Help shading aircraft!

Hi

I got this neat chopper design from one of the graphic artists that's helping me with my current game (in-game size)

<img src="http://octavoarte.cl/version1.png">

Thing is, it's shaded using a bevel. I need the light to be top down, so it can rotate freely and not look weird.

Can anybody share some tips on shading with top-down light? Is there a way to do it without TOO much work? it's vector, the original is done in Fireworks, this is an unshaded version:

<img src="http://octavoarte.cl/version2_grande.png">

There's a bunch of ships to do so we can't spend too much time on each. I like the bevel version but sadly, that's not how the game will be lit.

EDIT: I mean shade within the image, not in realtime. No effects! It's more of a drawing technique question than a Construct question.

A shaped angular gradient is a quick way to add some lighting like that.

Here's a layer mask for you to try out.

<img src="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/666516/version_grandient.png">

Layer mode set to screen should work.

If by chance you're working with photoshop, you could also use Render->Lightning Effects with a simple radiator (hope it's the right translation). You could also automate the process with the photoshop actions.

I don't think radiator is the right translation >_<

btw we're aiming at getting this done with minimum effort, thus heightmaps are probably not the best choice.

i've handed the angular gradient to the artist along with an explanation. Can't test it myself just yet, but I hope it works.

I should also do highlights, but I just realised I can get them out of this same gradient with some filters on top(contrast manipulation). Will test that out! Thanks for the help!