Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
5
Now you will save your new material for future use. Click the material preview in the Properties panel
to bring up the material preset pop-up and choose New Material from the panel menu. Type
My
Glossy Green Plastic
in the Name text field for your new material.
6
Click the Render button ( ) at the bottom of the 3D panel to render out your scene for web, print, or
animation.
7
When the render is complete, choose File > Save or press Ctrl+S (Windows) or Command+S (Mac
OS) to save the document.
Rendering
Rendering is the process of generating a 2D image based on the 3D scene you have defined. It is roughly
equivalent to taking a photograph of a real-world scene. Photoshop is projecting the 3D scene onto a 2D
plane and calculating the pixels that need to be displayed. Photoshop uses raytracing and other CPU-in-
tensive calculations, so your computer might become slow to respond while rendering, even with a multi-
core processor. Render times can be lengthy and are typically based on the complexity of your scene, in-
cluding the detail in your 3D objects, the number of lights, and the reflectivity or transparency of the ma-
terials you use. Rendering is also heavily dependent upon the canvas size.
Once a render is complete, the layer will display the 3D scene elements when selected, and the final
rendered image when not selected.
Textures and painting
Textures are a natural way to add detail to 3D objects, and Photoshop has some great tools for using im-
ages to create patterns on the surface of various objects. Textures can be used to change the color of an
object's surface, but also to control the level of reflectivity, transparency, or even surface bumpiness. You
can add texture to any of the different settings for a given material.
Adding texture to a 3D object
You will create a new image to use as a texture for the Sphere object in your scene.
1
Select the Sphere_Material listed under the Sphere object in the 3D panel.
2
Click the folder icon to access the texture map menu for the Bump setting in the Properties panel.
Choose New Texture, and in the New dialog box, set both the Width and Height to
512
pixels. Click
OK.
Square textures
Textures should be square images with a pixel size that is a power of 2. This allows for easier scaling of the
textures as the object travels into the distance and becomes smaller. For this exercise, you will create textures
at 512 × 512 pixels, but you can create textures at 256 × 256 pixels, 1024 × 1024 pixels, or another smaller or
larger size.
3
Click the folder icon to access the texture map menu for the Bump setting again, this time clicking
Edit Texture. This brings up your texture in a new window, Sphere_Material-Bump.psb. Just as with
the 2D text before, the texture information is stored in a temporary PSB file while you edit it.
