Friday In 3D!!

Well I thought I would share some new things I learned in the world of 3D in the past couple weeks. First my friend Bert Monroy turned me on to a very cool site that provides 3D models. Like the one pictured here. Not only that, they are actually really good 3D models and even better than that, they’re free! The site is called Archive3D.net and it has an enormous collection of free 3D models in a number of different categories. As I mentioned, it’s totally free. Just choose the model you want, download it, and open it up right in Photoshop. You do need Photoshop CS3 or CS4 Extended of course for the 3D support, but what a great resource. It’s great if you are needing that one little element to add to your work. Take a look around yourself and see what I mean.

Also, last week at Photoshop World I was able to catch up with the folks from Digital Anarchy. They just released a plug-in for Photoshop called 3D Invigorator. Not necessarily a new product. I remember Invigorator being available for After Effects for quite some time but now that they have finally released a version for Photoshop, I think people might take notice. It’s a plug in that allows you to create various 3D objects, text, or effects of all kinds. The familiar 3D interface is very intuitive if you used 3D apps before. The bad part is that it does not return the object back to Photoshop as a 3D layer. However, if you return it as a Smart Object, then you can go back into the Invigorator interface and make changes. This means that this plug in will work in both Standard and Extended versions of Photoshop. Another great way to creep into 3D without breaking the bank. Check it out!

Also one final thing with regard to 3D. If you haven’t gone to see the newest Dreamworks animated movie Monsters Vs. Aliens in 3D you are completely missing out. It was my first time seeing a feature film in this new 3D technology and I was completely blown away. It really immerses you in the experience with the help of the new 3D glasses. Which, by the way, make you look like you are witnessing a nuclear detonation. Definitely worth checking out!!