Adobe Photoshop CC 2014 v.14.xx - Manual (Page 975)

Essential 3D concepts and tools
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Meshes
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Materials
Lights
Understanding and displaying 3D files
3D object and camera tools
3D Axis
In Photoshop CS5 and CS6, 3D functionality was part of Photoshop Extended. All features in Photoshop Extended are part of Photoshop
CC. Photoshop CC does not have a separate Extended offering.
Understanding and displaying 3D files
Photoshop lets you position and animate 3D models, edit textures and lighting, and choose from several render modes.
3D fundamentals
3D files consist of the following components:
Provide the underlying structure of a 3D model. A mesh is often visualized as a wireframe, a skeletal structure built from thousands of
individual polygons. A 3D model always has at least one mesh, and may combine multiple meshes. In Photoshop you can view meshes in a
variety of render modes, and manipulate meshes independently of each other. While you can’t alter the actual polygons in a mesh, you can
change its orientation and transform it by scaling along different axes. You can also create your own 3D meshes, using pre-supplied shapes or by
converting existing 2D layers. See 3D Mesh settings.
To edit the polygon mesh of the 3D model itself, you must use a 3D authoring program.
A mesh can have one or more materials associated with it, which control the appearance of all or part of the mesh. The material in turn
relies on subcomponents called texture maps, whose cumulative effect creates the appearance of a material. The texture map itself is a 2D image
file that creates various qualities such as color, pattern, shininess, or bumpiness. A Photoshop material can use up to nine different texture map
types to define its overall appearance. See 3D Materials settings.
Types include Infinite, Spot, Point lights, as well as Image-based lights that wrap around a scene. You can move and adjust color and
intensity of existing lights, and add new lights to your 3D scene. See 3D Lights settings.
Open a 3D file
Photoshop can open the following 3D formats: DAE (Collada), OBJ, 3DS, U3D, and KMZ (Google Earth).
Do one of the following:
To open a 3D file on its own, choose File > Open, and select the file.
To add a 3D file as a layer in an open file, choose 3D > New Layer From 3D File, and then select the 3D file. The new layer reflects the
dimensions of the open file and presents the 3D model over a transparent background.
3D performance and display preferences
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