Body Part Decals - Thoughts?!

[BLiTZ]

This should stir up some healthy discussion...

I've noticed a big influx of 'fake' body part decals appearing in my feed lately and a lot of liveries incorporating them. I'm talking about things like tow hooks, vents, even body kits and just wondered what people think about them?

I massively respect the skill involved, some of the Asian guys put out some great work (such as the guy that made the Vulcan look like a Mitsubishi GTO or the Mini Me GT-R based on the Copen), but personally I'm not a fan, I feel they make the car have that NASCAR stickers-for-headlights or jelly-mould RC shell appearance.

Worse still they only really work in static shots when taken from the correct angle, from others they look flat and when the light catches the car the reflections cover them up. Whilst I'm all for detail, for me a livery should be just that, a livery, not an attempt to make the car appear something it’s not.

The other issue I have with them, is that they act like tinsel on a cheap Christmas tree, attracting people whilst at the same time detracting from a bad job. A replica N24h Falken 911 cropped up last night from the guy that always quotes his liveries as 'perfect replica of…' and already it has over 100 likes.

The livery uses lots of 'fake' elements (fog lights, canards, vents) and from a distance it looks good. The 'fake' bits make it look far more detailed and 'real' than my attempt, but look beyond the dressing and you notice the colour's wrong, the fonts for the number board and Falken URL are incorrect. It's missing the driver names and the Falken Scallops are both upside down and bleeding into the side skirt.

That's just one example, but I've noticed other liveries with the same issues, where the 'dressed up' versions always seem more popular than the more accurate efforts.

Anyway that's me, where do you guys stand on the subject?

 

[Nuschel01]

I‘m 100% with you on this topic. While I have huge respect for creating this stuff and making it work with the cars body it just looks wrong to me.
A car that looks like it‘s got a widebody kit but doesn‘t is just weird and as you said it only looks good from certain angles.

 

[BigJimmy]

Live and let live I say.

 

[JKcreativeworks]

Small details are okay, like quick-release locks or towhooks if done properly, but I really dislike things like fake headlights, or the Rocket Bunny/Liberty Walk stuff where you see obvious painted black overfender lines and bolts. But that depends on the execution though.

Just small details, no ridiculous things. Aside of the creativity and effort. I just don't like it.

Just my opinion.

 

[VXR]

I've found a couple of subtle, good ones. There is an M4 side vent that blends quite well and some fog lights that fit perfectly on the front bumper of the M4. I'll update with pics when I'm home.

 

[syntex123]

I agree with everyone above.

I’ve used some of the bumper vents on the Skyline, and some hood pin locks and a towhook once, I don’t if it ends up looking obvious.

Like for my R32 it doesn’t look so bad, with matte decals as well it looks more legit. I use an assymetric ‘setup’ though so it looks legit on the side the preview image is. Doesn’t look bad in front either, but better from side/front.

I like some of the bodykit images if the shots are taken in the right angle and looks good, but I don’t use them on my own cars as it looks stupid when racing.
Like said further up, it’s all distorted and stuff.

Hat off to the creators though, but it’s not for me unless the car pulls it off in all angles.

 

[BLiTZ]

I agree with everyone above.

I’ve used some of the bumper vents on the Skyline, and some hood pin locks and a towhook once, I don’t if it ends up looking obvious.

Like for my R32 it doesn’t look so bad, with matte decals as well it looks more legit. I use an assymetric ‘setup’ though so it looks legit on the side the preview image is. Doesn’t look bad in front either, but better from side/front.

I like some of the bodykit images if the shots are taken in the right angle and looks good, but I don’t use them on my own cars as it looks stupid when racing.
Like said further up, it’s all distorted and stuff.

Hat off to the creators though, but it’s not for me unless the car pulls it off in all angles.

I did look at the idea of using matt black as a base coat and masking the car leaving just the hole in the bumper vents on one of my R32's but it was going to be a huge effort to do properly and the trial run I did didn't look that great so I binned the idea.

 

[syntex123]

I did look at the idea of using matt black as a base coat and masking the car leaving just the hole in the bumper vents on one of my R32's but it was going to be a huge effort to do properly and the trial run I did didn't look that great so I binned the idea.

I just did this:

 

[MatskiMonk]

Personally, I'm not a fan, they look okay if done well in scapes photo's taken from the right angle, but they really don't stand up to close inspection. It is, IMHO, a step back away from super-premiums towards 'standards' where details are not modeled but simply contained in textures - if PD did it, people would complain.

 

[Cytoria]

I reckon I’ve used fake fog lights for 2 of my Huracan liveries and I’m thinking about doing the same with the 911 I’m making. I’ve also drawn the rear « boot » exhaust for my Supra GT. Sure they are not as good as a 3D model but what’s more accurate ? A car with fake lights or a car without, when the real one has ?

But I do agree for the fake bodykits which doesn’t work from other angles.

There are still nice ideas out there, like the « 300ZX » Vulcan, the « Beat » MR-2, the « Dome Zero » Countach... I won’t use them for racing but I do like the smart conception of them.

 

[BLiTZ]

Personally, I'm not a fan, they look okay if done well in scapes photo's taken from the right angle, but they really don't stand up to close inspection. It is, IMHO, a step back away from super-premiums towards 'standards' where details are not modeled but simply contained in textures - if PD did it, people would complain.

Exactly, with the cars being so detailed it seems a step backwards to cover them with flat 'textures'.

I just did this:

It looks ok, but the 'holes' aren't dark enough compared to the real intakes. (They also need to be bit bigger if you look at the real Nismo vents )

 

[Stephen220378]

Not a fan of them, they look impressive from afar or at certain angles but other than that they look messy. I suppose they're fine for the people who use the the cars exclusively for photos, I wouldn't want to see one in a race replay though.

 

[syntex123]

There are still nice ideas out there, like the « 300ZX » Vulcan, the « Beat » MR-2, the « Dome Zero » Countach... I won’t use them for racing but I do like the smart conception of them.

Dome Zero? I need to see this.

It looks ok, but the 'holes' aren't dark enough compared to the real intakes. (They also need to be bit bigger if you look at the real Nismo vents )

Yeah only I did those in a hurry a good while ago looks okay though. Not meant to look super realistic, it’s just to have something there since I dislike the stock bumper

 

[DatNoiseV12]

Live and let live I say.

Agreed. Even if I'm not a big fan of this kind of paintjobs, there are people who like them and painters who enjoy creating them. Plus, I've seen (and photographed) plenty of fake bodykits since the FM2 days, so I'm used to them.

Just my 2c.

 

[UnkaD]

That stuff bugs me as well. I've never wanted to add fake elements to my cars, but I do use black masking to try to hide parts of a car I don't like. The best example would be the Gr.3 FT-1. On my liveries I mask the snout black just under the line of the headlights. It looks much better in my opinion.

Spoiler: example

 

[Cytoria]

Dome Zero? I need to see this.

Link : https://www.gran-turismo.com/gb/gts...arLivery/livery/2990877/1/5053066280974680065

 

[syntex123]

View attachment 736541

Link : https://www.gran-turismo.com/gb/gts...arLivery/livery/2990877/1/5053066280974680065

With a Nissan L28 engine swap it would be legit! Man, that’s funny.

 

[Islaygaz]

Personally, I'm not a fan, they look okay if done well in scapes photo's taken from the right angle, but they really don't stand up to close inspection. It is, IMHO, a step back away from super-premiums towards 'standards' where details are not modeled but simply contained in textures - if PD did it, people would complain.

I’ve never thought of it like that! I can just imagine GTPlanet erupting if PD did it haha