Painting Tips (Tracing Method)

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JMurrayMO81

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Aug 6, 2016
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(I apologize if I'm putting this in the wrong spot.)

I've been feeling lately like I need to share some of my tips for painting as it may help others to become better painters as well.

As the owner of MSD I've done a lot of bases over the past 3 years. And so I've learned some different techniques.

The one I'm going to talk about today is what I call the tracing method.

So for this I opened one of my other base psds, saved it under the new name needed, and then remove all the unnecessary layers.
tip1.png

Step 2 is to take an image to "trace". I use the NASCAR.com paint scheme galleries. So here's the pic I'm going to use:
88C20-ChevyGoods-Throwback0004-922x520.png

So what's next is to insert it on a new layer into the scheme's psd/psp and stretch it to somewhat fit the dimensions.
tip2.pngtip3.png

So next is to start the tracing. Using the pen tool, you choose a different color then what's in the scheme. In this case I'm using pink. I do this so that it's easier to see what I've painted over the background image that I'm tracing from.

When you're drawing the lines you wanna leave the fill in part off so that I can see the image underneath (Notice the bottom color box is empty).
tip4.png

Once you've completed the line you can then fill in the inside color:
tip5.pngtip6.png

So now I'm going to show you guys the black:
First we trace around it. Now it doesn't have to be perfect as it'll be under the yellow (pink in pic). But we do the same thing:
tip7.pngtip8.png

So notice I didn't do the black outline. This can be done by duplicating a layer and increasing the width of the line. Now I use Paint Shop Pro 2020 so I don't know how this works in PSD so maybe someone can help explain how to do that.

But I take the pink part and duplicate it and widen it:
tip9.png
I copied the Vector 1 layer. So now I click on the lines on the car so that we're working with the Copy of Vector 1 layer. I think increase the width until I saw no more black (which the triangle points to that, it went from 1 to 12. You'll notice I also change the color to the same color I used as a substitute for the black.

After that I move the copy layer down one so it's underneath the original:
tip10.png

So now I'm going to skip for a moment instead of painting the whole thing first. When you're done with this you can just change the colors of these layers to match the ones that are actually on the scheme.
tip11.png

Now this isn't a foolproof way of doing this. You still have the limitations of the templates. Plus you're still going to have to paint the front yourself as most of the time there's not a good shot to use. But this can at least help you make better lines and get things lined up closer to the real thing then just trying to eyeball it.
tip12.pngtip13.png

And there ya go. That's the tracing method.
 
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garrett1127

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Very nice, that's how most people do it, I'm sure there are some who can wip them out likety split without having a layer to trace, that's not me though.
 
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JMurrayMO81

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Aug 6, 2016
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Very nice, that's how most people do it, I'm sure there are some who can wip them out likety split without having a layer to trace, that's not me though.

It really depends on the scheme for me on how easy it’d be without. But this method usually does help a lot and saves a lot of time by not having to constantly guess and check it.
 
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JMurrayMO81

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Aug 6, 2016
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I do the same to create numbers. I'm sure this will be helpful to many.

I've done that with numbers and logos as well.

I'm getting to the point where I like the idea of doing them (although they can take up a lot of time) simply for the fact that if a number changes you can fix it. Same with logos.

Say, for example, you have a sponsor that on your scheme you need an outline around to make it stand out better. Instead of searching and searching for a version of the logo that's a PNG and has the outline needed, I can just open my PSP file, copy the layer, and then on the copied layer change the color and make the line width bigger.

Sometimes we see numbers on one scheme have an outline around them and others don't. There can be changes from scheme to scheme or even year to year that the needs of someone can change.
 

SR2448

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Dec 11, 2019
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shahzainran2448
(I apologize if I'm putting this in the wrong spot.)

I've been feeling lately like I need to share some of my tips for painting as it may help others to become better painters as well.

As the owner of MSD I've done a lot of bases over the past 3 years. And so I've learned some different techniques.

The one I'm going to talk about today is what I call the tracing method.

So for this I opened one of my other base psds, saved it under the new name needed, and then remove all the unnecessary layers.
View attachment 77868

Step 2 is to take an image to "trace". I use the NASCAR.com paint scheme galleries. So here's the pic I'm going to use:
View attachment 77869

So what's next is to insert it on a new layer into the scheme's psd/psp and stretch it to somewhat fit the dimensions.
View attachment 77870View attachment 77871

So next is to start the tracing. Using the pen tool, you choose a different color then what's in the scheme. In this case I'm using pink. I do this so that it's easier to see what I've painted over the background image that I'm tracing from.

When you're drawing the lines you wanna leave the fill in part off so that I can see the image underneath (Notice the bottom color box is empty).
View attachment 77877

Once you've completed the line you can then fill in the inside color:
View attachment 77878View attachment 77879

So now I'm going to show you guys the black:
First we trace around it. Now it doesn't have to be perfect as it'll be under the yellow (pink in pic). But we do the same thing:
View attachment 77880View attachment 77881

So notice I didn't do the black outline. This can be done by duplicating a layer and increasing the width of the line. Now I use Paint Shop Pro 2020 so I don't know how this works in PSD so maybe someone can help explain how to do that.

But I take the pink part and duplicate it and widen it:
View attachment 77882
I copied the Vector 1 layer. So now I click on the lines on the car so that we're working with the Copy of Vector 1 layer. I think increase the width until I saw no more black (which the triangle points to that, it went from 1 to 12. You'll notice I also change the color to the same color I used as a substitute for the black.

After that I move the copy layer down one so it's underneath the original:
View attachment 77883

So now I'm going to skip for a moment instead of painting the whole thing first. When you're done with this you can just change the colors of these layers to match the ones that are actually on the scheme.
View attachment 77884

Now this isn't a foolproof way of doing this. You still have the limitations of the templates. Plus you're still going to have to paint the front yourself as most of the time there's not a good shot to use. But this can at least help you make better lines and get things lined up closer to the real thing then just trying to eyeball it.
View attachment 77885View attachment 77886

And there ya go. That's the tracing method.
No offense to anyone who uses this method, but i've always found it as a poor look. Tracing overall leaves a bad taste in my mouth. (Maybe that's why my designs suck! I freehand them!)
 

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