These are NOT final!
This is just testing for best results, I will post final in a more composed thread when all cars are completed.
So I figured that I have not done much for the skinning community in a long time since I have moved on to 3d stuff. Until recently I haven't made a skin in over a year, and the latest thing I've found interest in 3d has caught me betwixt 3d lighting and skinning. So I came up with an idea during dinner that I should see what you guys think of what I have come up with here, and to see if you want it to be done for the other cars.

What I have done is used what I have learned, and am giving you guys a PNG (I tried a PSD, but it was over 4mb) file which you should use as a multiplier layer in photoshop or whatever you use, as a shadow map.

This is not the greatest currently, it was only a 2 minute job, but if you guys want me to do all of the cars, I am willing to do so, and will do a much better job too.

Any ideas?

Here comes two more on your way, the RAC and the FXR.

About time LFS gets some proper lighting.

I've had the idea for a year or so now, but been too busy (lazy) to do anything about it

For those of you interested, here is a good comparison in the CMX viewer of LFS' lighting system vs my GI layers in multiply with some brightness/contrast tweaking (50% brightened, 15% contrasted).

Thanks to Darkone for the skin (I hope you don't mind I used it).

Hmmm, pretty nice looking. I've taken the default skin and compared it side to side with this new template:

I just think that it makes the sides of the car too dark. In the default lighting, there is only a slight tint used on the side. I think on some parts of your template though, there are some very nice dark shaded areas (underneath bumper, etc). But the sides are just too dark, just notice the comparison with the color of the wheels. This really saturates the colors that should be really bright.

Perhaps you should have the lesser lighted areas have more exaggerated shading... that would look better.

Quote from Tweaker :

Perhaps you should have the lesser lighted areas have more exaggerated shading... that would look better.

I agree that your example looks too dark, but with layer blending and/or adjusting contrast you can tweak the layer easy and fast, and even get results that could very well be difficult to make in a 3D app (like if you want the shades to tighten up overall / much more contrast).

Attached is same thing - I use Lightwave 3D, but GI generally looks exactly the same whatever program you use - I turned down layer opacity and perhaps adjust contrast too.. can't remember.. made it exactly 1 year and 2 days ago

Dunno what this is, but down near the runner board of the side door to the RAC, the highlight there is somehow 'cut' (notice my attachment)... I guess that is from the side mirrors when you did all this mapping stufffff.

Anyways, yeah I played with the layer blending and some tricks, and some of it came out to look kinda nice, but I needed a lot of handy work done and editing. If the top view wasn't so white, I could make a really nice looking skin that looks very metallic... just the top was bleached out.

r4ptor, where you using the reflection addon in that pic too? Because I don't use that addon, it will make things look really fake.

Tweak, do you mean the shadows of the mirrors?

Here is another comparison

Tweak believes the shadows may be to hard (I have to agree really, on some cars they do seem to be slightly to hard), but that is why I made this thread in the first place to figure out what all is wrong and how to fix it to make better shadow layers.

(attached image is a comparison of default shadow layer vs mine, unlike the last one which was nothing vs mine)

Yum yum

Quote from XCNuse :

but that is why I made this thread in the first place to figure out what all is wrong and how to fix it to make better shadow layers.

How to fix it? I would try with area light(s) and or add some falloff.

This is a defnite improvement XC. Good work

The BF1 actually looks really good (unsurprisingly), here is its' comparison.
Special thanks to Toni for the high res. BF1 Heidfeld skin.

I have yet to compare these in-game.

..think i might do that now

I wish this was easier on me, I hate having to fix the mapping so that skins fit etc. (that is why this is taking quite some time, the actual rendering takes like 2 minutes)
I think I might do two versions, one with hard light (current ones), and then others with only global illuminance to produce softer light.

I like the first shot, the second on westhill has too little "clear" area, the darkness of the darkest area is right but I think the mid-range could be lighter in my opinion.

Rather interesting results with layer properties.

using multiply at 100% make things dull in comparison, without adding a sense of volume. However using hardlight...it looks kinda good! Feel like having spectacular highlighting on, problem though, the edge between the top and the side texture map is not progressive in it's darkness, so there's a harsh change in lightless. I think if you can sort of round that off, make a smoother gradient from the lower waist line to the side of the cockpit it will be much better.

thanks for the effort

Sorry for not updating in a few days, I have my last exam today (spanish :S I'm totally screwed lol) but anyways, I should be finishing these up some time in the next week or so to the point of final release, so just stay tuned.

Out of curiosity, how hard would it be to apply this sort of technique to making chrome type layers, similar to those found for NR2003? They could really come in handy for making metallic looking paintschemes.

Not entirely sure, but I could give it a go.
Chances are it would look .. unusual though, mainly because it would just be once again on a skin, so really it wont be chrome in-game (as we all know).
I'll do that right now and see what happens.

Also, your hardlight test looks like what I was going for

The chrome layers weren't really chrome either, they were just a metallic-looking layer. I'll see if I can find an example. They were mainly used to give colours a metallic look. They were definately not chrome as the name may have implied.

[EDIT] I can't find pics of the layers themselves on the net, they're all put into zip or rar archives

Oops owell, I'm doing a "chrome" skin now with a blue sky, I have to say, it is pretty cool looking nonetheless.
a very shiny BF1 it is.

-watch this space, I will upload CMX pictures of it-

I just realized if I want to do this the right way I need to bring the wheels etc. to get their reflection too, but I kinda like the GI+Chrome.
Obviously it looks kind of funky, but I could mess with the smoothness of the model so its not so the reflections aren't so jagged looking

-rendering it again with the wheels and other parts etc. and at a 2048x resolution.-

Chrome, and GI+Chrome

Just a little update, apparently my laptop doesn't like Vray yet, so I'll try to finish these up today, since I leave .. tomorrow for two weeks, so.. watch out for these.

Or release a shadowlayer of the MRT?

Severe bump, I need to finish these especially after seeing TeazR and RM make attempts.

Here are the ones that have been completed.
Use techniques as tested above to get.. somewhat good results with these.

No alterations have been made, they are just GI rendered skins using Vray with an overhead light.

All are in 2048x2048 file size format.

Quote from XCNuse :

Severe bump, I need to finish these especially after seeing TeazR and RM make attempts.

Here are the ones that have been completed.
Use techniques as tested above to get.. somewhat good results with these.

No alterations have been made, they are just GI rendered skins using Vray with an overhead light.

All are in 2048x2048 file size format.

Big time meh...

When are you going to release the XRT and FZ5?

The break in the highlights from the shadow of the side mirrors still doesn't look right in my opinion. It is an obvious spotlight on the car, and not what natural sunglight would show.

list of errors I should call this:

Posted those and ran to a parade, but I just noticed there is an error with the BF1 skin, the intake for some reason is visible, I'll have to fix that.

Also seems to be an issue with the mirror arms on the FZGTR, need to fix those too

harsh break on the XFR from top to bottom, need to fix that too lol

harsh break with XRR fromt top too

one more time with the RAC there is a harsh change.