Printing 3D Files - Adobe Photoshop CC - page 472

Before you create the luggage tag, you'll play with the 3D tools to become familiar
with the 3D environment.
6. Return to Photoshop.
Understanding the 3D environment
The advantage to working with 3D objects is, obviously, that you can work with
them in three dimensions. You can also return to a 3D layer at any time to change
lighting, color, material, or position without having to re-create a lot of the art.
Photoshop includes several basic tools that make it easy to rotate, resize, and pos-
ition 3D objects. The 3D tools in the options bar manipulate the object itself. The
Camera widget in the lower left corner of the application window manipulates the
camera so you can view a 3D scene from different angles.
You can use the 3D tools whenever a 3D layer is selected in the Layers panel. A
3D layer behaves like any other layer—you can apply layer styles, mask it, and so
on. However, a 3D layer can be quite complex.
Unlike a regular layer, a 3D layer contains one or more meshes . A mesh defines
the 3D object. For example, in the following exercise, the mesh is the cone shape.
Each mesh, in turn, includes one or more materials —the appearance of a part or
all of the mesh. Each material includes one or more maps , which are the compon-
ents of the appearance. There are nine typical maps, and there can be only one of
each kind; however, you can also use custom maps. Each map contains one tex-
ture— the image that defines what the maps and materials look like. The texture
may be a simple bitmap graphic or a set of layers. The same texture might be used
by many different maps and materials.
In addition to meshes, a 3D layer also includes one or more lights , which affect the
appearance of 3D objects and remain in a fixed position as you spin or move the
object. A 3D layer also includes cameras , which are saved views with the objects
in a particular position. The shader creates the final appearance based on the ma-
terials, object properties, and renderer.
That may all sound complicated, but the most important thing to remember is that
the 3D tools in the options bar move an object in 3D space and the Camera widget
moves the cameras that view the object.
You'll start by creating a simple 3D object from a plain colored layer.
1. In Photoshop, choose File > New. Click OK to accept the default values.
2. Choose Select > All to select the entire background layer.