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Hi, I'm Kitty. By this point you might be confused by Photoshop and "templates" or you might just be annoyed at not being able to get your own livery done. Get ready to be blown away (or mildly impressed at your own ability).
The software I use in this tutorial is 'paint.net' . You can get it for free from this link . Before you start dismissing this tutorial as complicated, I can promise* you that it will be as easy as just painting your colors on the plane.
Why the asterisk? Because, this is where the tutorial splits. If you are OK with a white background behind your plane, you can download the Simple version . If you want to shake it up and add some chill colors behind your plane, download the Extended version .
Part One: for Simple & Extended versions
Open up the .pdf file in Paint.net. Hit F7 on your keyboard. If something disappears, hit it again. If something appears, don't hit it again. What has been disappearing/appearing is the "layers tab". At the layers tab, click on Paint Here.
On the "Paint Here" layer, you add the colors/words/designs to your plane. Use F5 to toggle your tools and F8 to toggle your colors. It's just like Microsoft Paint (paint bucket, paintbrush, pencil, eraser, line tool) , and it should be easy to understand. Some options for the tools you select can be found at the top of your canvas.
Remember to use the 'text' tool if you want to add some text to your airplane.
Here we see my beautiful livery. Time for AE, right? Not yet.
Step 2A: For SIMPLE users
Ok. Now go to "File > Save". It's just like saving a picture, except you need to change the file type from .pdf to .png or .jpeg . Once you've done that (click OK to everything, including when it asks you to Flatten), you can upload it to AE.
Step 2B: For EXTENDED users
Go back to the layers tab, and select "Your Background". Then go to your tools tab and select the magic wand. If you don't see it, look at the picture below. Once you've selected the wand, reduce your "tolerance" in the upper menu to around ~20%. Then, click anywhere on the page but where your plane is. The background should turn blue.
(should look like this)
From that point, you can do whatever you like in the background, just like the paint tab. If the background becomes un-selected, you'll have to Ctrl-Z back to when it turned blue. A cool option is to use 'gradients' like this.
When you are absolutely done with your background, type Ctrl-D. Now go to "File > Save". It's just like saving a picture, except you need to change the file type from .pdf to .png or .jpeg . Once you've done that (click OK to everything, including when it asks you to Flatten), you can upload it to AE.
~ the template is perfectly fitted to AE and should go without any blurring
Enjoy 
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