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Hands On with Photoshop CS3 Extended
A preliminary report on new features, performance, and workflow enhancements
3/27/2007
Virtually every 3D artist uses Photoshop in one way or another--for creating textures, for working with materials, etc. Now in Photoshop, users can import 3D objects directly to the canvas and modify textures on the fly while also being able to see the results instantly on their models.
Just as with video, Photoshop can open 3D files directly from the File menu, including OBJ, 3DS, KMZ (Google), Collada, and U3D. These file formats are al common export options for 3D modeling, animation, and CAD programs. And, just as with video files, these 3D layers can be manipulated in many ways like standard 2D layers, including blending options, layer styles, etc. (but no regular filters).
In addition, Photoshop also provides a variety of tools for transforming the 3D objects and cameras that are imported, including rotation, roll, orbit, horizontal and vertical position, and zoom, among others.
It also provides controls over lighting and rendering. Photoshop does not allow you to create new lights, but it does let you display the object through the lighting set in the 3D file or through a variety of presets (a single point light, day lights, night lights, and many more). And it lets you choose the render preview display (shaded, wireframe, vertices, etc.)
The screen shot below shows several of these features.
(Click for larger image.)
Photoshop can also create cross sections of the 3D model on multiple axes.
Photoshop CS3 Extended is not, however, a modeler, and it doesn't offer advanced rendering options. Advanced rendering can be added by third-party developers through the new Photoshop API, according to Adobe. But that's about it.
The new version does, however, offer the ability to extrude 2D images into 3D space through the expanded Vanishing Point feature. The previous version of Vanishing Point allowed for some 3D-like capabilities, but these were designed primarily for image retouching. Now the 3D planes created in Vanishing Point an be used as 3D data within Photoshop or exported to the DXF and 3DS file formats.
On top of that, Vanishing Point extrusions can also be exported to a new After Effects-compatible format called .vpe, allowing motion graphics artists to bring in pre-designed 3D objects generated from 2D objects on After Effects-native 3D layers.
Measurements and analysis
Beyond the new creative features, PSCS3 Extended also adds several new tools for measurement and image analysis.
On the measurement front, it includes the ability to create correlations between pixels in an image and distances represented. For example, a user can set a pixel to represent a yard, then conduct measurements with the new Measure tool to determine real-world dimensions of elements in an image.
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