Creating a 3D image from a 2D image

Today, I am going to show you how to take almost any image and turn it into a 3D image using Photoshop.

(note)

This process was first developed by Russel Brown

You can check him out and see his other tutorials at:

http://russellbrown.com

This is what we'll be creating today:

Feel free to use these image:

Step 1:

Open your image in Photoshop.

Goto the channels tab and look at the various channels, what your looking for is the channel that has the best contrast between black and whites. We will be creating a depth map which will pull the whites forward and the push the blacks backward.

In this instance the Red channel appears to be the best for this image.

Open up the Levels dialogue box and apply these setting's

What were looking for is to change the white and black colors to grey.

Next, apply a Gaussian blur, what your looking for is to reduce the detail in the image.

You want to blur the image to a level where the only the major elements of the image are barely identifiable.

Then press CMD/CTRL A to select the visible image

CMD/CTRL C to copy the image

STEP 2:

Click back onto the layers tab and create a new layer

Paste the blurred copy into this new layer

Change the mode from 8bit to 16bit

Then goto the 3D menu / New mesh from Grayscale / Plane

This mesh is a depth map, which we'll use to create the 3D, as

you can see it is a bit smaller than our image.

Use the Slide 3D Object tool to scale the image, the edges are going to be uneven so scale it just a bit bigger than our image size.

Step 3:

Select our original image and press

CMD/CTRL A to select the image

CMD/CTRL C to copy the image

With the image copied, double click on the diffuse layer.

This will open up our grayscale mesh in a new document.

Paste the copied image onto a new layer

Merge the two layers down so only the full colored image is seen.

Close this new image down, make sure you click yes to save this new image.

Our original image will now look a bit funky

Step 4:

Goto the 3D Tab and click on the edit button.

This is going to the open up the Render Settings box.

First thing is to change the face style from Solid to Unlit Texture.

Next click on the Sterographic button at the bottom, make sure the Stereo type is set to Red/Blue

Change the Parallax to 100

Click Okay

Lastly, change the quality from Interactive to Ray Trace Final

That's it, you've created a 3D Stereographic Image from a 2D image.

Creating a stereographic image in photoshop

This tutorial is an extension of a previous tutorial

http://nndustrietuts.blogspot.com/2011/03/creating-depth-in-2d-image.html

This is the most complicated tutorial of this three part series and will require the most from your machine. Be prepared to have Photoshop crash so save often.

In order to fully appreciated this tutorial you'll need to have a pair of red/green glasses.

You can apply this effect to any Photoshop file that has layers

Step 1:

Create 3D postcard layers for each layer in the composition.

It is the most time consume portioned up the tutorial.

Step 2:

Now that each layer is it's own 3d layer, we can apply the stereographic effect.

Each layer should now have a little box in the layer thumbnail, clicking on this box will open up that layers 3D properties.

To begin, let begin with the sun, double click on that layers box

Click on the edit button to open the render settings box

Select the red/blue box.

Set the Parallax to 25

(this setting will be the same on every layer)

The focal plane is how we set the depth of the elements.

T0 push elements back use negative numbers

To push element forward your positive numbers

Keep in mind that further an element is placed the more blurred the image will appear.

This take some time, play with the focal plane to achieve the effect you want.

That's it your done!

Apply 3d depth with the box blur

This tutorial is an extension of a previous tutorial

http://nndustrietuts.blogspot.com/2011/03/creating-depth-in-2d-image.html

This next option is more ambitious and will create a better sense of depth.

Take the image we created in the previous tutorial and essentially what were going to do is to apply the box blur filter individual to each element to push them back in the depth of

field.

Identify where you want your focal plane to be, for this image, we'll make it this building.

This building will have no blur applied to it. Working your way forward and backwards apply the box blue to each element.

For example:

Select the sun layer and goto the box blur filter

You don't want to go above 10 pixels or the images just become mushy.

Now just start working your way forward apply the box blur to lessor amounts as you move to the

focal plane.

I adjusted the box blue by even numbers apply 8 6 4 2 and 0 amounts to each element as needed.

For those element forward of the focal plane, I applied 8 as my highest amount.

