Review: Painting on 3D in Photoshop CS4

#1

Hi, for all of those considering to buy cs4 extended because of its 3d components, I want to write a review, of what this version does and what not…

   I just got my boss to get a copy of cs4 extended, because i wanted the sometimes choppy Interface of Bodypaint 3d to be replaced by a clean implemented solution from the *.PSD inventors themselves...
   
   Packaging:
   So finally i got the very nice and simple blue box. labeled: Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended.
   Inside was another nice natural cardboard box, that indicates the very hip yet professional style, adobe seeks for...
   Even more inside the box, was finally the plastic DVD case...no attempt for any written heavy documents, which is finally pretty innovative and saving natural resources and energy.
   
   Install:
   The installation was done WAY faster than in CS3. but lots of stuff in "typical"- installation, what most users will never ever need, nor understand...
   Including the unbelievable slow and bulky Adobe Bridge...Man i tell u, use XNview as a Imageviewer for free...this is way faster to open and to work with.
  
  Usability:
  The new interface, that was invented with CS3 is improved in CS4 by accessibility.
  The look and feel is more stable. Finally after using the new and sloppy CS3 interface, one is familiarized with the new interface and the work with CS4 is now easier...
  The new "images in tabs" can be cool, but the window mode is also still there, if you need it. 
  
  Performance was ok until you NOT mess with the "AllowOldGPU"-patch to get 3d mode working under 64bit windows. If you do, you will have no fun with your half second delay when trying to paint..but later i will explain more.
  
  So my motivation was ok so far...So head over to 3dmode..
  
  3D Mode:
  I exported my fully textured model out of 3dsmax as an *.obj.
  The Material of this object contained a *.psd file with layers in the diffuse channel.
  
  Now Photoshop did something, that i was not going to expect:
  It imported the model without any problem, yes it took a while for 1000 polys but it was imported complete with the texture!
  Yes, it is true.
  But.
  I couldn't rotate the model..Why this. Because Adobe sez: I [b]cannot use OpenGL drawing within Windows XP 64[/b]...
  And the fallback to software render mode (which is not always performed) is way to buggy. The display of the canvas is just broken then. 
  That is such lame, i can't tell...Btw: Vista 64 is supported..
  But no problem i think Win64 users are such a minority. No need to serve them..:rolleyes:
  
  [b]@ Adobe: Please place a big red button on your website, showing that CS4 3d extensions do NOT work under Win64...[/b]
  
  Anyhow, as a geek and as a tricked user, i didn't want to give up.
  So there IS a possibility to get 3d working in CS4 on 64bit windows.
  But you have to search Adobe Support for [THESE REG PATCHES](http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=4056) 
  Click the "AllowOldGPUS_ON.reg" and install the latest graphic card drivers to get OGL 3d support inside CS4.
  BTW. my card is NOT really old. its a 8800 GTX with 768MB Ram...
  So then you can turn your camera in the viewport.
  
  BUT after applying this (not supported) patch, the overall performance went abysmal....
   I got half a second delay, when doing a stroke on a new 512x512 document "Airbrush Soft Round 65"-Brush.
  
  Now to the 3d workflow itself.
  Once the object is imported, we click on the "3d Orbit tool" (no, a standard 3d viewport navigation is absent) and rotate the object to its painting position..
  In the "Layers"-window we see "Layer-1" containing the material...but ONLY the material, with the name of the PSD in the diffuse channel...layers of the psd (which is used in the diffuse channel) are also absent..
  That means, you have to choose the layer where you paint on, in a new dialogue, called "3d material". There you click on the used Material, then click on the button "Edit the diffuse Texture", then click on "edit properties", then click the "target"-rollout, then click on the layer of your choice, and then start painting...:applause:
  Alternatively open the psd as a separate file inside photoshop, switch to that file, click on the desired layer, then switch again to your 3dmodel, and start painting...
  
  @Adobe....why doing it all in a new way...cant you just copy the workflow from bodypaint??
  
  ok this odyssey would be ok, once you are familiar with that inconvenient way of painting a 3d model. when you have nothing else and you are stuck with that, you will learn to hate and use it :) ...
  
