OK, So I have seen many threads asking about how to use Custom Paints and how to get others to see them.
Its actually very simple, just a few steps to follow to get you all set up:
Overview:
In order for anyone else to see your paint online, they need to have YOUR paint stored locally on their computer, in the iRacing paints folder. Of course, this also means that YOU need to have their paints stored locally too.
This has been made very simple by TradingPaints.com. Trading Paints is a paint file sharing site which allows us all to share and view each others paints in game by letting users upload their designs.
The Guide:
1. Click THIS LINK to get your Customer ID. It is located at the top of the list of information, "Customer ID: 12345" for example - It's just the number that you need
2. Visit
www.tradingpaints.com and sign up. You will use the Customer ID as part of the sign up to link the new Trading Paints account to your iRacing account. Check your PM on the iRacing forums to confirm your account registration.
3. Get your custom paint design. This should be saved as a 1024x1024 24-bit compressed (RLE) Targa file (.tga extension ).
If you get one of the many painters here to make a skin for you, they should be providing the finished design for you in the correct .tga format.
4. Rename the Paint Design file. It probably wont be named your ID when you get it ( "yourpaint.tga" for example ), so Rename the file to <customerID>.tga - this should now look something like: 12345.tga
5. Login to your tradingpaints.com account and click Upload - follow the simple steps to upload the paint:
Car File: Choose the file you renamed in step 4 above
Picture: If you have a screenshot, select it here
Vehicle Type: Choose the CAR the skin is for. You can also select "Helmets" or "Suits"
Description: Give a short description of what the Skin is based on
Painted By: Give credit to original painter - see additional notes at the end of this guide....
Sponsor: Enter the main sponsor details here ( racesetups.com, for example )
You can then choose to add the car to any personlised list you may have made in your TradingPaints.com account
6. Click UPLOAD CAR
That's it for the upload. Your paint is uploaded and others will now see it.
Seeing Everyone Else's paint
The easiest way to get everyone else's paint is to use the TradingPaints Desktop Downloader. This fantastic tool automatically gets new paints for you and puts them in the right place on your computer - choose the cars you want to get and the software does the rest.
1. Download the TradingPaints.com desktop downloader.
2. Install the Desktop Downloader on your computer
3. Run the Desktop Downloader, configure the settings to choose which cars you own.
That's It - the downloader will grab all paints and now you will be able to see Custom Designs online. If you choose to run the downloader at Computer startup, it will automatically get any new paints for you
Finally, Additional Notes:
All paints belong the Painters who created them. You are not permitted to "steal" a paint from another member by changing the file name on the .tga to your customer id.
If a paint has been created for you, it is good practice to credit the original painter with the design ( this can be set when uploading the design to your TradingPaints.com account )
If you do see a paint you like, you can always try contacting the original painter and asking permission to use it as your own. Again, always give credit to the original painter when doing this.
I hope this guide helps.
Karl
