2d to 3d conversion in Photoshop

[P3D Adam L. Beckerman <adam@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Using the method I posted the other day from Image Club 
magazine, I just did a quick 15 minute 2D to 3D conversion 
to illustrate the possibilities this method may have.  As I 
said before, it is a somewhat crude method, but during my 
'quickie conversion' i noticed some things that may help 
others when using this method of conversion.  They are 
listed below.  To see my quickie conversion, go to:
http://users.apexinc.com/~adam/2dto3d.html
(This is not linked from my homepage, so you'll have 
to go to it directly.)

The original is there for comparison, but please keep in 
mind that the original was double exposed (that's why 
it looks funny).  I cleaned it up significantly in Photoshop, 
and today attempted the conversion.  You should view 
the bottom image (the 3d one) with red green glasses 
with red on the left.  As it has been shrunk for size 
considerations and has lost some quality due to jpeg 
compression, it may help to look closely at the image.  
This will also allow you to really see what I have 
manipulated.

Here are my tips:

1.  You should start with objects farthest back first.  That 
way, when you're using a lower opacity setting for the 
eraser, even if you happen to accidentally erase an object 
intended for the foreground, when you get to that object, 
you can increase the opacity and continue with no harm 
done.  It's much harder to go the other way (if you've 
already erased at 100% opacity it's tough to now erase 
at 50% for example).

2.  By varying the opacity of the eraser, you CAN get the 
appearance of varying depth, but experimentation with 
this is very necessary.  Otherwise aspects of the image 
that are intended to be at different depths can have the 
tendency to collide with one another.

3.  Related to this, when objects of different depth overlap, 
you should zoom in and use a fine eraser brush to be sure 
to obtain a detailed line between depths.

4.  Try wearing the glasses as you work.  It will allow you 
to preview your work and to help eliminate ghosting.

5.  Ghosting can be a problem, but to get rid of it, rather 
than erasing EXACTLY over the part of the image you 
want to stand out, you want to erase that part of the red 
channel.

Hope this helps anyone who's attempting to do conversions.  
Another thing to experiment with is changing the offset of 
the red layer between modifying objects.  This may help to 
increase or decrease the disparity of the object.

Adam


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