Started something new.

[gamary]

tell me how it is

Wilco.

It's not NMF, it's grey. Add some sky and ground reflection (a bit of blue on top and a bit of brown on bottom) and it will be more like NMF. Make the various panels slightly different in colour/luminosity also. Those are two very simple ways to make it look more metallic. Hope this helps.

[Vacajun]

John,
Yep, what GM says. IMHO, the flap housings just don't stand out enough, and look like they are bumps on the side of the fuselage. Don't know what to suggest, other than playing with shading behind them. Also, with all those prop blades, there should probably be a shadow on the cowl somewhere. Keep 'em coming!

[JMSmith]

thanks guys,

personaly i think it looks crap but the good news is that whilst doing the undercarraige i think i found a way of doing NM, so keep your fingers crossed.
by the way GM, get your eyes tested, there are 8 different shades of grey on there

[JMSmith]

right guys,

here are three profiles, using a semi opaque layer of a metal cylinder warped to shape, first one is plane, second is with my shadow layer and third is with the extra bottom shadow layer.

don't worry about different panel colours, i have already worked out how to do that and it looks good

[Otterkins2]

What a totally novel solution to NMF. I'm flabbergasted John, and so simple it's beautiful. A bit of texturing, some darkening and lightening of different panels and it's a done deal! Care to send me the can?

[JMSmith]

hi otter,

hers your can

started with a rectangle the lenght of the fuselage pasted as a new layer over my master drawing, then warped it to the outline shape.
then started a new image, 1st layer transparent, second layer white, then pasted the NM as the next layer, tail, fuselage to tail fillet and engine done in seperate layers then pasted on the NM layer.
now to get the different colours i pasted the rivets and lines as a new layer, then go back to the white layer and paint bold colour until you get the shade showing through that looks right, trouble is to go lighter i had to do white sections over the top then erase until i get the shade i want, then paste them on the NM layer, doing this with the shadow layer in place so it looks right.

dead easy now all i have to do is make another layer for the grubby marks and dents then slip this under the shadow layer.

here is where i have got to.

[Jarink]

Nice and fairly simple way to make NMF.
It's similar to how I tried making it the first couple of times.

One thing I think would make it much more realistic is if you'd 'wobble' the transitions between colors. Straight, even lines between colors just don't look right. I've done this in GIMP by using the smudge brush with some jitter set and just draw along the transitions. I don't know what the exact options are in PS or PSP, but I'm sure they have the ability. (If not, one could do the jitter by hand.)

[gamary]

Got my eyes checked. Your airplane looks like a can of illegal dog food now.

I'd seen somebody use that technique some time ago and played with it myself but then decided against it. Among other things because it's too complicated to do for simple shapes, and too simple for complex shapes. If this sounds like I'm going crazy, just don't pay attention. (I understand myself. But I do feel lonely sometimes. )

In any case, that is much better. I didn't mind the 8 shades of grey but modern computers display a few millions colours now so might as well use 'em.

[JMSmith]

hi guys,

here is the lasted version, comments please.
this i sthe first time i have used this method, read the article years ago so i hope my memory is correct, Jarink, for now this will do, i know about "smudge" but not "jitter" i will try playing with that when i do another NM finish aircraft.

GM, i know what you mean, but i thoroughly enjoyed myself twisting and warping the panels, nearly as much fun as using proper aluminium

have i put enought stains on her, there are hundreds of them

by the way, the mark on the cowling is the prop reflection!!!!!

[gamary]

The improvement over the grey version is quite impressive John. You've really got something going now!

I would add a very light touch of blue on the upper part of the fuselage (sky reflection). Also, the prop shade on the engine cowling is not oriented correctly. The prop blade set at almost the same angle as the wing, so the shades should have similar orientations.

Keep it up, mate!