How to Make Skins for TF2

Download and install GCFScape and VTFEdit from the "Nem's Tools" website.

Run GCFScape and click the "File" and then "Open" buttons. Navigate to your "SteamApps" folder and open the "team fortress 2 materials.gcf" file.

Click on the "tf" subheading within GCFScape and continue on to the "materials," "models" and "weapons" folder. Select the weapon you wish to edit and then right-click and "extract" that weapon's files.

Navigate to the extracted folder with Windows Explorer. Right-click on the ".VTF" file that corresponds to the weapon you wish to skin and select "Open" to launch VTFEdit.

Click the "File" and "Export" buttons in VTFEdit and export the file as a ".TGA" file with the same name as the original. Export the ".TGA" file to any easily accessed folder on your computer for later editing.

Open the ".TGA" file you have created in an image editor, such as Adobe Photoshop, and paint your new design over the original model. Select "File" and "Save" when you have finished your modifications.

Open your new ".TGA" file in VTFEdit and select "File" and "Save As" to save your ".TGA" as a ".VTF" file of exactly the same name as the original ".VTF" file.

Create a backup copy of the original ".VTF" file of the item you are skinning and then paste your newly modified ".VTF" file into the original "tf/models/materials/weapons" folder from which you extracted it, selecting "Yes" if you are asked if you would like to overwrite the original file.

Load the game and use the weapon you modified to see if it turned out the way you wanted it to in-game.