Importing 3D Models

Quick reference

• 00:04 Well we're gonna take a look at how to incorporate your 3D
• 00:07 models into Photoshop CS6 Extended.
• 00:10 Many designers are looking to create a quick composite of
• 00:13 their model with a photograph, and Photoshop makes the process fairly simple.
• 00:18 In this example we're gonna import a 3D model onto this image,
• 00:21 which was taken by NASA's new Mars Rover, Curiosity.
• 00:25 As I don't have any 3D models that I personally designed recently,
• 00:28 I was able to find some nice free models on turbosquid.com,
• 00:32 which is a fantastic resource for models and textures.
• 00:35 So once you have your photo opened and your 3D model on your computer,
• 00:39 under the 3D menu at the top you'll find a new 3D layer from file option.
• 00:44 This will allow you to browse your computer for
• 00:46 the model that you would like to import.
• 00:48 Now, keep in mind that not all 3D formats are supported.
• 00:51 Under the format drop down, you can see which file formats Photoshop supports.
• 00:55 It's not many, but there are some of the more common formats like 3D Studio and
• 00:59 OBJ, which is the format of the model that I'll be using.
• 01:03 Once the model's imported, Photoshop will place it on your document and may or
• 01:06 may not include the maps along with it, but we'll get into that in a moment.
• 01:10 Your first concern should be to get the model placed.
• 01:13 When your move tool and 3D layer is active,
• 01:15 you will be able to click on any of the elements that you want to manipulate.
• 01:19 For instance, clicking once on the grid will select my current view,
• 01:23 where I can drag it around, slide it back and even rotate it if needed.
• 01:27 Up in your Options bar, you're gonna find your different controls for moving and
• 01:30 rotating your 3D elements.
• 01:33 Now once that's done, I can click on my actual 3D model to select the mesh.
• 01:37 Again, the same controls are available on your Options bar, but
• 01:40 I also have the axis in the middle.
• 01:43 Which allows me to quickly move, rotate or even scale the object if needed.
• 01:48 Now one little quick side tip, you see that little white box in the middle?
• 01:51 That's your uniform scale control, but it also controls the size of your axis.
• 01:56 If you hold down your Shift key and drag that box up.
• 01:59 It's gonna makes your axes bigger.
• 02:01 Finally, if you look towards the top, you're gonna see a small lightbulb icon.
• 02:04 Clicking on this will select the main light source of your document and allow
• 02:08 you to rotate it into place, which also effects the shadows, as you can see here.
• 02:13 All right, so at this point, if we render out our scene, it's looking pretty dull.
• 02:17 When we imported the model, the maps didn't come with it,
• 02:20 even though they were included in the zip file.
• 02:22 When this happens, it's usually as simple as replacing the maps with the images that
• 02:26 came with the model.
• 02:27 To do this, select the model's material from the 3D panel, and
• 02:30 then in your Properties panel, take note of the icon beside the diffuse color.
• 02:34 If it's a folder icon, it means that there's no active map.
• 02:37 If it's a document icon, like the one you see here, then there is a map, but
• 02:41 it may be blank.
• 02:42 If there wasn't a map attached, you can click on the Folder icon and
• 02:46 select Low Texture to load in the texture you'd like to wrap around your object.
• 02:50 But in this case, we want to select Replace Texture instead.
• 02:53 If maps did come with your model, you'll want to look for
• 02:56 the file that says Diffuse.
• 02:58 However if they aren't labeled too well, look for
• 03:00 the texture that is in true color.
• 03:02 Chances are, this will be your diffuse texture.
• 03:04 Pressing open will apply the texture to your object.
• 03:07 Now performing another render will show us our updated scene.
• 03:10 It's looking better but it's not there yet.
• 03:12 Another map that you may want to add is a bump map.
• 03:15 Bump maps are used to give your object depth without increasing the poly count or
• 03:20 adding additional objects.
• 03:21 Again if your model came with a bump map, you can load it in.
• 03:25 But if it didn't, you can usually create one by using a high contrast black and
• 03:29 white version of your model's texture.
• 03:32 The white areas will be extruded out, and the dark areas will be extruded in.
• 03:36 And anything with a mid-tone gray, will be left as-is.
• 03:39 And depending on how much extrusion you want, you can increase or
• 03:43 decrease the bum's percentage.
• 03:45 Now the next thing you may wanna add is an image based light, or
• 03:48 an IBL, especially when working with scenes that contain reflections or
• 03:52 a specific environment like a deserted red planet for instance.
• 03:56 An IBL can give your objects a more real feel to them.
• 03:59 In your Environments properties you'll find the IBL option at the top.
• 04:03 For a case like this I'm gonna want to load in a similar image of
• 04:06 Mars to help define the environment.
• 04:09 I'm gonna use this image which was taken by the Spirit Rover.
• 04:12 Right away, you are gonna notice that the object is now being lit by the image, and
• 04:16 the shadows weren't as strong as they were before, but it's way too saturated for
• 04:20 my liking.
• 04:21 There are a few ways you can go about fixing this, including editing the IBL
• 04:24 source image, but let's get some real time results by using an adjustment layer.
• 04:29 Switching back over to your Layers panel, I'm gonna add a hue and
• 04:32 saturation adjustment layer and just to make sure that it only affects the 3D
• 04:36 layer I'm gonna make sure to clip it using this icon right here.
• 04:40 Now I can make some minor adjustments to bring down the saturation a touch,
• 04:44 which will blend this object in with the rest of the scene.
• 04:47 Now switching back to the 3D layer I can render out the scene again and
• 04:50 make any additional changes if necessary.
• 04:53 But I think it's looking pretty good, not a 100& realistic, but for
• 04:56 Photoshop, it's certainly not too bad.

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