Which color program do I want to use

I'm looking for a simple (free) program that will allow me to reskin ?? (I think that is the term) or change the colors of a cloned piece of rolling stock.

I know of "gimp" and "Gmax" and know that there are other programs are out there. I'm looking for something simple to use over quality.

In 30in gauge rolling I only Have 1 box car that I can get to work in 2019 and I want more boxcars. I know how to clone an item but need to know how to change the color so I can have more.

I'm hoping for some good ideas on how to do this. From step 1 to done LOL

Thanks for any information you can give me.
Dave

krita, paint.net, Pixlr X, Fotor, Canva, Darktable, Microsoft Windows 10 Photos, Google Photos.

Realistically grab a copy of paintshop pro from ebay etc. You want X9 or later and that one has a colour replacer tool that allows you to change the colour whilst retaining the subtle differences in the texture file.

Cheerio John

IamKJVonly2 said:

I'm looking for a simple (free) program that will allow me to reskin ?? (I think that is the term) or change the colors of a cloned piece of rolling stock.

I know of "gimp" and "Gmax" and know that there are other programs are out there. I'm looking for something simple to use over quality.

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GIMP and GMax are totally different programs. GIMP is a graphics program (a "paint" program if you prefer that term) while GMax is a 3D modelling program.

There are plenty of free "paint" programs available, John lists quite quite a few in his post above (many of which I have never heard of before).

All of them will have a learning curve, some steeper than others but these often have the better and more advanced features.

I can only say that I use GIMP (which does have a steep learning curve) but I have used it very successfully to "reskin" many existing assets. But regardless of which program you use, the reskinning process is a learning curve in itself and if you are going to upload your reskins to the DLS then you must have the permission of the original creator.

paint.net is a simple program I've used for reskinning locos and scenery objects such as buildings and vehicles, actually all of my reskinned vehicles you see in my vids were done with paint.net

Railhead001 said:

paint.net is a simple program I've used for reskinning locos and scenery objects such as buildings and vehicles, actually all of my reskinned vehicles you see in my vids were done with paint.net

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The problem comes in the cost of the learning curve and figuring out what you can do. It's a trade off between usability, capability and cost. PSP is fairly cheap but has a reasonable user interface, GIMP can do most things but the interface could be better in my opinion paint.net is fine until you reach it's limitations at which point you've invested a fair bit of time and effort getting to know it and may need to start learning something else.

Cheerio John

Once you get past the learning curve of the graphics program you have decided to use, there is the learning curve of the reskinning process itself.

The Trainz Wiki does have a reskinning guide page which is extremely basic - see it at http://online.ts2009.com/mediaWiki/index.php/HowTo/Reskin_an_Asset

The interesting step is ...

10) Edit the image file, save it as a .TGA file, unless it was originally a .bmp file, then close the reskinning program.

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That statement "Edit the image file" could fill an encyclopaedia! All the "skins" or "image files" I have edited look a bit like a cardboard box that has been carefully unfolded and laid flat. You then have to work out which part of the "image map" corresponds to which part on the actual 3D asset. This is a skill in itself.

My tip, do all your alterations in layers, so you will need a graphics program that supports layers.

An old guide is here: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Trainz/Basic_Reskinning_for_beginners

Cheerio John

Just my 2 cents, if you want something Free for reskinning, my choice is Gimp. The learning curve is not real bad, no worse than Photoshop. I've tried a lot of the other options that always seemed to be missing that one extra tool or feature, and Gimp has just about every feature you will ever need, and once you figure it out, it makes things real easy with the tools it has. (one to done)

Of course if you want to pay then Photoshop is right there also. I had it a while back, but no longer have access to it, if I remember right it was some sort of subscription.

johnwhelan said:

An old guide is here: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Trainz/Basic_Reskinning_for_beginners

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Unfortunately John, that address does not seem to exist any more. All my attempts to follow that link produced "Server not found" message.

Thanks for all the information guys. unfortunately I got busy today and will not be able to look at your suggestions until Monday. At least I now have something to look at.
Thanks for the information
Dave

pware said:

Unfortunately John, that address does not seem to exist any more. All my attempts to follow that link produced "Server not found" message.

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Site is up now..
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Trainz/Basic_Reskinning_for_beginners

Thanks, now working.