Create a custom Microsoft Flight Simulator livery: choose a paint kit, export DDS textures, package it correctly, and fix common errors.
To create a custom livery for Microsoft Flight Simulator, use the aircraft developer’s paint kit, edit the colour textures in a layer-capable image editor, export them with the correct names, DDS compression and mipmaps, then package the files with valid aircraft configuration, manifest and layout data for the Community folder.
What do you need to make an MSFS livery?
You need a paint kit or working livery template for the exact aircraft, a layer-capable image editor, a suitable texture exporter and access to the simulator’s Community folder or SDK package builder.
- Paint kit: This provides the aircraft’s UV layout, separate detail layers and the correct texture dimensions. Use the kit supplied or approved by the aircraft developer.
- Image editor: Photoshop, Affinity Photo and GIMP can all handle layered artwork, but DDS export support varies. Our overview of useful MSFS image editors, DDS exporters and package utilities explains the practical options.
- Package template: A developer-supplied blank livery or known-working example reveals the required folder structure, configuration fields and texture names.
- Microsoft Flight Simulator on PC: Locally built packages must be installed and tested through the PC file system.
The aircraft must match exactly. A livery made for the default Airbus cannot simply be assigned to a FlyByWire aircraft, and two variants from the same developer may use different models, UV maps or texture names.
Should you paint in 2D or use Blender?
Use a 2D paint kit for straightforward colour schemes, but use a 3D preview when artwork crosses the nose, fuselage seams, tail or other separate UV islands.
- 2D editing is quicker for registrations, logos and designs that stay within clearly marked panels.
- Blender previewing makes it easier to align stripes and identify mirrored or distorted areas before repeatedly loading the simulator. We cover the practical setup in our guide to previewing and aligning MSFS liveries with Blender.
If no paint kit exists, do not assume that another painter’s finished livery is a reusable template. Its textures and artwork may not be licensed for modification or redistribution.
How do you create the livery step by step?
The safest method is to modify an official paint kit and package template without changing the underlying aircraft installation.
- Confirm the target aircraft. Record the simulator generation, aircraft developer, model and variant. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 packages are not automatically interchangeable, even when the aircraft name looks identical.
- Create a separate project folder. Keep editable source files outside the Community folder. Never paint directly over files in the simulator’s Official folder or inside the original aircraft add-on.
- Study the paint kit. Identify the albedo or base-colour layers, UV guides, rivets, panel lines, placards and shading. Preserve the original layer order where highlights and aircraft details must sit above your colour work. Our complete aircraft repaint workflow covers layer preparation and texture-channel handling in greater depth.
- Paint the colour textures. Add colours, registrations and logos on new layers. Keep the UV guide visible while working but hide it before export. Inspect both sides carefully because some small components are mirrored and cannot carry different left- and right-side artwork.
- Preserve material channels. The alpha channel may control opacity or another material property, depending on the aircraft. Normal and COMP textures control surface detail and properties such as roughness and metallic appearance; leave them unchanged unless the design genuinely requires material changes and you understand the channel packing.
- Export the textures correctly. Match the template’s dimensions, filenames, DDS format, alpha handling and mipmap settings. Do not choose compression merely because the file becomes smaller. If the supplied SDK project expects source PNG or another image format and compiles it automatically, follow that project rather than forcing a DDS workflow.
- Configure the livery package. A common legacy-style package contains
manifest.json,layout.jsonand an aircraft folder belowSimObjects/Airplanes. Itsaircraft.cfgidentifies the base aircraft and displayed variation, whiletexture.cfgmay provide fallback paths for unchanged textures. Native MSFS 2024 or third-party modular packages can use a different structure, so copy the aircraft developer’s supported template rather than inventing one. - Update the package metadata. The layout data must match the packaged files and paths. Give the package folder and displayed livery a unique identity; copied titles and stale layout data are common reasons for one livery replacing another or not appearing.
- Install and test it. Close the simulator, extract the package and place its actual top-level package folder in Community. Avoid an extra nested folder created by the archive. Load the exact aircraft, inspect it in daylight from every side, and check the nose, tail, underside, engines, winglets, doors and fuselage joins.
Community folder locations differ between installations, so copying a path from an unrelated installation is unreliable. Once the livery works, keeping source projects separate from active Community packages makes updates and fault-finding much easier.
Why does my custom livery not appear or display correctly?
Most missing or broken liveries are caused by an incorrect package level, mismatched aircraft configuration, stale layout data or wrongly exported textures.
| Symptom | Likely cause and fix |
|---|---|
| Livery absent from the aircraft selector | Confirm that the package is extracted, not nested inside an extra folder, and built for the selected aircraft variant. Check the configuration link to the base aircraft, use a unique livery title and regenerate the layout data. |
| Pink, chequered or missing surfaces | A texture is absent, misnamed, placed in the wrong folder or exported in an unsuitable format. Compare every name and path with the working template and verify the fallback configuration. |
| Black, transparent or excessively shiny paint | The alpha or packed material channels were damaged. Restore the original normal and COMP textures, then export the colour texture with the template’s alpha and compression settings. |
| Old artwork remains after an update | Remove duplicate copies of the livery, rebuild its layout data and restart the simulator. Clearing scenery caches is not the first fix for a local aircraft texture problem. |
| Stripes do not meet across the fuselage | The design crosses separate UV islands. Adjust each section against the UV guide or align it on the 3D model. |
| Logo is reversed on one side | The aircraft model probably mirrors that UV area. Reposition the logo, simplify the design or use an aircraft-specific decal method if the developer supports one. |
Does the process differ between MSFS 2020 and MSFS 2024?
Yes. The painting principles are the same, but package definitions, aircraft dependencies and supported templates can differ between Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and 2024.
Some 2020 Community liveries work through MSFS 2024 compatibility support, but that should not be treated as guaranteed native compatibility. Start with a template intended for the target simulator and aircraft version. Streamed or protected aircraft packages may also prevent direct access to the original textures, making a developer-provided paint kit essential.
Aircraft updates can change configuration links, filenames or UV mapping. Keep the layered source project and package template so the livery can be rebuilt instead of editing the compiled DDS files repeatedly.
Can you create custom liveries on Xbox or PlayStation?
No, Xbox and PlayStation do not expose a PC-style Community folder for installing a locally made livery package.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is available on Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5, while Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 was not released for PlayStation. On consoles, liveries must come through distribution methods supported inside the simulator; creating and directly testing an unpublished package requires the PC version.
Can you share a custom MSFS livery?
You can share a livery only when its paint-kit licence and all included artwork permit redistribution.
Package only the files required for the repaint and its configuration. Do not include the base aircraft, protected model files or another creator’s full texture set merely to make fallback references work. State the required simulator generation, exact aircraft and any external aircraft dependency so users do not install it against an incompatible model.