Ignoring 3D in film is like being one of the Luddites from the 1800’s who burned mechanized fabric looms because it was “destroying” the hand loom craft and industry. You can do it, but it’s not going change what is happening.
3D is definitely here to stay and it doesn’t have to be Benjamin Button-type of work either. 3D Invigorator, a Photoshop plug-in, is a derivative of the Zaxwerks Invigorator Pro for Adobe After Effects (AE) for dynamic 3D text and basic 3d object creation and texturing. In AE, the Invigorator plug in is fully animate-able. However, inside the confines of Photoshop, it is not. This inability to animate makes the 3D Invigorator (3DI) for Photoshop, at least for filmmakers, a bit of a one trick pony.
So why are we reviewing a non-animatable plug-in for film makers? If you don’t currently have any 3D tools at your disposal, this plug-in may assist in creating some polished, static 3D imagery for web site promotional purposes or print marketing materials. This plug-in is all about convenience and crisp basic 3D imagery. About a year ago, Digital Anarchy, distributors of this plug-in, made the choice to eschew video plug-ins and focus on Photoshop-only integration.
For those who haven’t begun dabbling in 3D creation, 3D is a complex world. 3DI does an admirable job of bringing order to this universe. When launching the plug-in, the user is presented with a separate interface into which the 3D content is both created and edited.
It’s important to note at this point that there are some “rules” to follow if you want to be able to return to the plug-in and its art if you plan on editing it. While the 3DI plug-in can be run on a regular Photoshop (PSD) layer, the results will be fully rasterized. To be able to actually re-enter the plug-in and modify the resulting artwork, after creating a basic layer, the user must convert the layer to a PSD “smart layer” prior to engaging the plug-in. This is a feature available in PSD from CS3 forward.
The interface is logically organized and customizable with a variety of presets that lets users select presentations that either “make sense” to them or better suit the workflow of the moment. Texture/shader applications to objects are completed with simply drag and drop functionality making things quick and easy. Things are logically (if you know 3D) placed and a snap to use. Application of style presets is a simple matter of double clicking the users choice and, presto, it’s been applied.
