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The DAZ Studio 3D Bridge Tab

2011-11-01T17:35:22+00:00

This page exists within the Old ArtZone Wiki section of this site. Read the information presented on the linked page to better understand the significance of this fact.

The DAZ Studio 3D Bridge Tab

Once the DAZ Studio 3D Bridge has been installed it is accessible via Photoshop > File > Automate > DAZ Studio 3D Bridge. This will enable the DAZ Studio 3D Bridge dialog, as seen below, and launch DAZ Studio. A brief overview of each button follows, with detailed usage covered in the next section.

From Photoshop, the user can perform the following functions using this control dialog:

If DAZ Studio has been closed, the Launch DAZ Studio toggle button will launch DAZ Studio in the proper mode for ease of use with Photoshop. In this mode, DAZ Studio will have a special layout/style and will always be on top.
Once DAZ Studio has started, the button will toggle to Close DAZ Studio, which will shut down DAZ Studio if clicked.
The Preview Image button creates an image or layer in Photoshop using the current DAZ Studio view port image.
The Update Image button refreshes the image or layer in Photoshop with the current DAZ Studio view port image. If the image has been modified in DAZ Studio, this will sync the Photoshop window.
The Enable Auto Update toggle button keeps the Photoshop image or layer up to date with the DAZ Studio view port image.
While Auto Update is enabled, the button will toggle to Disable Auto Update, which will disable the auto update if clicked.
The Render to New Layer button uses the DAZ Studio rendering engine to render the image with user selectable quality settings and have the final image imported directly into a new Photoshop layer.
The Import Scene to CS3X; button allows the entire DAZ Studio 3D scene to be imported into the U3D layer within Photoshop CS3X.
The Import Image Maps button imports images into Photoshop layers for selected image map textures that are associated with the DAZ Studio 3D models.
The Export Image Maps button saves the selected image maps (if modified in Photoshop) back to DAZ Studio which then updates the 3D scene with them.
The Cancel button closes the bridge plug-in Tab but does not close DAZ Studio. To perform editing work in Photoshop, this tab must first be closed, since it is the front most Photoshop window.

Auto Update

2011-11-01T17:35:22+00:00

This page exists within the Old ArtZone Wiki section of this site. Read the information presented on the linked page to better understand the significance of this fact.

Auto Update

Updating the Scene from DAZ Studio to Photoshop is very fast and efficient. To see your changes much quicker and with fewer steps simply click on Enable Auto Update and as you manipulate the figure within DAZ Studio the image in Photoshop will automatically reflect the changes.

When you click on the Enable Auto Update button, the label will change to Disable Auto Update and the remaining buttons on the dialog will be disabled.

To disable auto update, click on the Disable Auto Update button.

If the current Photoshop document has multiple layers, the topmost layer will be the one updated since the plug-in sees the topmost layer as the working layer.

Exiting Studio and/or the Plug-in

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This page exists within the Old ArtZone Wiki section of this site. Read the information presented on the linked page to better understand the significance of this fact.

Exiting Studio and/or the Plug-in

To close Studio but leave the plug-in active, click on the Close DAZ Studio button.

To close the plug-in dialog and leave DAZ Studio open, click on the Cancel button.

Getting Started

2011-11-01T17:35:22+00:00

This page exists within the Old ArtZone Wiki section of this site. Read the information presented on the linked page to better understand the significance of this fact.

Getting Started

Once the DAZ Studio 3D Bridge has been installed to the Photoshop plug-in folder, choose File > Automate > DAZ Studio 3D Bridge from the Photoshop menu. This will bring up the DAZ Studio 3D Bridge dialog and launch DAZ Studio. Studio will launch at the top left of your screen and will need to be resized so it can be seen.

Note 1: When starting the bridge, do not click on the Launch DAZ Studio button or you will open a second copy of Studio since launching the bridge automatically starts Studio.

Note 2: If using Photoshop CS2, any Studio error messages will be behind Studio and inaccessible. Make sure Studio does not cover the center of the screen where any messages will be displayed.
If you started DAZ Studio before starting Photoshop, you may get a message in the 3D Bridge tab to “Please enable the 3d Bridge in DAZ Studio …“

Since there is not a way for Photoshop to enable the bridge in a version of DAZ Studio that is already running, it will have to be enabled manually. To do this, choose Edit > 3D Bridge in Studio, then launch the bridge in Photoshop.
In Studio, note that a new 3D Bridge Camera is available. This camera will be used to view and render the scene. Build your scene in Studio and save it as a .daz scene file so you can access it later if needed. You can also import saved Poser scenes.
Once your scene is completed, select an option from the Bridge tab depending on what task you want to accomplish:

Import/Export Image Maps

2011-11-01T17:35:22+00:00

This page exists within the Old ArtZone Wiki section of this site. Read the information presented on the linked page to better understand the significance of this fact.

Import/Export Image Maps

If you want to be able to modify your image maps within Photoshop, you can import those image maps that you want to modify. For example in Photoshop you could draw on, change colors, etc. on the image maps, then have DAZ Studio render the 3D model with those changes incorporated in the image map.

There are two ways to import the image maps into Photoshop:

Click on Preview Image and enable the Import Image Maps option, then click on Import.
Click on the Import Image Maps button on the bridge dialog.
Either way, the Image Maps Import dialog comes up with a listing of all the image maps used in the scene. Select an image map by left-clicking on the filename, use Ctrl+click to select multiple files, or click in the box next to Select All to import all the image maps.
Click on Import and the selected image maps will be imported into Photoshop.
Make any changes needed to the image maps but do not save the changes.
Once your changes have been completed, click on the Export Image Maps button.
The Image Maps Export dialog will come up with a listing of all the image maps that were imported. Select the maps to export or click in the box next to Select All to export all the image maps.

