Tips and Recommendations for the Paint Editor
Hi everyone! My name is Kaizal, and I design ideas for Need for Speed. I've always enjoyed coming up with car designs. I think it's easy to imagine how many hours I spend in the Need for Speed livery editor! In it, you can literally recreate a real design or bring your unique ideas to life and give a car a one-of-a-kind style.
When creating a livery, I first imagine what the final result will look like. I draw many design ideas from car culture, looking at drift or street racing cars, or even real racing cars. If I notice something interesting in real life, I try to figure out how to recreate something similar in the editor while adding something of my own.
When I know what I want to create — whether it's a copy or something original — I figure out how to break it down into layers, always starting from the bottom and finishing with the top.
I try to start with simple shapes, choosing the main colors as I go. Then I try to combine different shapes so that they match the car's contours. Being able to move, rotate, and scale shapes is just great, because you can come up with something cool and unique!
When the main work is done, I add appropriate decals and logos. Sometimes a design whose idea initially seemed interesting doesn't look very good. In that case, you can always return to the layers panel and delete or replace the unwanted layer. You can experiment endlessly!
Here you're not limited to shapes alone; you'll have decals and logos from many well-known manufacturers at your disposal, not to mention templates, numbers, flags, and symbols. Thanks to this, you can create a car with a truly unique design. You can even design a livery for your own real car and see how it will look in the game before bringing it to life!
Overall, I think the livery editor is a completely new take on NFS, and for now I spend most of my time in the game right here. I think you'll all be absolutely thrilled with it, and I can't wait to see the creations you come up with!
Start with basic shapes. For me, it's easier to start with a simple shape and move on from there than to jump straight into the details and do something complex.
Plan ahead. Look at the car, study its contours, and then try to imagine the design you need. It will be easier to choose the right shapes if you know right away what you want.
Get inspired. There's nothing wrong with drawing inspiration from real examples and works you like. It will help train your imagination and come up with new ideas!
Experiment with shadows and light. Try changing the shadows of shapes and see what happens. You can turn a two-dimensional object into a three-dimensional one by simply adding a silhouette behind it.
Work on one panel at a time. It's easier to focus on one panel and then move on to the next. That way, you won't lose sight of anything, and you'll have a more complete picture of what still needs work.
Simple ideas always come first. To start, come up with something simple. Try applying a basic template to the car to align all the edges first. This is a great way to get acquainted with the editor and its tools.
Learn to use the tools. Before you start creating, just try out the controls and see what each element does. Add a decal, then replace it with something else. Get comfortable with the editor, and you'll feel confident using it as you create your ideal design.
Have fun. Don't worry if you don't know where to start—just create, and most importantly, make sure you enjoy it!
