From the menu, choose Camera > Frame Selection, or use the keyboard shortcut F. The pale blue dot (no, not that pale blue dot) is Dimension’s way of telling you that there is a model selected, but it’s off the canvas where you can’t see it. It’s a peculiarity of objects exported from Photoshop in this way that when you import them into Dimension you will see this: On the File menu, choose Import > 3D Model. I hope they fix this in a later version, because it can be confusing. When you exit the Height field, the “8.5” you just typed changes to “9.” Don’t freak out! Dimension doesn’t show fractional values, so what you see is rounded to the nearest whole number. Dimension calculates the pixels based on the value in the Resolution field.Ĭhange the Resolution field to 150 from its default of 72, then change the Units field to “Inches” and enter 11 and 8.5 under “Canvas Size.” The sequence matters! If you set the canvas size in inches first, then change the resolution, Dimension will change the W and H values to match the new resolution, keeping the pixel dimensions the same. 11× 8.5 inches at 150 ppi is a good compromise between the resolution we’ll need for print and the time it will take to render the final 3D image.ĭimension currently (v2.1 at this writing) only shows pixel dimensions on the canvas itself, but the Canvas Size W and H input fields can be pixels, inches or centimeters. The default of 1024 × 768 pixels at 72 ppi is a little too 1990s for most purposes, even on the web, so we’ll want to make it larger. Switch to Dimension and open a new document (File > New, or Cmd/Ctl-N).

Step 4: Create a new document in Dimension That’s all we’ll do in Photoshop, so you can save and close the file. There are no export options, so save the file in your project folder with an appropriate filename.

In the 3D File Format dropdown, the last entry is the format that Dimension recognizes: Wavefront|OBJ. For now, I’m going to choose the bottom middle setting: Inflate.įrom the menu, choose 3D > Export 3D Layer. Try clicking on each one to see what results. The Properties panel offers a group of simple presets, including the straightforward extrusion we have now. You will see them listed in the 3D panel, which is now visible in a panel group with the Layers panel. Photoshop creates several different surfaces when it generates a 3D extrusion, each of which can have its own material applied and (in the case of the front and back bevels) a custom size. The value will be different depending on the size of your document and the size of the text. The color is irrelevant because we’re going to do our finish work in Dimension, but unless you want to use the text for the opening title of a biblical epic, you’ll probably want to reduce the extrusion depth.įortunately, the Properties panel already exposes that setting, so change the value to something more suitable. It’ll make things easier.) The immediate result is drab-looking grey with a huge extrusion. If the 3D workspace isn’t already active, Photoshop will offer to switch to it. This one uses Myriad Variable Concept with Weight set to 900 and width at 78.ĭelete the background layer if you prefer, because we won’t use it for anything.įrom the top menu, choose 3D > New 3D Extrusion from Selected Layer. I’m using a Photoshop 8×10 preset document size, but it could be whatever size works for your project. If you’re one of them, take heart! In this introductory article, we’ll use Photoshop only to create the bare-bones model, then export it for Dimension to create the final artwork for use in a layout. While Photoshop can create 3D models, its 3D features can be intimidating, and no-one has ever called them “quick” or “nimble.” There are plenty of Photoshop users whose eyes glaze over trying to figure out what’s what with 3D. If you’re a subscriber, Mike has also made an introductory video title on and LinkedIn Learning that is well worth binge watching.) (For an overview of Dimension, see Mike Rankin’s excellent intro article. If you’re not experienced with 3D software, you’ve probably had to pass on the idea of making some great-looking 3D text or a custom 3D graphic or logo to use in a project.Īdobe Dimension is quick, nimble, and easy to use for creating and rendering a 3D scene, but it only works with ready-made objects it has no tools to create new 3D models from scratch.

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