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Hey guys. Initially I had this in my design catalog thread but it is probably better suited as a separate thread. Feel free to contribute your own tips and tricks and I'll add them at the bottom of this post.
Starting Out / Workflow
Welcome to the livery editor! Before you begin you should develop a workflow for working on a livery. For me, every logo begins in the vinyl group editor. Gone are the days of painting on the roof of a Mini Cooper; the vinyl group editor is a flat space with a grid in the background. You can switch the grid off by pressing L3
Starting out
Above I've included a 720p capture of the blank grid. You can use this to paste logos/stuff on top of so you can get reference points for building your own groups.
Basic controls
Pressing in RS (R3) will give you an option to copy/paste. Note: Unlike insert, paste will OVERWRITE the layer that is currently selected.
You can navigate through your layers either using LS or the D-PAD. LS and left/right will move you back/forward one layer while pressing up/down on the d-pad will allow you go forward/back 100 layers at a time.
Now that you know how to navigate around, you can use RT to select layers. Tapping RT will allow you to select one layer or group but you can also hold down RT to select multiple groups at once. (an example of this is to hold down RT on layer one then press up on d-pad to select the first 100 layers).
When you select more than 1 layer you can create a group by pressing A on the selected layer which will bring up a contextual menu. Grouping layers is a great way to organize your vinyl group. Examples of good groups are individual letters (assuming you aren't using default font), logos, etc.
Using RT and groups to reorder and manage layers
One trick that is very helpful is to use layer select to lock in aspect ratio. Grouped and selected layers are resized by "size" rather than X and Y so you can scale a square, for example, without having to worry about the X and Y dimensions. (NOTE: If your selection is resizing oddly, i.e. stepping up way too fast, just unselect or ungroup then regroup and you'll be able to resize in much smaller steps)
Using RT to resize shapes while maintaining the same aspect ratio
Additional Controls
While inside inside the "apply a vinyl shape" section, you have additional controls. You can press LB and RB to switch between tabs. Pressing X will allow you to change the color and Y will allow you to "stamp" the current shape. Using the stamp tool can allow you to quickly deploy the same shape across your grid. Good examples of this are quickly laying out text or using the gradient/brush shapes to quickly create "brush strokes"
Using the Y button allows you to "stamp" shapes inside the apply vinyl shape section
Applying Vinyls to your car
The final step is putting it all together
After you're done making your logos, it's time to take it to the application center. The controls inside this mode are very similar to the vinyl group creation zone. There are a couple differences:
Some important things to keep in mind:
Speed "painting" videos
References
Shape Spotlights
More advanced techniques
Starting Out / Workflow
Welcome to the livery editor! Before you begin you should develop a workflow for working on a livery. For me, every logo begins in the vinyl group editor. Gone are the days of painting on the roof of a Mini Cooper; the vinyl group editor is a flat space with a grid in the background. You can switch the grid off by pressing L3
Starting out
Above I've included a 720p capture of the blank grid. You can use this to paste logos/stuff on top of so you can get reference points for building your own groups.
Basic controls
Pressing in RS (R3) will give you an option to copy/paste. Note: Unlike insert, paste will OVERWRITE the layer that is currently selected.
You can navigate through your layers either using LS or the D-PAD. LS and left/right will move you back/forward one layer while pressing up/down on the d-pad will allow you go forward/back 100 layers at a time.
Now that you know how to navigate around, you can use RT to select layers. Tapping RT will allow you to select one layer or group but you can also hold down RT to select multiple groups at once. (an example of this is to hold down RT on layer one then press up on d-pad to select the first 100 layers).
When you select more than 1 layer you can create a group by pressing A on the selected layer which will bring up a contextual menu. Grouping layers is a great way to organize your vinyl group. Examples of good groups are individual letters (assuming you aren't using default font), logos, etc.
Using RT and groups to reorder and manage layers
One trick that is very helpful is to use layer select to lock in aspect ratio. Grouped and selected layers are resized by "size" rather than X and Y so you can scale a square, for example, without having to worry about the X and Y dimensions. (NOTE: If your selection is resizing oddly, i.e. stepping up way too fast, just unselect or ungroup then regroup and you'll be able to resize in much smaller steps)
Using RT to resize shapes while maintaining the same aspect ratio
Additional Controls
While inside inside the "apply a vinyl shape" section, you have additional controls. You can press LB and RB to switch between tabs. Pressing X will allow you to change the color and Y will allow you to "stamp" the current shape. Using the stamp tool can allow you to quickly deploy the same shape across your grid. Good examples of this are quickly laying out text or using the gradient/brush shapes to quickly create "brush strokes"
Using the Y button allows you to "stamp" shapes inside the apply vinyl shape section
Applying Vinyls to your car
The final step is putting it all together
After you're done making your logos, it's time to take it to the application center. The controls inside this mode are very similar to the vinyl group creation zone. There are a couple differences:
- There are multiple paint zones on every car. You cycle through these using LB and RB
- You move through layers with the left stick and look around using right stick.
- Pressing in (and holding)LS (L3) will allow you to move left and right with RS and zoom in and out with LS
Some important things to keep in mind:
- Metallic paint will shine through your paint and give it a different color. You'll want to check on a track or in a direct sunlight homespace to figure out what works best for your design
- Side and top panels have 1000 layer limit and front and back have 500 layer limits so before you go crazy making vinyl groups keep this in mind
- You can copy an entire side of shapes from one side to another. Press A on an empty layer and select "Insert all from right/left side" to do this. Note: Manufacturer vinyls cannot be copied.
Speed "painting" videos
References
Shape Spotlights
- Shape Spotlight #1 - S and other curves.
More advanced techniques
- Vinyl Shapes Guilde by Katatak21 (this is a good starting point!)
- Livery Editor Basics: Flipping Shapes
- Livery Editor Basics: Creating Outlines
- Masking
- Forza Motorsport 4 Carbon Fiber
- Getting accurate colors
- Better Rounded Corners
- Reverse Masking / Reverse Metallic
- Using a Grid as guidelines (By GlassMan NZ - FM.net link)
- Painting Realistic Faces (By QK TimmyFlush - FM.net link)
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