I made a 36" x 24" Poster of the F/A-18 FROM DCS Screenshot

Not sure if this particular forum is the right one so please move this if needed.

I am just so excited and wanted to share what I had done with DCS with my fellow DCS'ers. It's doable by just about anyone.

I took a screenshot from a DCS mission, and as a test, sent it to an online printer (there are a zillion of them...) and had them print up a 36" x 24" poster. It's just for my room.

When I took teh screenshot I made sure everything was turned up max.

Really, it turned out pretty great I just got the poster in the mail today.

If I examine the cockpit edges I can see the anti aliasing but stand back a few feet from the poster and it looks absolutely real!

So it costs me $14 for the poster itself, and about $6 for shipping. I ordered 4 poster frames (Amazon) under $10 each - I thought they would be junky but I got to say the whole thing looks OUTSTANDING.

I have attached the pic I used below. I plan on doing more, starting with my new fav DCS/Heatblur plane the F14.

Tips:

1. Don't do screenshots in VR, use regular screen.

2. The higher res your monitor the better. I created my screenshots on a 2640 x 1440 monitor; it worked perfectly for the 36 x 24 poster. If you are running on a 1900 x 1080 the clarity on that size poster won't be as good. You might have to downshift to teh next size down. 'Tho I don't have any real data to say one way or another.

3. When I took the screenshot from the external view there is a bar at the bottom of the screen with data like altitude etc. I pulled the image in my graphics program and cropped that out.

4. I also turned up teh saturation just a touch and used "levels" a little in Photoshop.. basically to brighten colors and image - but only a little. It might have been fine without it... not sure.

5. ADDED TIP 18 JUNE 2019: Use the "Watch Track" feature to screenshot your exploits... using it you can control camera positions etc.

6. ADDED TIP 6 JUL 2019 - Use sticky stuff like https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000A8AYO4 when mounting the poster, really makes it hold much flatter.

Next time I am going to super impose my name on teh side of the plane and impress the grand kids....

:)

For about $30, I got a kick butt wall decoration for my game room.

- Fameoutme

Not sure if this particular forum is the right one so please move this if needed.

 

I am just so excited and wanted to share what I had done with DCS with my fellow DCS'ers. It's doable by just about anyone.

 

I took a screenshot from a DCS mission, and as a test, sent it to an online printer (there are a zillion of them...) and had them print up a 36" x 24" poster. It's just for my room.

 

 

When I took teh screenshot I made sure everything was turned up max.

 

Really, it turned out pretty great I just got the poster in the mail today.

 

If I examine the cockpit edges I can see the anti aliasing but stand back a few feet from the poster and it looks absolutely real!

 

So it costs me $14 for the poster itself, and about $6 for shipping. I ordered 4 poster frames (Amazon) under $10 each - I thought they would be junky but I got to say the whole thing looks OUTSTANDING.

 

 

I have attached the pic I used below. I plan on doing more, starting with my new fav DCS/Heatblur plane the F14.

 

Tips:

 

1. Don't do screenshots in VR, use regular screen.

 

 

2. The higher res your monitor the better. I created my screenshots on a 2640 x 1440 monitor; it worked perfectly for the 36 x 24 poster. If you are running on a 1900 x 1080 the clarity on that size poster won't be as good. You might have to downshift to teh next size down. 'Tho I don't have any real data to say one way or another.

 

3. When I took the screenshot from the external view there is a bar at the bottom of the screen with data like altitude etc. I pulled the image in my graphics program and cropped that out.

 

4. I also turned up teh saturation just a touch and used "levels" a little in Photoshop.. basically to brighten colors and image - but only a little. It might have been fine without it... not sure.

 

 

Next time I am going to super impose my name on teh side of the plane and impress the grand kids....

 

:)

 

 

For about $30, I got a kick butt wall decoration for my game room.

 

- Fameoutme

Love it! Very cool. :thumbup:

cool screenshot, and nice idea!

Great idea !

Love it.

Just to add some idea for future consideration:

1. those anti aliasing probably can be dealt with by using Photoshop

2. maybe try some blurry on the background, gives a sense of "depth"

Everything else is fantastic.

what an awesome idea!!!

Love it.

Just to add some idea for future consideration:

1. those anti aliasing probably can be dealt with by using Photoshop

Not easily...

You really can’t invent data that doesn’t exist without some serious digital surgery. Unfortunately, a screen grab doesn’t have the same data depth that a real photo has. Even a 4K screen grab is nothing compared to a 30+ Megapixel file.

You can print them, but they’ll always be no better than “across the room” worthy.

Why not turn off the anti-aliasing if you prefer jagged edges?

Not easily...

 

You really can’t invent data that doesn’t exist without some serious digital surgery. Unfortunately, a screen grab doesn’t have the same data depth that a real photo has. Even a 4K screen grab is nothing compared to a 30+ Megapixel file.

 

You can print them, but they’ll always be no better than “across the room” worthy.

>>> I have to tell ya Emmy - but a distance of 1-2 feet away is all that is needed, not 'across the room'. And for those with lessor eyes they may not see it at all. I'm retired Navy ('tho not a pilot) and have seen some excellent camera work over the years - and I am flat out amazed at how close this comes.

The key I think is the 2560 x 1440 res - sure I'd love it even sharper but it really does look spectacular in 36" x 24" poster size plus a little overall adjustment to light levels in photoshop (darks a bit darker and lights a bit lighter - I used "levels" plus a small amount of increased saturation).

I never expected it to look this great. Really - it's kick butt. It does *not* look like a game screen shot grab at all.

Don't forget to turn on all the bells and whistles in settings to get the most textures etc.

BTW, I added an additional "tip" to my first post. Do your screenshots by "watching the track". Do that, and you can exactly control the camera, zoom etc. And it adds to the fun.

Nice :thumbup:

I just ordered this F-14 pic for a 36 x 24 Poster.

Just Added an F-14 Poster (36" x 24") - Love It

So I made another large poster out of DCS - this time the F-14. I discussed how I did it in the top post of this thread. It looks out-friggin-standing....