Paint Builder basics

The My Projects screen is the first screen you’ll see in Paint Builder. It contains a list of all of your Paint Builder projects; select a project to open the editor screen.

You can filter your projects by keyword or vehicle, and sort the results.

Select New from the sidebar to create a new project, navigate to projects shared with you from other members by selecting Shared with Me, and view your projects you’ve starred by selecting Favorite Projects.

The project editor screen is where the fun happens!

Manage layers, insert items, and perform actions to your project. Turn a blank slate into your very own creation.

Share, Download, or Race your project as a paint on Trading Paints.

All changes are saved automatically.

The Tools menu provides options to adding items to your project.

• Base Paints: add customizable patterns to your project

• Add Graphics: insert any of hundreds of pre-made original decals, like flames, splashes, graffiti, and more, which can be highly customized

• Insert Logo: add a pre-made logo to your design from our collection of fictional brands or Trading Paints partners

• My Uploads: insert your own graphics or logos from your computer

• Add Text: customize and add text anywhere onto your project

• Draw Shapes: Freehand drawing tools and customizable shapes let you make your own creations right from Paint Builder

The Layers list shows a list of the items on your project.

Click a layer from the Layers list to select it on the canvas, or click an item on the canvas to highlight it on the Layers list.

On the Layers list, you can click and drag a layer to reorder it higher or lower than other items if you wish.

Hover over an item in the Layers list to see options to hide/show or lock a layer.

The Layers list is separated into five groups:

• Car Parts: The built-in template layers for the current vehicle, including items like color-changeable manufacturer logos, rollbar colors, and windshield banners. Using the Painting Guides sidebar menu, you can determine if you want Car Parts to appear above or below your other layers.

• Logos & Text: Any text or logos you add to your project are organized in this group. These always appear above Shapes, Graphics, and Base Paints — they’re the stars of the show, after all!

• Shapes: Drawn shapes — like lines, circles, and stars using the tools in the Draw Shapes menu — appear here.

• Graphics: Graphical elements from the Add Graphics menu are displayed just above the Base Paint options.

• Base Paint: Base Paint patterns appear at the bottom of other layers since they’re the items closest to the body of the car. The car’s background color is defined in this area.

The sidebar properties panel shows options for the selected layer. If no layers are selected, the Painting Guides options appear.

Hide the properties panel by clicking the double-arrow collapse menu in the bottom-right of the screen.

The bottom bar offers options to help your display.

• Toggle Layers: Collapse or expand the Layers list.

• Shortcuts: Show all Paint Builder keyboard shortcuts.

• Rotate View: Rotate the view of the canvas to more easily work on different panels of the car without working upside down.

• Sim Preview: If Trading Paints Downloader is running, send the current project to the Downloader so you can preview your project in iRacing.

• Zoom: Change the visible size of the project using the slider or percentage text. Or, click the magnifying glass icon to zoom to fit — making the entire canvas area viewable on screen.

• Undo & Redo: Revert changes in your current painting session.

• Toggle Properties: Collapse or expand the Properties panel.

The Actions bar at the top of the screen provides next steps.

• Share: Collaborate with other Paint Builder users or submit your project to the Trading Paints Showroom.

• Download: Get an iRacing-compatible TGA file of your project.

• Race: Options to race your project as a custom iRacing paint on Trading Paints.