Photoshop CS5: An Introduction to Materials
Photoshop Extended CS3 introduced 3D and marked a milestone in the application’s history. Photoshop CS5 moves the evolution of 3D forward with many features including a better 3D environment, an easier way to create and apply materials and the highly anticipated Repoussé; which adds a new dimension to Photoshop’s 3D abilities.I was fortunate enough to work with Adobe to create the materials for Photoshop CS5. Thirty-six of the materials shipped with CS5 and a collection of over a hundred more are available to download at Photoshop.com.
In Photoshop CS5 Extended, we have a great collection of materials created by Kevin Bomberry of Able Pear Software. The properties are carefully determined resulting in visually realistic and beautifully rendered materials.
--Zorana GeeOver the course of the next few weeks I will go over how some of these materials were created including glass, metal, organic, wood, stones and tiles. I will present methods I use and the reasons behind them that will allow you to create an unlimited amount of materials on your own.
BACKGROUND PATTERN
I’d like to introduce you to the first element I created for the task of developing and creating the materials: the Material Test Background.
As you can see the Material Test Background is a 10 x 10 checkerboard of black and white with an ID in each of the 100 squares. I labeled the columns 1 thru 0 (zero being ten), and the rows, A thru J.
Each of the 10 rows corresponds to a color or greyscale value; red, green, blue, yellow, cyan, magenta and grey at 20%, 40%, 60% and 80%. This allowed me to see the properties of the material on as it is rendered on the 3D object.
The Material Test Background also serves a dual purpose as it can be applied to an object to view the UV Map; the way the material wraps itself around the 3D object.
STAGE/SCENE
The second thing I had created were default scene consisting of the background image, a 3D object and three lights: a key or main light, a fill light and a background light. This provides a consistent scene where I can develop the materials with constant results.
You can create a scene using a variety of 3D objects directly in Photoshop with either the 3D > New Shape From Layer or 3D > New Mesh From Greyscale menu items.
Two things to note are that 32-bit images work best and where possible I try to keep at least one dimension of the document to a power of 2 (512, 1024, 2048, etc…),
The document info gets scaled during the conversion to prevent huge poly count, which can cause chunky results. Documents with dimensions less than 512 pixels get scaled in half. Documents with dimensions greater than 512 pixels get scaled to 512 pixels.
VECTOR VS BITMAP
At this point I would like to talk about the difference between bitmap and vector information and how it affects the material with regard to resolution. This is an age old argument on what to use when creating content: bitmap data, like when using one of the painting or brush tools directly on a layer of the canvas, or vector elements like those of the shape or pen tool and paths.
Bitmap images are made up of data in the form of red, green, blue values for each pixel of the image. Vectors are made of points, lines and bezier paths. If you enlarge a bitmap it becomes pixelated as it creates the new colors for the new pixels; reduce an image and you have to get rid of pixels of color data. Vectors scale up and down without degradation to the shape itself.
If you apply a low resolution bitmap to a texture channel will find that in the rendering is blocky and that you need to use a high resolution image to get good results. As a result I tried to create materials that used vector information.
Additional links to articles on Vector vs. Bitmap (raster) images:
http://www.photoshopsupport.com/shoptalk/vectors-and-bitmaps.html
http://www.prepressure.com/library/file-formats/bitmap-versus-vector
http://www.sketchpad.net/readme.htm
AN INTRODUCTION TO MATERIALS
In addition to using vectors I used Smart Objects and Smart Filters making full use of Photoshop’s non-destructive and advanced features. This allowed for dynamic and easily editable materials that Photoshop users can tweak and customize to make them their own.
I won’t go into the details of the 3D tools as they are covered in Help and by an excellent upcoming book 3D in Photoshop: The Ultimate Guide for Creative Professionals from Zorana Gee and others on the Photoshop team; which I will come back to at the end of this article. I will however talk about the properties of the materials that we will be working with in the examples as we move through this series of tutorials.
CREATING A TEST SCENE
For our introductory example you can use one of the scene templates above or easily follow these simple steps:
1.) Download the Material Text Background image.
(click for full-size image)
2.) Open the Material Text Background in Photoshop
3.) Create a New Layer
4.) Select the 3D > New Shape From Layer menu item and select Sphere from the fly out menu.
Done. The empty layer is converted to the material of the Shape you just created.
In the simple act of opening an image and then creating a layer to use for the material of a generated 3D object you have successfully created a 3D scene. This technique can be used with any other photo or image.
INSPECTING A DEFAULT MATERIAL
We are going to look at the default material Denim,using the scene we just created. Open the 3D window by selecting Window > 3D from the menu bar.
Looking at the 3D window you’ll see that there is a tree of objects and materials starting at the root (Scene). From the root the first node you encounter is Sphere and it contains Sphere_Material. Click on Sphere_Material to selected it.
Beneath the tree is the (Property Editor). When a material is selected the materials properties are visible as well as a Material (Preset) Browser. Click on the icon in the Material Browser and a drop down list of default materials presents itself. Select Denim and the denim material will be applied to the Sphere_Material.
The two channels we want to look at are Diffuse and Bump. You will notice that to the right side of the property value box is a “texture image” icon. The icons are the folder icon as no texture is loaded for those channel’s properties. Click on the Diffuse texture image icon and select Open Texture... from the fly out menu.
The (Photoshop) texture is loaded into a new window and we can inspect and tweak this texture. Look at the Layers of the texture and you’ll see two: Layer 1 and Gradient Map 1.
In this example Layer 1 is the pattern of the weave of the cotton as that is created using a Smart Filter. It is a greyscale image. Gradient Map 1 is simply a Gradient Map Adjustment Layer that we use to color the greyscale image create in Layer 1. If you toggle the visibility of the adjustment layer you will see the greyscale image.
Under Layer 1 you will see the Smart Filter layer and it’s applied filters; Filter Gallery in this case. Double clicking on Filter Gallery allows us to edit the filter’s properties.
This Filter Gallery is composed of three layers of filters stacked one on top of each other acting a building blocks to the final rendered image. The layers are from bottom to top, Halftone Pattern, Halftone Pattern and Sumi-e. Clicking on the layer visibility icon shows us how each filter layer works independently and together to create the final image.
Clicking on one of the filter layer shows us its options and values. Select the middle Halftone Pattern filter layer. We can change any of these to affect the filter layer and change the final texture. Change the halftone type from Line to Dot.
As we edit the texture and save it the results will be applied to the Sphere_Material’s Diffuse texture channel in our original created scene and rendered giving use instant feedback of the material on the object in (near) real-time.
CONCLUSION
The ease of which you can create materials for your 3D objects in just a few simple steps extends the power and capabilities of 3D in Photoshop Extended CS5. We’ve barely scratched the surface of materials in Photoshop CS5 and as we progress further into the series you will find that the Photoshop team has put in considerable thought into making complex functions and features easy to use.
As I had mentioned in my introduction Zorana Gee and a few other members of the Photoshop team put together an in-depth and comprehensive book focusing on the remarkable capability of Photoshop’s 3D tools.
COMING UP NEXT...
In my next installment Photoshop CS5: Materials series we will explore another default material, explore the filters use to create textures and materials and begin creating our first material from scratch.
Have you upgraded to Photoshop CS5 or downloaded the trial? Do you feel that 3D is an advantageous feature for Photoshop CS5? Do you use 3D in your current workflow? Or do you have a material that you would like us to show the creation process of? Comment below and let us know.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The top part of the 3D panel
lists the materials used in the 3D file. One or multiple materials
may be used to create the overall appearance of the model. If a
model contains several meshes, there may be a specific material
associated with each mesh. Or a model can be built from one mesh,
but use several materials. In this case each material controls the
appearance of a particular part of the mesh.
For a selected material in the top section of the 3D panel, the
lower section shows the particular texture maps used by that material.
Some texture maps, such as Diffuse and Bump, commonly rely on 2D
files to supply a particular color or pattern that creates the texture.
If a material is using a texture map, the texture file is listed
next to the map type.
The 2D texture maps used by a material also appear
as Textures in the Layers panel, grouped by the texture map category.
More than one material can use the same texture map.
You can create, load, open, remove, or edit the properties of
texture maps using the texture map menu 
next
to each texture type. You can also create a texture by painting
directly on an area of the model. See Paint on 3D models (Photoshop Extended).
A selected material and its associated texture maps.
- A.
- Materials button
- B.
- Selected material
- C.
- Texture map types
- D.
- Texture map filename
- E.
- Texture map menu icon
The 2D texture maps used by a material also appear
as Textures in the Layers panel, grouped by the texture map category.
More than one material can use the same texture map. next
to each texture type. You can also create a texture by painting
directly on an area of the model. See Paint on 3D models (Photoshop Extended).
Note: Depending on the texture type, you may not need or want a
separate 2D file to create or modify a material’s appearance. For
example, you can adjust the Glossiness, Shininess, Opacity, or Reflectivity
of a material by entering a value or using the scrubby slider controls
next to those texture types.
- Ambient
- Sets the color for ambient light visible on reflective surfaces. This color interacts with the Global Ambient Color for the entire scene. See 3D Scene settings (Photoshop Extended).
- Refraction
- Sets the refractive index, when Face Style rendering is set to Ray Traced, and the Refractions option is selected (3D > Render Settings, Face Rendering section). Refraction is the change in light direction that occurs at the intersection of two media (such as air and water) with different refractive indexes. The default value for new materials is 1.0 (the approximate value for air).
- Specular
- The color displayed for specular properties (for example, highlight glossiness and shininess).
- Diffuse
- The color of the material. The diffuse map can be a solid color or any 2D content. The Diffuse color swatch value sets the diffuse color if you choose to remove the diffuse texture map. You can also create a diffuse map by painting directly on the model. See Paint on 3D models (Photoshop Extended).
