Creating 3D objects from illumination light in Photoshop CS4

The functionality of this feature is pretty cool, but it does have some limitations. This Photoshop CS4 tutorial will show you how to create 3D meshes from grayscale objects.

This feature only works on RGB and not CMYK documents. In fact, most of the 3D features in Photoshop will not work on CMYK. To change CMYK to RGB, go to the menu, Image / Mode / and select RGB Color.

First we will be creating 3D boxes from scratch by using the illumination intensity values.

Here is how you create 3D objects with illumination light:

1. Create a new layer and name it “buildings” and fill this layer with black.

2. Select the “buildings” layer and select the “Rectangular Marquee Tool” or (M) on the keyboard shortcut to cut out some rectangular holes.

3. On the last rectangle, with the selection, go to the “Refine Edge” at the top to add Feather to blur the edges.

4. Create a new layer, name it “background” and fill it with white, then merge the “building” and “background” layers by selecting on both layers. Right click and Merge Layers.

5. With the “buildings” layer still selected, go to the 3D menu at the top and click on New Mesh From Grayscale / Plane

6. Give it a few seconds to load and Photoshop will automatically create a new 3D object base on the brightness of the layer you created. Click on the 3D rotate tool to rotate it.

7. You can use different shapes, it is not limited to rectangles. You can create circles and all kind of shapes.

So far we been using the 3D Plane, but there are also Two-Sided Plane, Cylinder and Sphere. Try playing around with the other 3D from the “New Mesh From Grayscale” menu to create your 3D objects from the greyscale values.

This 3D feature work great with brushes or the marquee tools. If you want to add text or real photographs, it might not come out the way you wanted, those are the only limitations.

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