PHOTOSHOP CC OPENS MORE FILE TYPES
THAN EVER BEFORE, THE LIST NOW
INCLUDES THESE HANDY 3D OPTIONS3D FILE TYPES
COMPATIBLE WITH
PHOTOSHOP- .3DS
Software: 3DS Max
Used for: Modelling
Having been around for donkey’s years, .3ds has
become the de facto file format when it comes to
transferring or storing models. At the moment,
Photoshop can import it, but not export. - .DAE
Software: Many, including Blender,
Poser, SketchUp
Used for: Being an intermediate
A file format designed to allow people to transmit
3D data between programs, most applications can
use COLLADA’s open standard XML schema. - .JPS
Software: XnView, NVIDIA 3D Vision
Photo Viewer
Used for: Stereoscopic images
The stereoscopic JPEG format can be used to
create 3D effects from two 2D photos, or created by
cameras that have two lenses. - .MPO
Software: MPO Explorer, Stereo Master
Used for: Stereoscopic images
The Multi Picture Object file is another format for
storing and sharing stereoscopic images. Many
programs can open them, but sometimes can only
see one of the images. - .U3D
Software: Adobe Acrobat
Used for: Vertex-based geometry,
lighting, textures
Universal 3D is a compressed file format designed
to be compatible across a variety of applications,
and to create 3D images for PDFs. - .OBJ
Software: Many, including Cinema 4D,
Blender, Maya
Used for: 3D geometry
There’s also a companion file format in .mtl that
describes the material properties of the objects
with an .obj file.
CRIS KOCH EXPLAINS HOW MAPPING AND LIGHTING CAN
BRING YOUR IMAGE TOGETHER IN PHOTOSHOPHOW TO ACHIEVE REALISM IN 3D
01
A WORKFLOW OF YOUR OWN
Koch built this character in 3ds Max, and
when he comes to import it into Photoshop, he
has a checklist: “A) Make sure the uvw mapping is
correct. B) Make sure the model is in the position 0
in the world (this will make your life easier later. C)
Do a quick check in the normals of the model that
are all facing outside.”03
ADD SOME REALISM
Now it’s time for realism. “Once I am happy with the match of lights, depth of field and
perspective,” says Koch, “I render both layers and start retouching areas, and approaching the whole
potential of Photoshop in compositing. As I come from a 3D background, I created reflection pass,
occlusion pass, beauty pass to have more control over the whole image.”02
SET YOUR SCENE
“Import the 3D file going to 3D>New
3D layer from file, then you can line up the
perspective of the 3D model to the
background, once everything is lined up,
double-clicking in the 3D layer will reveal all
properties for the 3D scene, where we can
adjust our textures, lights, cameras.”are not the focus.” As you can see if you check out
Kohr’s tutorial, on FileSilo, about painting over his 3D
car model, you’ll see how he “draws the attention away
from the shadowy undercarriage. The viewer probably
won’t scrutinise this area of the painting, so it’s a great
place to use implied detail. Implied detail tends to work
better when seen from the corner of your eye. The
focal point must be given much more attention.”
Uli Staiger (www.dielichtgestalten.de) too is a fan
of Photoshop overpainting, to avoid his 3D looking “too
clean”. For a recent composition of a long waterslide,
he used “a stack of several patterns in a psd file and
apply that carefully with a fuzzy, multi-jittered brush
along the edges of the slide. Also, I use Photoshop’s
layer options, so that the painted dirt gets a 3D feeling. I
enjoy Photoshop overpaintings very much and it is a lot
more intuitive then a pure CGI production.”
For Jablokov, it’s the different 3D and 2D views that
makes Photoshop so good to use. “For example,” he
says, “you have an organic model like an alien gun or a
character and you want to have a straight line on it.
Maybe it’s a tech line on the gun or war paint on the
characters face. But your UV’s are flattened so that
there’s minimal stretch and it can be difficult to judge
where you need to make that specific line so that itappears as a completely straight one in the model.
Photoshop’s 3D tool comes to the rescue here.
“You can work on your 2D flat texture just like any
other day and when needed, pop up your 3D model
and paint a bright red line where you want your
detail to be. Then, continue in the 2D view to render it
out precisely.”© Andrei Lacatusu
© Ifthikhar abdul nasser© Cris Koch