  But all of this is not only inconvenient to use, but also buggy as hell and slow like...like...like...oh sorry, i just slept away...
  
  you know i think most of it is caused by the software rendermode, or when using the patch, it is because of the buggy 64bit mode patch.... but hey.. this software costs ~ 500 $ more than the normal cs4 version..why this?
  
  conclusion:
  I was blinded by my trust in adobe, that was solidified back in the days of Photoshop6-CS2..
  I even just ignored the unnecessary and retrograde release of CS3, when I formed my expectation for the new release.
  The overall design seems to be matured with this release, but the implementation of the 3d features, that cause a significant boost in the price, are just not workflow and performance optimized. 
  This is window-dressing, or how is it said in english?
  It seems, that this feature, was not invented by the Programmers Team, but the producers, who thought, that they can sell some special featured copies with a special overpriced version to a special audience...
  
  @ adobe: please erase all of the code belonging to the 3d part, buy a copy of maxon bodypaint, copy the workflows and only improve maxons design. do NOT do an own design..the current workflows are not production oriented.

so long…

#2

I’ve had some fairly good results painting in 3d mode in CS4, despite my very low expectations I found it surprisingly good.

If you open the texture by double clicking on it in the layers palette (as per the last sentence in the quote above) the workflow is pretty quick. I found I liked it better than Bodypaint, the interface is much simpler and the brush engine is far more powerful.

One quirk that caught me out is that you should not save your texture in the 2D view unless it’s for exporting. Saving in 2D breaks the link between the texture and the model, so you should always save in the 3D view which saves everything (model and textures). Once you understand this behaviour it’s easy enough to get used to it.

#3

hi frog, cool that it works for you.
but how do you change the layers in a quick way->one click? perhaps i just didnt get it?
I think i always have to open the texture seperatly, and then switch over?

#4

from the 3d view it’s 3 clicks to change layers: click on the tab with the 2d view, change the layer and then click back on the tab with the 3d view. Agreed that could be faster, not a deal breaker for me but I can imagine it could be annoying for others.

#5

Hello…

This happens to be my first post after ghosting the forums for awhile. I have dabbled a little in Maya, PS8 and starting to save for a Wacom Cintiq. Most of my work is just basic learning and I am no where near the experts this board hosts.
I’ve just purchased Maya 2009 and Zbrush, but I was contemplating on whether I should spend the extra money on Maxon BodyPaint or just use CS4 extended. It seems that thier is a split in opinion here, so I will just ask a basic question…

Which program would you suggest for someone who has beginner/intermediate experence?

#6

What would you guys suggest for a beginner to start with? Bodypaint or PS extended?

#7

I’ve just started figuring out Mudbox 2009 and its painting abilities and I’m pretty impressed with it. I messed around with CS4 and the whole 3D thing but I’m not sold on PS being used for 3D projects quite yet.

#8

I was thinking of Mudbox also, but it seems that alot of people have been using Zbrush. So I wanted to stick to something that I will be able to find a large amount of support through the forums.

#9

I tried the CS4 Photoshop extended version and was quite happy with it. But - I think that for overall texturing you need to include it into your process and not think that Photoshop is the final result. I mainly use it for adding detail or color that would be harder to accomplish in a 3D package.

I have ZBrush and while the modeling and pixel painting features are good - there are limitations and weird workflows that make it harder than it should be. Photoshop lets you paint onto a low-poly surface with a higher-resolution texture file, whereas ZBrush required that you up the poly’s to get a smooth paint brush effect. I also like that all of the painting effects that I’m used to are right there and the tool palette is what I know. If you know photoshop and you are just learning - it might be what you need to accomplish intricate textures and coloring. However if you like BodyPaint or other software - just stick with that if that is what you like and feel comfortable with. I’ve tried BodyPaint and some of the tools and such aren’t as familiar to me as Photoshop so I decided to go with PS instead. I like the fact that you can see what you are painting on the model, what I don’t like is the lighting, but I think that with time that can be mastered.

I want to note though - the lighting in Photoshop really has no effect on your texture. Unless someone knows something differently than I - the texture you paint will not retain the shading and highlight information from the 3D file - the only way to do that would be to paint directly on the model. If you want that information to be “baked” on - you need to take it into your 3D app and “render to texture” or “bake” the texture so that highlights and whatnot will appear on your texture.

#10

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