The Professional Photoshop Book - Volume 7 2015

QUICK TIP: PLENTY OF RAM

Save regularly as when rendering Photoshop

sometimes decides to throw a spanner in the

works! The complex mathematics is sometimes a

04

CREATE HIGHLIGHTS

Click on the new layer icon at the bottom of the 3D palette and

select New Spot Light, move this to give the lighting that suits your piece

the best. Remember that this will affect all the edge highlighting further

down in the process. Then go back to your lighting layers and adjust to get

the best look you desire for the type. Now duplicate the layer you are

working on. At the bottom of the Properties palette is a small isometric-

square icon. Click it to render your text. This may take a while on older or

slow machines.

05

RA STERIZE THE LAYER

With the layer you have been working on selected in the Layers palette, right-click

and rasterize it. Then go back to your Illustrator file (if using Illustrator; if not, do this in

Photoshop) and create the same text with a stroke on. Paste into the document onto a

layer above the rasterized layer. Repeat the 3D steps as before, but reduce the Extrusion to

a level that looks good. We’ve used a value of 165 for the example. Also on the 3D palette,

select Environment, then in the Properties palette put the Shadows down to 0%. This will

remove the shadow over the main rendered body.

06

DUPLICATE IT

Duplicate and then rasterize this layer as in the previous steps. Then complete the 3D treatment for

the rest of the text using the steps as before for your guide. Remember to arrange the lighting to work the

same as the other layers and to get the look you require for the final piece as you see it.

07

CLEAN UP THE MATH S ERRORS

As this is a simple tutorial, we have not

rendered this text in a 3D program. Photoshop quite

often throws up errors in its mathematics. Simply

zoom around your text and, using the Clone tool, clean

up any areas that have abnormalities, Some edges

may have slight edge artefacts; draw a Path the correct

shape using the Pen tool, select and delete the extra

angles, then clean the areas with the Clone tool again.

little too much and puts a strain on some machines.

So if you have the choice, work on a machine that

has loads of fast disc space and plenty of RAM!

Graphics & new media

158 The Professional Photoshop Book

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