Using the Vanishing Point Exchange with Adobe Photoshop you can create very believable 3D movements from quite simple 2D digital photographs like this. It’s a pretty easy process. To watch a video tutorial click here.
STEP 1 Select High-Res Image
By far the most important step in this process is selecting the right image. Choose one with clean, sharp perspective angles and edges, but also ensure the image is as high resolution as possible. The Vanishing Point Exchange (VPE) process will bend and distort sections of your image to make 3D panels, so the higher the image resolution, the less “tearing” you’ll notice, especially when reducing it down to video resolution at the end. 2048×1365 pixels at 240ppi is ok
By far the most important step in this process is selecting the right image. Choose one with clean, sharp perspective angles and edges, but also ensure the image is as high resolution as possible. The Vanishing Point Exchange (VPE) process will bend and distort sections of your image to make 3D panels, so the higher the image resolution, the less “tearing” you’ll notice, especially when reducing it down to video resolution at the end. 2048×1365 pixels at 240ppi is ok
STEP 2 Open Image in Vanishing Point
Open your image in Photoshop CS3 Extended, then choose Filter>Vanishing Point to open the Vanishing Point dialog. Determine which area of the image contains the most promising section to build a perspective grid from, then zoom in to 100% on that area. Choose the Create Plane tool (C) and, beginning with the top-left corner of the wall, click on all the four corners in a clockwise direction to create the basic perspective grid angles.
Open your image in Photoshop CS3 Extended, then choose Filter>Vanishing Point to open the Vanishing Point dialog. Determine which area of the image contains the most promising section to build a perspective grid from, then zoom in to 100% on that area. Choose the Create Plane tool (C) and, beginning with the top-left corner of the wall, click on all the four corners in a clockwise direction to create the basic perspective grid angles.
STEP 3 Adjust Panel Dimensions
Zoom back out so you can see the whole image, then using the Edit Plane tool (which should be selected by default when you click the fourth grid point), adjust the width and height of the new grid panel to cover the boundaries of that section
Zoom back out so you can see the whole image, then using the Edit Plane tool (which should be selected by default when you click the fourth grid point), adjust the width and height of the new grid panel to cover the boundaries of that section
STEP 4 Create Angled Panel
Now let’s create our second panel angle. Hold down Command (PC: Ctrl) then click-and-drag the left-center control handle to the left to create a new panel in perfect perspective (at 90° to the first one).
STEP 5 Create Third Panel
Now we can reuse these techniques to finish the grid easily. Command-drag (PC: Ctrl-drag) the new left-center handle to create the third panel, which again will come in at 90° to the previous one.
Now we can reuse these techniques to finish the grid easily. Command-drag (PC: Ctrl-drag) the new left-center handle to create the third panel, which again will come in at 90° to the previous one.
STEP 6 Create Final Panel
Finally, Command-drag (PC: Ctrl-drag) the left-center handle of the last panel to the left to create the final panel at 90°. It’s not important that all the grids are the same height, just as long as they cover the available pixels in the image.
Finally, Command-drag (PC: Ctrl-drag) the left-center handle of the last panel to the left to create the final panel at 90°. It’s not important that all the grids are the same height, just as long as they cover the available pixels in the image.
STEP 7 Export VPE
The hard work is done! Click the rather obscure right-facing triangle at the top of the Vanishing Point dialog, to the left of Grid Size, and choose Export to After Effects CS3 (.vpe). Select your destination, but I do recommend creating a new folder and exporting into it. The VPE export doesn’t create one file, but many: one VPE “construction” file, one 3D data file, and one image file for each of the panels you created. Naturally, it’s better to keep all of these in one snug location.
The hard work is done! Click the rather obscure right-facing triangle at the top of the Vanishing Point dialog, to the left of Grid Size, and choose Export to After Effects CS3 (.vpe). Select your destination, but I do recommend creating a new folder and exporting into it. The VPE export doesn’t create one file, but many: one VPE “construction” file, one 3D data file, and one image file for each of the panels you created. Naturally, it’s better to keep all of these in one snug location.
STEP 8 Import VPE to After Effects
Now click OK in the Vanishing Point dialog and save the file as a PSD, because the 3D grids will be saved with it in case you need them again in the future.
Now click OK in the Vanishing Point dialog and save the file as a PSD, because the 3D grids will be saved with it in case you need them again in the future.
Now switch to After Effects CS3, create a new, empty project, then go to File>Import>Vanishing Point (.vpe). Locate the folder that you saved the VPE into, and select the file with the VPE extension. Click OK, and you’ll see a new folder and composition appear in the Project panel.
STEP 9 Open Comp; Adjust Camera
Double-click the new composition to open it, and press , (Comma) a couple of times to reduce the preview size to see the entire image. Well, hit C on the keyboard to access the Orbit Camera tool and now drag around inside the Comp window. That’s not simply a photograph anymore! Note: This is one of those instances where an up-to-date video card with at least 256 MB VRAM and support for OpenGL 2.0 comes in very useful.
Double-click the new composition to open it, and press , (Comma) a couple of times to reduce the preview size to see the entire image. Well, hit C on the keyboard to access the Orbit Camera tool and now drag around inside the Comp window. That’s not simply a photograph anymore! Note: This is one of those instances where an up-to-date video card with at least 256 MB VRAM and support for OpenGL 2.0 comes in very useful.
STEP 10 Keyframe Camera Movement
Select the Camera in the Timeline, and press P then Shift-R to reveal its Position and Rotation properties, respectively. Making sure you’re at 0 seconds in the Timeline, click the Stopwatches next to Position and Orientation to add a keyframe for each. Now drag the Time Indicator as far down the Timeline as you want the animation to take (we chose 5 seconds), then drag on the Position and Orientation values until you reach the final view angle you desire.
Select the Camera in the Timeline, and press P then Shift-R to reveal its Position and Rotation properties, respectively. Making sure you’re at 0 seconds in the Timeline, click the Stopwatches next to Position and Orientation to add a keyframe for each. Now drag the Time Indicator as far down the Timeline as you want the animation to take (we chose 5 seconds), then drag on the Position and Orientation values until you reach the final view angle you desire.