- Self-illumination
- Defines a color that doesn't rely on lighting to display. Creates the effect that the 3D object is lit from within.
- Bump Strength
- Creates bumps in the material surface, without altering the underlying
mesh. A bump map is a grayscale image in which lighter values create raised
surface areas and darker values create flatter surface areas. You
can create or load a bump map file, or begin painting on the model
to automatically create a bump map file. See Paint on 3D models (Photoshop Extended).The Bump Strength field increases or
reduces bumpiness. It is only active if a bump map exists. Enter
a number in the field or use the scrubby slider to increase or decrease
bump strength.
- Glossiness
- Defines the amount of light from a source that reflects off the surface and back to the viewer. You can adjust glossiness by entering a value in the field or using the scrubby slider. If you create a separate glossiness map, the intensity of colors in the map controls glossiness in the material. Black areas create full glossiness, white areas remove all glossiness, and middle values reduce the size of a highlight.
- Shininess
- Defines the dispersion of the reflected light generated by
the Glossiness setting. Low shininess (high dispersion) produces
more apparent light, with less focus. High shininess (low dispersion)
produces less apparent light and brighter, crisper highlights.Adjusting Glossiness (left number) and Shininess (right number)
- Opacity
- Increases or decreases opacity of the material (0-100%). You can use a texture map or the scrubby slider to control opacity. The grayscale values of the texture map control the opacity of the material. White values create complete opacity and black values create complete transparency.
- Reflectivity
- Increases the reflection of other objects in the 3D scene, and the environment map, on the material surface.
- Environment
- Stores the image of the environment surrounding the 3D model. Environment
maps are applied as spherical panoramas. The contents of the environment
map can be seen in the reflective areas of the model.
- Normal
- Like a bump map texture, a normal map increases surface detail.
Unlike a bump texture map, which is based on a single-channel grayscale
image, a normal map is based on a multi-channel (RGB) image. The
values of each color channel represent the x, y, and z components
of a normal on the model surface. A normal map can be used to smooth
the surfaces of low polygon meshes.Note: If a 3D object has more than the nine texture types Photoshop supports, additional textures appear in the Layers panel and the 3D Paint Mode list. (To display the latter, choose 3D > 3D Paint Mode, or use the Paint On menu in the Scene section of the 3D panel).
Save or load a materials preset
Material presets store all texture map settings. Photoshop
Extended stores materials presets in P3M files. A variety of these
files are installed by default, letting you quickly apply popular
texture types like steel, fabric, and wood.
- To save current texture map settings, choose Save Material
Preset from the 3D panel menu.
- To load a saved preset, choose Replace Material from the
3D panel menu.
Create a texture map
- Click the texture map menu icon
- Choose New Texture.
- Enter the name, dimensions, resolution, and color mode for
the new map, then click OK.
The name of the new texture map is displayed next to the texture map type in the Materials panel. It is also added to the texture list under the 3D layer in the Layers panel. The default name is the texture map type appended to the material name.
Create a bump texture map
A bump texture map filled with a neutral grayscale value
provides more range when painting on the map.
The bump texture map is created and added to the texture map
files listed in the Materials panel. It also appears as a texture
in the Layers panel.
- In the Tools panel, click the Set Background Color
swatch.
- In the Color Picker, set brightness to 50%, and set R, G,
and B values to equal values. Click OK.
- In the 3D panel, click the texture map menu icon
- Choose New Texture.
- Choose the following settings in the New dialog box:
- For Color Mode, choose Grayscale
- For Background Contents, choose Background Color.
- (Optional) Set Width and Height to match the dimensions of
the diffuse texture map for the material.
- For Color Mode, choose Grayscale
- Click OK.
Open a texture map for editing
Click the texture map menu icon and
choose Open Texture.The texture map opens as a Smart Object in its own document window. After editing the texture, make the 3D model document window active to see updates to the model. See Create and edit textures for 3D models (Photoshop Extended).
Load a texture map
You can load an existing 2D texture file for any of the
nine available texture map types.
- Click the texture map menu icon
- Choose Load Texture, then select and open the 2D texture
file.
Delete a texture map
- Click the texture map menu icon
- Choose Remove Texture.
If the deleted texture is an external file, you
can reload it using the Load Texture command from the texture map
menu. For textures that are internally referenced by the 3D file,
choose Undo or Step Backward to restore a deleted texture. Edit texture properties
A texture map is applied to a particular surface area of
the model, depending on its UV mapping parameters. You can adjust
UV scale and offset if necessary to improve how the texture maps
to the model.
- Click the texture map menu icon
- Choose Edit Properties.
- Choose a target layer and set UV Scale and Offset values.
You can enter values directly or use the scrubby sliders.
Note: Change the UV Scale and Offset settings only if a model has incorrect UV mapping.- Target
- Determines whether settings apply to a specific layer or the composite image.
- U and V Scale
- Resize mapped textures. To create a repeating pattern, decrease the value.
- U and V Offset
- Reposition mapped textures.
No comments:
Post a Comment