First Thanx Nalid for the prop on my Xstar skin you have a good eye. Someday Milkshape and I might have to make a model for him. Second, ManSlaughter.. PaintShop or any other program out there is a matter of practicing using the programs tools. Actually using it to create is the best way to play your way to success! First you need the wire mesh that your skin uses on a model. Open this up in your paint program and then start fleshing out your skin. The paint is very flat at first but soon you begin to add dimension to it. Here are some good links to tutes for you....
http://planetunreal.com/identitycrisis/tutorials/skinning.shtml
be sure to read "begining to end" by Moose there are many others too. also you will find paint tutes here.
For a link with everything under the sun skinning, modeling, mapping etc. go here....
http://wiki.beyondunreal.com/wiki/Complete_Index
I was able to see my model as it progressed by using SkinMaker
http://www.acordero.org/projects/utsm/
Your models for 2004 may be available i hope. It is very easy to use and a great help.
Knowing what is up and down is a matter of studying the mesh and while it is on the model. I painted differant color stripes across the wires and then looked at them on the model using SkinMaker. If you can fin a pic of the Mesh and skin together that was also very usefull Sometimes I would mark in the borders up down and inboard or outboard. Placing a dot at strategic pionts on the mesh works too.
Use a program that allows layers. Many layers are helpful and are simply required I feel to get the best results.
And to TheSlaughter, I was actually able to paint this with enough detail that it does look photoreal(a bit anyway). I did copy and paste certain areas only for reference and I prided myself on my second skin for using the smudge blur sharpen etc. tools a little or not at all. It is purely adding paint or taking it away. It is the same mistake some make by using all the styles and filters, I don't think it crosses over very well to the model.
At times I used a user defind brush to outline the shape and then painted in the details. The face for instance was lightly applyed using that method and then I painted it the rest of the way. If a particular area that I painted once worked very well on the thigh or chest I would copy this and paste flip or rotate etc. so it broke it up abit. You should see the back of this guy because it has a lot of rope ties holding the armor together back there as Nalid can tell you from his research. Painting in the details of the knots was a challenge, like the bow in the front. I can't accept all the credit though because PhotoShop allows you to do so much, those people are the real geniuses. Anyhow one fault I will have skinning is that I don't like a cartoon look to my work. However it is the only way to get a detail to show up properly at times. I will have to work that out over time. My second skin Xevil
http://www.ystart.net/upload/20040514/1084553982.jpg
is about half way done and further along than this pic shows. But again not your usual animated look.
Good luck in your skinning ManSlaughter. Spend a fair amount of time reading and then paint it up Dude!
Cya,
Xstar
