Photoshop CC: The Missing Manual, 2nd Edition

Chapter 21. Working with 3D Objects

Photoshop has come a long way, baby, and thanks to the power and speed of modern computers, the program sports a nice array of 3D tools (they first appeared in the extended version of Photoshop CS3). And in Photoshop CC 2014, you can even print 3D objects, either on your own 3D printer or by having Photoshop upload the file to a printing service. Modeling 3D objects—or 3D models, as they’re also called—isn’t Photoshop’s main purpose in life, but if you’ve ever dreamt of dabbling in 3D modeling, it’s the perfect place to start.

You don’t even have to create 3D objects from scratch. Just as you can buy stock images, illustrations, video, and audio clips, you can also buy pre-made 3D objects. Do a quick Google search for 3D models and you’ll find oceans of goodies for sale, along with some freebies, too. If those objects are already painted and lit (some aren’t), you can bring all that info into Photoshop. The program also gives you a fair amount of control over the object’s textures and lighting. If the object comes with a separate texture file, you can edit that file in Photoshop. You can also add and adjust lighting to make the model blend into your scene better.

If you’re especially skilled, you can paint directly on the surface of a 3D model in real time (meaning you see your brushstrokes as you make them). It’s really nice to be able to do this kind of painting in Photoshop, especially if you don’t have a dedicated 3D painting program. You can ...