Hi there, So i'm trying to paint a couple of skins for this fictional series i'm going to run. I've done a couple skins so far, I paint them, I save as DDS, they look nice in the Garage/Tuning section, but on the track (especially if the scheme is black) the skin has a chrome effect, which im not trying to achieve. I've looked around, and nothing is really set in stone about how to fix this, especially not in the past couple of years. So can anyone help me? How do i stop that chrome effect, or at least tone it down so i can see the skin. Below are the skin in game, and the actual skin itself. View attachment 17448 View attachment 17449 View attachment 17450 Thanks in advance!
You can adjust the reflection with the alpha channel. http://photoshopcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/alphapaint-1.jpg The alpha channel is a black and white channel. - black is non reflecting - white is reflecting In your case: Select the alpha layer Click on image - adjustments - levels Make the alpha layer darker. With dark color, the reflections are more visible then with light colors. But you can make cool effects with it. - a Black color with a white alpha color ==> chrome/mirror effect - a brown, orange, dark yellow with a white alpha ==> bronze, copper, gold effect. It's a bit of trail and error to get the effect. But fun to play with. For windows: - black alpha is tranparent - white alpha is non transparent (for text, logos, numbers etc) Scroll down and read the second post: how to select layers and adjust the alpha channel underneath these layers. With the "ctrl-shift-click) http://www.racedepartment.com/threads/rfactor-2-skinning-tutorial.105993/ have fun...
Do you have an alpha layer on the skin? If yes maybe try altering the color from one extreme to the other e.g. black or white. Other than that do you have HDR set to on or off? Possibly try turning that to the opposite of what it is currently.
Thanks for the reply, So i tried this, I still get that chrome/glossy effect on the skin in game, even if i make the alpha darker. I opened some of the skins that came with the mod that look fine, with no glossy effect on them, and the alpha file is the same that is in the template im painting on. I have noticed one thing, i can only save the file as a DDS without selecting "Alpha Channels" in the save option. If i try i get an error message saying it cannot be saved, i have not a clue why. I've attached images of the alpha layer, and my saving process, note that this is with "Alpha Channels" selected. View attachment 17451 View attachment 17452 View attachment 17453 View attachment 17454 So is there something wrong i'm doing? i have the correct Bit Installation of the Nvidia DDS Plugin.
I've done all this, but i think the reason why its chrome is because when i go to save the file as a DDS there is a tick box called "Alpha Channels". Now when i try to save the file with this box ticked it doesn't let me, giving me an error message, however i can save without it being ticked, but i get that glossy chrome on my skins. I looked at other DDS Files that came with the mod that dont have the chrome effect and the alpha layer is the same as the one on the templates im using. I've got the correct Bit installation for my laptop. Below i've attached some images of my saving process. View attachment 17455 View attachment 17456 View attachment 17457 View attachment 17458 Anyone know a way to stop this from happening? Am i doing something wrong?
Another Problem I've tried your solution, and it doesn't work, I have seen that when i go to save my file as a DDS there is a box that says "Alpha Channels", i don't know why, but for some reason i cant save the file as DDS with this box ticked. I've got the correct bit installation of the DDS plugin, so i'm not sure why i can't save. Am i doing something wrong? Here's my saving process: View attachment 17460 View attachment 17461 View attachment 17462
Well, looks like your plugin is incompatible with your Photoshop version. You need to save as DX5 to have alpha layer included, as you are trying. - why have you unticked "alpha channels" on first picture ?
The DDS plugin is often "confused" when you try to save an Image with multiple layers. In Photoshop go to "Layer" - "Flatten Image" and try to save again. Make sure to save as dds and not psd, because Flatten Image removes all layers from the image and the template would become useless.
Flattening the layers worked! I don't get the chrome/glossy effect which is great! I guess the file was too big to convert to DDS with all the layers? Thanks to everyone for the help, Much appreciated!
Could be, which version of Photoshop are you using ? I don't have to flatten, but now that Tosch mentioned it I recall yhat I had to at some point
