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Photoshop™ In 3D |
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| When it comes to 3D graphics, Photoshop permeates into every corner of every 3D artist’s workflow.
Some 3D artists start with Photoshop in the pre-visualization phase, sketching with a digital pen and tablet the rough visual ideas that will eventually end up as a polished and finished 3D piece. Others may jump right into StudioPro™ or other 3D application, never touching upon Photoshop until after all rendering is completed, there calling on Photoshop simply to prepare their file for CMYK printing. Without a doubt, the most empowered 3D artists depend on Photoshop through most every stage of the creation process. Though many of us may not sketch or prefer pencil and paper to their digital equivalents, and though many of us may never need to think about converting an RGB file for CMYK printing, all of us can benefit from thinking big, bigger, biggest when it comes to the venerable collection of code known as Photoshop. Photoshop is native to the whole 3D creation process, and it is, in many senses, more important to the workflow and final visual product than the 3D software any artist might choose to use. That’s a bold statement, I know. But, it’s backed by my own experience and study, where problem-solving and the seek for artistic control has increasingly pointed me away from the complexity of a 3D solution to a “3D” problem. After all, in the end it’s all 2D. With that fact set firmly in mind, and with adequate skills in Photoshop, the 3D artist gains the perspective to go beyond what the software hands him or her. |
Just as in any art form, the “process” in digital imaging contributes towards the art, the flavor, of the final piece. The medium(s) are part of the final message. On one level that’s all important to any type of art, yet, on another, it’s a limitation - especially in the world of binary digits and algorithms. Computers are wonderfully precise, remarkable at repetitive tasks, and full of presets or preset ways of doing really cool things that say more about an artist’s overhead than their talent or ambition.
Photoshop is a general purpose application limited with few exceptions by the artist him or herself. Keep that in the front of your mind as you work. Look ahead of where you are, look at the entire project and break it down not only according to what must get done when, but according to what software program you feel will yield the most control over your precious pixels. They are, after all, in the end, your pixels. If you can create a better sunset in Photoshop, don’t be shy about passing on that new 3D Sunset-a-lectro plug-in. 3D applications are specialized applications. Think of Photoshop as the Queen of your 3D applications arsenal, where every other piece has unique and important |
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