This may be a common question for many people. How do you make great looking, realistic vehicle textures. Personally, i use photoshop cs6 and can make some simple textures or edit others, but i want to know how to make a great texture from scratch, or make one based off of a police department. Which programs are the best to use? How do you get everything to line up PERFECTLY? How do you get the correct fonts? Is it just time and practice to make good textures? I really just want to master the art of texturing. Also, any tips for making a texture for the cruiser shown? Thx all.

Edited June 1, 201411 yr by Paul44

Well, you already have Photoshop....Play around, watch some YouTube and I'm sure in no time, you'll know how to use the software really good....good luck.

 

EDIT: Look here. http://www.lcpdfr.com/page/tutorials/index.action/_/texturing-tips-and-tutorials/

Edited June 1, 201411 yr by The_Admiral

As for programs, they don't really matter to me. I use Photoshop only because I'm used to the controls.

There are many great freeware out there, like GIMP or Paint.NET. I used to use Paint.NET and I loved it.

 

Well, you basically learn along the way.

My first pack was an OPP pack. It was garbage. Wrong colours, wrong fonts, and wrong decals were plastered all over the cars.

You really have to look at every single detail and replicate it. Don't think "Oh, they won't notice", they will, trust me.

 

I began replicating state police cars, and went from there. I usually pick designs I really like. This is a fantastic tool: http://www.policecarwebsite.net/

Once you feel comfortable, you could ask for requests. That way, you will be giving the community exactly what they want. (Although this shouldnt be your main goal, do what you want to do)

 

To keep the realism, I get a side picture of the car and trace the decals out with the Pen tool in Photoshop (The line tool in Paint.NET).

Make sure you use the right colours. Use the dropper tool as well as your judgement to find the closest font.

I use this: http://www.whatfontis.com/ to help me with fonts. Once you do a few skins, you'll find that most departments use the same fonts (i.e., Serpentine, Arial, MicroExtendFLF, etc.)

 

I have yet to design skins completely from scratch. I usually find some inspiration from the site above, and put an LC twist on it.

 

Any questions, feel free to message me. :)

Edited June 1, 201411 yr by MichaelV

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