There is no hard and fast rules regarding this, it's all up to you and what looks good to you!

Once your happy then your done!

Apply tilt shift to create 3d depth

This tutorial is an extension of a previous tutorial

http://nndustrietuts.blogspot.com/2011/03/creating-depth-in-2d-image.html

This is a pretty simple effect, the 3d depth is not going to be as dramtic but still a nice if simple effect.

(What we'll be creating)

Step 1:

After following the previous tutorial, flatten the image.

Step 2:

Enter quick mask mode by pressing Q on your keyboard.

Making sure your foreground and background color is set to black and white, create a reflected gradient, so there is a pink stripe in the center of your image. This will take a couple of try, simply undo and re-apply.

Step 3:

Exit the quick mask mode and open up the lens blur filter.

Apply the following setting's, adjusting them as need for your image. Hit okay, de-select the selection and that's it your done!

Creating depth in a 2D image

Today I am going to show you how to create 3D depth in a 2D image. There are a couple of ways to accomplish this effect. To begin lets begin by creating a new composition.

There are a couple of assets to gather first:

Download this Photoshop brush and install it in your preset folder:

http://invisiblesnow.deviantart.com/art/Urban-Scrawl-Photoshop-Brushes-41545917

Step 1:

Create a new document 1200 px X 800 px at 300 dpi

Create a new layer above the background layer.

Grab the brush tool and click on brush 671 the sunburst.

The brush is preset offset a bit so to correct that goto the brush tab and rotate the brush to

-14 degrees so it's level. Increase the spacing so you can see how the rotate affect a single instance of the brush.

Increase the size of the brush to 900 px and create one instance of the brush just above the middle of the page.

Create a new layer between the background layer and the layer with the sunburst on it.

Change the brush to a round with about 80% hardness. Change the color to #fff49c and paint the some color for the sun

To create the rest of the horizon line, grab the rectangle marquee tool and grab a selection from the center of the sun.

Erase the little squiggles that are poking up and drag the line right or left, then duplicate for the other side.

To fill the background, change the background color to #7da8ff. Using the gradient tool draw a straight line from the top of the page to the bottom.

Merge all the layers but the background layer with the gradient. Use the magic wand tool to create a selection of the lower half of the page.

Create a new layer. Change the background color from blue to white, leaving the yellow foreground color the same and fill the selection using the gradient tool.

Step 2:

To create the road we'll use the pen tool to create a selection.

Goto the path's tab and click on the circle of dot in the bottom of the tab.

Fill this selection with #727272, then goto the filter and apply a Gaussian blur of 3px

To add the marking's on the road, use brush 133

Create a new layer and use the brush rotate tool to get the first instance looking right. Start at the end of the road and work your way back, duplicating the layer and increasing the size as you move closer.

To add a bit of character to the road, use the warp tool to add a bend in the road

Next lets add the street lights to the road. Use brush 207

Create a new layer and brush one instance onto the new layer

Create a new layer just below the lamp layer and using the pen tool create a selection like the following.

Feather the selection by 15px and select #fffbe3 as a foreground color and then select the gradient tool foreground to transparent and create a gradient from the light to the ground.

This should be subtle, too dark of a glow and it will become overpowering as we duplicate the lampt posts.

Merge the lamp post and the light together and then duplicate and resize them along the road to create some perspective.

Make sure to keep the lamps post organized, I separated them into to folders, one for the left and right sides of the road. Don't merge these together.

Step 3:

Create a new layer and select one of the building brushes.

Create a new layer beneath this layer and change the color to # dcdOab. Paint in the color for the building then change to a white and paint in the windows. Merge the two layers together.

Do this for a couple more building to fill out the scene.

Using the same process as with the building, use the brush set to add some more elements to the composition.

So here is what I have:

So now you have three options for creating the depth in Photoshop.

Below is links to each of the methods.

1. First is the simplest, essentially we'll apply a tilt shift effect to create the depth.

2. Second, we'll apply a box blur to the individual elements to create depth.

3. Third, we'll use Photoshop's 3d layers palette to create a stereographic image that when viewed through red/green glass will create a 3d effect.

Select your method and away we go!