Okay, we now have a multicolored gun -- obviously not what we want, so we are going to skin the gun.

NOTE: This is a continuation from the Weapon Modeling tutorial so the images and references to certain files are based on what we made in that tutorial. Also, if I have given you something to do without much explanation on how to do it, I probably already did in the Weapon Modeling tutorial. Also, if you are NOT using these tutorials for modifying the game Ghost Recon, you can ignore the following RSB conversion and continue working in the reference image's GIF format. You can also ignore the entire Positioning for GR and Exporting tutorial.

You Will Need:
- 3D Studio Max with the 3D Studio Max .rsb plugin for release 3.x or 4.x (This file contains a plugin so 3dsmax recognises the .rsb format AND it allows you to export all the formats for GR that you will need for almost any type of modding AND it is map making plugin). Just extract the zip contents to the plugins directory.
-Some way to convert to the .rsb format, If you have Adobe Photoshop, you can use the Adobe Photoshop .rsb plugin.

Convert to .rsb:

We are going to use the reference image as the skin and the one we've been using is a .gif file. GR only recognizes the .rsb format so, convert the .gif to the .rsb format and save it to your mod's Textures folder.
If you are using Adobe Photoshop and the .rsb plugin:
-Open the image and goto the Image menu (Alt+I) then goto Mode and click on RGB Color.
-Save the image as an .rsb in you mod's Textures folder.

UVW Map:

Make sure everything is selected and goto the Modify tab and in the Modifier List, select UVW Map. Move down the rollout all the way to Alignment, pick an axis which is on the same plane as the gun (in my case it is Y) and click Region Fit.

Now, in the Front viewport, make a box (dont select anything else, just start dragging) around the gun.
The result should be this:

Applying the Material:

With the gun selected and UVW Mapped, press M to open the Material Editor and scroll down the rollout list to Maps and click on the + to expand the rollout and click the checkbox next to Diffuse Color.

Click on the None button next to Diffuse Color to open the Material/Map Browser. In the Material/Map Broser, click on Bitmap and press OK. Browse to your mod's Textures folder and select the .rsb we converted to earlier and press Open.

Back in the Material Editor, press the Show Map in Viewport and Assign Material to Selection buttons. Then close the Material Editor (click on the X in the top right corner).

Mine looks like this (I removed the grid in the viewport by right clicking on the word Perspective and unchecking Show Grid):

NOTE: Apart from there being white patches, the roughness of the texture is just because it's being viewed in the viewport, when we Render it, it will be smooth.

Unwrapping UVW:

In order to move the texture around to patch up the white places on the gun, do the following:
Select one of the pieces of the gun which needs correction (I will select the handle).

In the Modify tab, select Unwrap UVW from the Modifier List and in the rollout, click Edit...

I have selected all of the vertices so you can see them and as you can see, some of the vertices on the left side are in the white area of the image.

Select those vertices and Move them into place while looking at the Perspective viewport at the same time to look at the difference. When you are satisfied, click Update Map and close the Edit UVWs screen.
See the difference in the handle (below)?

Do the same with the other pieces and make sure that everything is patched up. Now, to look at the image in better quality, Rotate and Zoom the Perspective viewport till you get a good shot of the gun and goto the Rendering menu and click Render (or press F10 or press Shift+R).

At the bottom of the Render Scene screen, make sure the Production option is selected and the Viewport is set to Perspective. Press the Render button.

Here is my final Render:

The gun may seem the right size the way you're looking at it, but actually, in GR the gun has to be waaaaaaay smaller and has a completely different positioning.

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