Using the DAZ Studio Bridge and Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extendeds 3D Tools

For this tutorial you will need: DAZ Studio DAZ Studio Bridge Photoshop CS3 Extended

Before We Begin: As rule of thumb, its a good idea to be sure you are always using the latest versions of the software. As of now, the versions are as follows: DAZ Studio Version 2.1.1.13 DAZ Studio Bridge Version 0.9.5.0 Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended Version 10.0.1 What is a 3D Bridge? In simplest terms, the bridge between Photoshop and DAZ Studio is much like a regular bridge in that it provides an easy way to transport your content from one application to the another and back again. In this case, the bridge is used to transport models and 3D elements from within DAZ Studio to Photoshop so that the models may be modified, combined, and used as a resource in your Photoshop documents.

Getting Started: OK so now it is finally time to start! We will begin our adventure into the wonderful world of combining our 2D and 3D work in Photoshop CS3 Extended. To begin, open Photoshop Extended and select File Automate DAZ Studio Bridge. This will initialize DAZ Studio and open the bridge between Photoshop and DAZ Studio.

Once DAZ Studio is initialized, a new window showing the DAZ Studio 3D Bridge Options will also be visible. This is what you will use to transport your 3D objects between the applications. From this window you can also Close DAZ Studio, Preview Your Image, Render to a New Layer, Import your Current Scene into Photoshop, Import and Export Image Maps, or Close the window. If you would like more information on what these options do, please read the 3D Bridge Help PDF for more information.

Once inside DAZ Studio, you set a scene as you normally would with whatever models, textures, lights, and cameras you would like. Keep in mind that you will be taking the scene into Photoshop once done so the more items in your scene, the more memory intensive the process is. If higher polygon counts are troublesome in DAZ Studio or Poser on your current system, you should try using singular items or items with lower polygon counts to see how your system handles.

Once you have everything posed and setup in your scene the way you want it, go back to your Photoshop CS3 Extended window and select Import Scene to CS3 from the DAZ Studio 3D Bridge Menu Window.

A dialog box will appear in DAZ Studio asking you whether you want the maps for the items resampled and if so what Max size you want them to be as well as whether you want to Export your Lights and Cameras. Resampling the textures to lower resolution may help those with less RAM and those on slower systems so keep that in mind if you are having issues. Once you have selected the options you want, simply press Accept and your 3D scene will be transported into Photoshop.

Your scene is now loaded into Photoshop CS3! If for some reason you need to import the image maps or wish to change the maps used, at this point you can use the Import Maps command to do so.

OK, so now you have a model in Photoshop and I bet youre wonderingwhat can I do with it?

Photoshop CS3 Extended gives you the ability to do numerous things with the model once in Photoshop, such as the following: 1. Move both the object and camera around in the scene including moving around the object in 3D space like you would in any 3D application. 2. Alter the textures or create new textures and see the changes live 3. Change lighting and render styles 4. Add layer styles

To view the 3D Tools, simply double click on the 3D Objects Layer Preview and a new toolbar will open with options for you to use to manipulate and modify your 3D object. If you would like to modify the Objects Textures, simply double click on the Texture layers beneath the object layer.

From Left to Right the Icons are as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. Edit the 3D Object Edit the 3D Camera Return to Initial Object or Camera Position* Orbit the 3D Object or Rotate the 3D Camera* Roll the 3D Object or Camera* Drag the 3D Object or Pan the 3D Camera* Slide the 3D object or Walk with the 3D Camera* Scale the 3D Object or Zoom the 3D Camera* Numerically Edit Object or Camera Position and Settings* Views such as Front, Back, Top, etc Delete the Currently Selected View Save Current View Lighting and Appearance Settings Cross Section Settings Animation Tools such as Play Cancel Transformation Confirm Transformation *(Please note that items 3 through 9 change depending on whether Object or Camera are selected)

For this tutorial, I decided to make some changes to the snowmans textures to show how you can change or create textures in Photoshop Extended.

When creating or modifying a texture one thing that can be very useful is the objects templates. To load a template onto its corresponding layer to help with placement, simply go to File Open and search for the appropriate template. Once open in Photoshop, check to be sure the image size of the template is the same as the texture and resize as necessary and then simply press and hold Shift while Dragging and drop the texture into the texture window*. Pressing and holding the shift key ensures that the layers will line up perfectly as long as both the texture and the template are the same size. *(If you do not have the texture window open simply double click on the texture layer to open it as stated previously)

If you wish to see the template applied to the 3D model to help with lining things up, while the texture window is selected (should be brighter then the other window), simply go to File Save and your template will be added to the model.

Now that you can see the template you can add details to your textures or create new ones. In this case, I added a few buttons to the snowmans torso area and saved the texture to apply the changes.

Next I opened and added the template (using the previous steps) to the head map for the snowman and added some rosy cheeks and again saved the modification so it updated on the model.

I also decided to modify his brown eyes to make them an icy blue by using the circle marquee tool to select the iris and then the hue and levels options under Image Adjustments.

Next I decided to modify the scarf texture by added a filter to it to create the illusion of fur.

Finally I opened up a file I had of the snow background and shift dragged it into the scene, turned him using the 3D Object Manipulation Tools, added a drop shadow and then used Layer Layer Style Create Layers, and then used transform to cast it on the ground

And here is the final resultsI can save the file as a PSD and come back later to modify it including all the textures and the 3D Object if I chose, I can Save for Web, Animate it or whatever else I wish at this point :O)

Just for fun I repeated the steps and added the tree in as a separate 3D object that I can also modify and reposition as needed.

THE END :O)