Car skinning guide

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An example of how a car skinning file appears (including wireframe).

Creating custom car skins is an important part if the league and gives each team their own identity. Here's a run through of the basics of car skinning in relation to rFactor (although the main points are also true for many other sims, as well as for other game textures).

If you need extra help or have any questions feel free to ask in the GPVWC forum.

Getting Started

To get started with car skinning you'll need to have the following things:

  • Image editing software. You'll need to have some form of image editing software such as Photoshop, GIMP or Paint.net in which to create your skin. Note that for most software you will also need a plug-in that allows you to export dds file format (such as the NVidia or GIMP dds plugins).
  • Car template. Also needed is a template file for the car you wish to paint, which will typically come in a multi-layered psd file. Links for most GPVWC templates can be found in our forum.
  • Mod files. If you wish to preview your skin, you'll also need to have the related mod installed within your game.

Painting

Once you're ready to begin, open the template file and first take a look at the layers window. Templates vary greatly in their structure, but typically they will be composed of several key layers from top to bottom:

  • Wireframe layer - Templates usually have a wireframe layer which shows an outline of the car parts and is a handy guide for positioning various elements of your livery. Remember to hide this layer when you export your finished livery.
  • Shading layer(s) - Many templates will include one or more shading layers which add shadows and highlights to give your finished skin a more realistic look. Generally leave these layers unchanged.
  • Parts layer(s) - Most templates will include one or more layers with standard car parts already in place (for example carbon fibre pieces, panel gaps, exhausts etc). Generally leave these layers unchanged.
  • Paint layer - This is usually the bottom layer and is where you want to create your design. Naming of this layer varies from template to template, but it should be fairly obvious and is often called something like 'Paint here' or 'Base layer'. It's up to you whether to paint all in one layer or whether to create new layers here for each separate colour/design element.

Once you've selected the paint layer, you're ready to start designing. What you design for your car is up to you and your artistic skills. If you are unsure how patterns may fit onto your car, try looking at existing skins for that car for guidance.

You will most likely want to put logos and numbers onto your car, so it's recommended that you add a new transparent layer for them just above your paint layers. However please note that for most GPVWC car skins you cannot use logos that you haven't gained permission to use.

Don't forget to regularly save your layered file, plus a backup file every now and then in case something goes wrong.

Exporting

Once you are happy with your design it's time to export it so we can check how it looks in the game. To do this you will first need to flatten all the layers into one single layer. Make sure any layers that aren't part of the design (such as the wireframe layer) have their visibility toggled off before you do this. Also ensure that any alpha layer for the image is applied correctly at this stage.

After flattening the layers, the next step is to save your design as a .dds format file (the standard format for most game textures). The exact method of doing this varies a little between programs, but generally you'll need to go to File > Save As or File > Export As and select dds format when naming your new file. With dds export you'll also be given some export options that are very important to get your file working correctly in game. The two most important ones are Export Mode and Generate Mip Maps. For most cases you'll want to select DXT5 mode (Interpolated Alpha), although DXT1 mode can sometimes be used if the file contains no alpha layer. As for mip maps, always ensure the option to generate mip maps is selected or the texture won't display properly at a distance or low graphics settings.

Previewing

rFactor1

Very often you won't get the skin exactly how you want it first time, so it's important to preview it first. The simplest way to do this is to find the folder where files of the car you wish to use are kept within your game. With rFactor this will usually be somewhere in one of the subfolders located in the rFactor\Gamedata\Vehicles folder. Once there lookout for a file relating to your chosen vehicle named [CarName].veh. In the same folder as the veh file, now create a new folder called Skins and inside that folder place the dds file for your new livery. After you have done that open rFactor and when you select your car go to the Skins tab and choose your design, which will instantly appear on the spinner.

Once you are happy with your skins you're ready to go - but remember to share your skin or else you'll be the only one to see it online.

rFactor2

rFactor2 has it's own custom skin system and a full guide on the subject can be found here: Previewing/Adding a car skin in rFactor2

Advanced techniques

Using the alpha layer

Unless you want a very shiny car, you'll most likely need to adjust the alpha layer of your finished design. The alpha layer controls the transparency of your dds file, which in turn controls the level of reflectiveness of each surface in the game. By using alpha settings carefully you can add a matte or gloss effect to your design, or even a mix of the two.

As a rule of thumb with body panels the more transparent (darker in the alpha layer) a part is within the dds file, the less shiny that paint will be, while a less transparent part (lighter in the alpha layer) will appear much shinier in the finished skin. Many templates will already some with some sort of default alpha layer for that car, but if it doesn't then either you copy one from an existing skin or simply fill the alpha layer with a mid-grey. The main exception to this is with transparent car parts such as windows and highlight covers; here the level of transparency of in dds file directly relates to the transparency of the car part in question.