Placing 3d Character into a 2d Image

[fp36701250]

Hello,

I recently downloaded a 3d skeleton from : Skeleton 3d model - Free3D

I opened the .obj file in Photoshop.

My goal is to be able to position the skeleton in different poses, and then use a photo of the skeleton in that pose on a 2d image.

Can anyone explain how to:

A: Adjust the pose of the skeleton

B: Once skeleton is posed, move it to a 2d image

I am able to upload the skeleton to Fuse and put it in one of the available poses/animations, but that still limits my ability to manipulate the pose, and I am still left with the challenge of taking the desired pose to a 2d photo.

Thank you in advance!

[Trevor.Dennis]

Do you have it open as a 3D object in Photoshop, and are able to rotate it?  I'm not sure you are able to do this, but if you are, then render the object when in the right view, and escape out of the render when it is sufficiently detailed.  Then right click and choose Rasterize 3D Object (or something like that from memory).  You can then use the layer in a 2D image.

I'll let our davescm​ know about this thread, as he is one of this forum's 3D experts.

[rayek.elfin]

That skeleton is not rigged - it is merely a static model. To pose a character in a 3d application, the character must be turned into a virtual puppet, and that requires "rigging" the model with virtual "bones" and adding controls to simplify the posing.

You may be able to pose it by manually rotating and dragging bones, but it will take a LOT of time and effort to get it right; not really worth the effort, if you ask me.

Secondly, Photoshop does not support rigged 3d characters. So it must be done in an external 3d application.

Thirdly, Photoshop's 3d render quality is quite bad and renders very slow compared to modern 3d render engines.

Another Adobe 3d app is Dimensions: it renders very nice images (based on the respected Vray engine), but again doesn't support rigged characters nor posing those.

So, to conclude: you will need a rigged 3d skeleton, pose it in a 3d application. Then decide to export that pose either for use in Photoshop or Dimensions. Or render directly in the native 3d application (preferred, but could become complex if you have never used a 3d app before).

[rayek.elfin]

Here is a nice rigged skeleton for Blender:

https://www.blendswap.com/blends/view/88295

Be sure to turn on "Auto Run Python Scripts" in the FIle Preferences before you load it up.

Entirely free. Download Blender (open source and free) here

https://www.blender.org/

I made a quick test for you to prove it works: Skeletor is giving you the peace sign! 🙂

Rendered in a minute with ProRender for Blender.

[fp36701250]

Thank you. I downloaded Blender and the blend. I turned on autorun scripts. Now I have no Idea how to pose the skeleton like you did. I know this isn't your responsibility to teach me, but I am at my wits end here. Thanks in advance!

[fp36701250]

for example, I would like to take this skeleton you shared with me, and pose it as if it were sitting in a chair facing forward and has one hand pointing forward. I want to place it behind a desk and have it pointing at the person looking at it

[rayek.elfin]

Posing the skeleton is actually not that hard: select the skeleton, and change to POSE mode (found in the bottom row of buttons where it says "Object Mode". It is then possible to grab the control objects and pose the skeleton.

However, if you've never worked with Blender (or any 3d app before, for that matter) it may be a rather bewildering experience. Aside from the posing, you would have to set up the camera and lighting according to your needs, and then render the result; preferably with a transparent background.

Too many steps to explain here: it would be akin to explaining to a Word user who never used PS before how to accomplish layer compositing with layer masks and smart objects.

Therefore, I suggest you pick an afternoon to get yourself acquainted with Blender first. 3D is an exciting journey!

Check out these tutorial series to get started:

https://cgcookie.com/course/blender-basics/

https://www.blenderguru.com/tutorials/blender-beginner-tutorial-series

[fp36701250]

ok so I was able to figure out the basics of posing the skeleton. Now I am having an issue figuring out how to get it to render like you did. So far when I render it as an image, i get a version that looks like it was sketched. I just want to take the posed version in its position and have it output an image like the one your originally shared with the peace sign. Any tips?

Thanks!

[davescm]

Photoshop is limited in its ability to manipulate 3D mesh so depending how the model is built  (I have not downloaded it) you may need to pose it in another 3D application.

As far as the general question of mixing 2D and 3D , once you have rendered a 3D layer it appears as a 2D layer - that is what rendering does it ray traces the scene and produces a 2D representation. . You can add a layer mask etc change blending modes etc just the way you would on a 2D layer. You have to be careful not to alter the content , or you will need to re-render

To avoid that press Ctrl+J to duplicate the rendered 3D layer then Rasterise the 3D layer. This will give you a rasterised copy but you still have the original 3D layer intact if you want to go back and change anything

Dave