Photoshop CC: The Missing Manual, 2nd Edition

3D Text and Shapes

The flying postcard described earlier in this chapter is the simplest 3D object to work with, because it has no depth. The second-simplest 3D object to create and work with is 3D text or a 3D shape, which you’ll learn how to create in this section.

Creating 3D Text

Creating a 3D object from some text is as simple as clicking the 3D button in the Options bar. To get started, activate the Type tool, add some text to your document, and then format the text to your liking (see Chapter 14 for details).

Figure 21-7. The Properties panel includes camera options that a cinematographer would love! Once you change your view, using the Move tool and the Options bar’s 3D mode icons, or by using the 3D Axis HUD, the panel’s View menu changes to read Custom. Picking another item from this menu changes your camera’s viewing angle (you can undo the view change by pressing ⌘-Z/Ctrl+Z). Unfortunately, a detailed explanation of all these settings is beyond the scope of this book.

Note

A 3D type layer is very different from a normal, 2D type layer—it’s more like a 3D object rather than a string of text. You can still edit the characters and formatting as described below, but you can’t convert it back to a 2D layer. So if you want to keep a copy of your type layer handy for future use as a 2D type layer, duplicate the layer by dragging it onto the New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers ...