to encourage reskinners. I think a wise man once said "you can give a man a model, but if you teach him reskin, the bounty is multiplied" (or something like that). You could certainly find a photograph of the locomotive in question on the interwebs, and then ask for permission to use the photo as a basis for your textures. Handrails are the bane of locomotive reskinners, so good luck!

 

[mjolnir]

Reskinning is really quite simple. One simply takes the image file of an asset, and manipulates it, so that the mesh has a different appearance.

First step is to clone the asset, and then open the cloned asset for edit in Explorer, and copy the folder containing the cloned asset to the desktop. I then find it helpful to switch Trainz to a window (as contrasted with a full screen) view. For a railcar or locomotive, it may be sufficient to re-commit the item, then open it in railyard for a building or other scenery asset you may need to launch the game, and place the object on a baseboard. Railyard for a car or locomotive, of placing a scenery object on a baseboard will allow you to study the object from all (or at least most) angles by rotating the item as required. Then use your image processing sofware of choice to open the texture files, and match each element of each file (if there happens to be more than one texture file) with it's location on the finished model. One then uses one's image processing software to change the texture files; changing the number, the name of the company which owns the locomotive, &c. When you've changed the texture file, you save it back to the folder on your desktop the cloned asset and recommit it. It's really all as simple as that.

But if it were me, I'd not try a locomotive as my first effort. preferring instead to begin with something simpler. My first re-skins (which at this point are for private use), were to take a box car and two different covered hoppers and create a fleet of cars, each with its own permanent number. I suspect you'll need other assets for your route, too, and you might want to first try reskinning reskinning simple buildings and railcars, working successively on items of more complexity, and when you have a better understanding of the process of reskinning, then do your locomotive.

ns

 

[johnwhelan]

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Trainz/Basic_Reskinning_for_beginners

Cheerio John