Comments on: Photoshop CS4 Extended – Advanced Techniques

By: jan maarten de wit

jan maarten de wit — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 12:25:12 +0000

I’m was not using 3D objects from maya in Photoshop because I felt it’s to limited. But since I read this article I’ll give it a go!

Thanks!

http://www.janmaartendewit.com

By: Eran Stern

Eran Stern — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:10:22 +0000

I meant: “Good to have you back Brian”, although Brain fits you as well

By: Eran Stern

Eran Stern — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:05:09 +0000

I second that. Recently I found myself using Photoshop 3D tools for many ‘Real Jobs’ when budget was low or timeframe was short – It always performed nicely. There are few things you’ll need to know about exporting your models from 3D softwares like as 3ds Max, Maya or Cinema 4D in order for Photoshop to read them well. There are also many gotchas along the way, and you need to understand how to set it so you’ll get a useable HiRes image with lights, reflections, ray tracing and smooth edges (anti-alising). I haven’t watched Brian’s series (yet), however from past terms experience with his training, I’m pretty sure he’s covering all you need to know. Good to have you back Brain

By: Michael

Michael — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:27:10 +0000

Yeah, Rockland County. I currently reside in Suffern NY and I am very excited to watch this tutorial. Great post John.

By: Brian Maffitt

Brian Maffitt — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 05:25:18 +0000

Brett is correct (and thanks for the nice comments!). However, once you understand the fine art of 3D displacement mapping, Photoshop is a very capable modeler for certain types of object. Many, many years ago, when ElectricImage was a popular rendering package used by ILM, I helped design and sell a plugin called Image2Mesh, which turned grayscale images into 3D geometry. This proved to be an extremely useful tool for many gifted artists such as John Knoll, who made some pretty amazing stuff with it (the rocky valley in the pod race scene in “Star Wars Episode 1″ is a great example). And now, all of the capabilities of Image2Mesh are basically recreated in Photoshop. But, bonus! Since you have all of Photoshop’s tools available to help you create and manipulate the pixels, it is a powerful combination indeed. It isn’t Cinema 4D by any means. A lot of Photoshop 3D stuff could be easier, and better designed. But I encourage you not to underestimate it either.

By: Brett Perry

Brett Perry — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 02:20:02 +0000

Photoshop isn’t really a 3D modeling program. It’s a way to port 3D models into AE and to add textures to untextured 3D models. A full blown 3D app like the ones you mention is still desireable. I’m learning Cinema 4D and highly recomend it as well as the “Making It Look Great” tutorial series. Check ‘em out. Hope this helps answer your question.

By: Brett Perry

Brett Perry — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:25:05 +0000

I also think Brian Maffitt rocks. He helped me learn AE with his sense of humor and clear concise non technical explanations. I,m glad to see he’s back at it and I’ll certainly check out the Photoshop CS4 ext training. My Photoshop skills are in serious need of help and this sounds like fun. Thanks for the shout out, John.

By: Atep Dell

Atep Dell — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:22:40 +0000

wow thats cool man. so is it better than using 3dmax or blender?