Photoshop CC: The Missing Manual

Saving and Exporting 3D Objects

When you want to share your 3D masterpiece with the world, you can either render your 3D scene and then save it in any of Photoshop’s 2D image formats just like a regular file (Saving Your Custom Settings), or you can export your 3D model for additional manipulation in another 3D program. To do the latter, choose 3D→Export 3D Layer, and then choose one of these file formats: Collada DAE, Flash 3D, Google Earth 4 KMZ, STL, or OBJ.

The easiest way to save your file in a way that preserves all your 3D editing magic is to simply save it in native Photoshop (PSD) format. However, you can also save it in PDF or TIFF format. Here’s how: Choose File→Save or File→Save As, choose Photoshop (PSD), Photoshop PDF, or TIFF from the format drop-down menu, and then click the Save button.

Note

Want to affordably generate your own 3D objects in the real world (not in Photoshop)? No problem! 3D printers are now a reality. Industry experts are predicting that enterprise-class 3D printers will be available for less than $2,000 by 2016. Meanwhile, there are 3D-printing services such as Shapeways (www.shapeways.com) and Sculpteo (www.sculpteo.com) that will create a 3D object from your exported 3D file.

POWER USERS CLINIC: Budget 3D Scans

You may have heard about this up and coming technology: 3D scanners! A professional model, such as Artec’s Eva 3D scanner, costs $12,899 (if you just want to capture an object’s shape), or $17,999 (if you want to capture its texture as well). ...