The image maps will be exported out of Photoshop and saved back into the original texture folder with a new name. The image maps will also be automatically updated in the Studio scene itself but if not, refresh the textures in Studio.
Click on Preview Image to preview the changes in Photoshop.

Import Scene to CS3X

2011-11-01T17:35:22+00:00

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Import Scene to CS3X

When used in conjunction with Photoshop CS3 Extended, the plug-in will allow the user to export the entire 3D scene from DAZ Studio into the U3D format so that it can be imported into Photoshop CS3 Extended. The options allow the user to select which items they want exported or modified.

To import the scene into CS3X:

Load your scene or create a new scene.
Click on Import Scene to CS3X. The import dialog will come up.
Select the import options from the dialog.
- The Resample Maps option allows the image maps to be sampled to smaller and more efficient sizes.
- The Export Lights option if selected will export the lights from the 3D scene.
- The Export Cameras option if selected will export the cameras from the 3D scene.
- The Maximum Size item sets the maximum size the image maps will be re-sampled to if needed.
Click on OK. The import progress bar will come up indicating the status of the import.

Once the scene is imported, use the Photoshop CS3X 3D tools to manipulate and view the scene.

Import to Layer

2011-11-01T17:35:22+00:00

This page exists within the Old ArtZone Wiki section of this site. Read the information presented on the linked page to better understand the significance of this fact.

Import to Layer

If you make changes to the scene or want to add additional elements to the image from a different scene, you'll want to import the preview into a new layer.

Make the changes to the scene or load the new scene.
Click on the Preview Image button.
Click in the box next to Import to Layer to enable it.
Click on Import and the preview image will be imported into the current Photoshop document but in a new layer. In addition, the layer name will be incremented. If importing to a document already in Photoshop, you will not be able to change the width and height (fields will be grayed out).

Reference Section

2011-11-01T17:35:22+00:00

This page exists within the Old ArtZone Wiki section of this site. Read the information presented on the linked page to better understand the significance of this fact.

Reference Section

What is the DAZ Studio 3D Bridge?

DAZ Studio 3D Bridge for Photoshop lets the user quickly and easily import 3D content, which has been created and rendered in DAZ Studio, to Photoshop. Once imported to Photoshop the 3D content can be easily integrated into digital scenes and edited using Photoshop’s rich graphical tool set. The 3D image maps can be modified within Photoshop and instantly rendered using DAZ Studio. Both Photoshop and DAZ Studio can be run simultaneously and work in tandem with each other.

By using DAZ Studio as a rendering engine this technology provides a bridge to older versions of Photoshop which do not support Adobe Photoshop CS3’s new 3D functionality, thus providing 3D content to a much broader audience of Photoshop users.

The DAZ Studio 3D Bridge for Photoshop is a unified set of DAZ Studio and Photoshop plug-ins which work together to import and export 3D objects and image layers between the two applications. DAZ Studio exports 3D objects and image maps to Photoshop, which can then view and manipulate those image maps. DAZ Studio can then render the 3D object with the new changes back into Photoshop.

Installation - Macintosh & Windows

To install the Studio 3D Bridge for Photoshop on either a Macintosh or Windows system:

Make sure DAZ Studio is closed before installing the plug-in.
Double-click on the DAZ Studio 3D Bridge for Photoshop installer icon to start the installation.
If a previous version of the plug-in is already installed, you will be prompted to remove the current version to prevent possible conflicts. Click on Yes to continue.
Read the Welcome screen and click on Next.
Read the Software License Agreement and click on the radio button next to I accept the agreement, then click on Next to continue.
Read the Ready to Install text and click on Next.
Once the plug-in has been installed, read the Important notes and click on Next.
In the Completing install dialog, click on the checkbox next to Launch DAZ Studio if you want to use the program immediately; click on the checkbox next to View the <plug-in> Readme then on Finish to close the installer and view the readme.

Using the Plug-in

Preview Image

2011-11-01T17:35:22+00:00

This page exists within the Old ArtZone Wiki section of this site. Read the information presented on the linked page to better understand the significance of this fact.

Preview Image

To preview the image in Photoshop, click on the Preview Image button.
The Image Import dialog will come up with fields for the width and height of the image and options to import the image to a layer or to import the image maps.
If this is the first time previewing the image, do not select any of the options. Enter the width and height of the new Photoshop document and click on Import.
The OpenGL preview image in the Studio viewport will be imported into a new image document in Photoshop.

Note: If the preview image imports into Photoshop as a blank image, click on Close on the 3D Bridge tab, then relaunch the 3D Bridge. This will reconnect the bridge to Photoshop and the image should now import correctly.
See Import to Layer for information on importing the preview to a new layer.
See Import/Export Image Maps for information on using the Import Image Maps option.

Render to New Layer

2011-11-01T17:35:22+00:00

This page exists within the Old ArtZone Wiki section of this site. Read the information presented on the linked page to better understand the significance of this fact.

Render to New Layer

Once you are satisfied with your scene, you can use the DAZ Studio 3Delight - Software Render engine to render your scene. This renderer produces a much higher quality final rendered image than the fast OpenGL version used to generate the poses of the character in the preview scenes.

To render to a new layer:

Once your scene is complete, set up your render options in Studio for the 3Delight Software Render engine, including the size of the final image.
Click on Render to New Layer. The DAZ Studio Render Import dialog will come up.
Set the width and height of the rendered image.
To link the current document to the current scene in DAZ Studio, click in the checkbox next to Link active document to DAZ Studio. Enabling this option will disable the width and height fields and use the render settings from DAZ Studio. In addition, the active document is the one that will be used to update the scene, auto update, and rendering to a new layer.
Click on Render and Studio will render the image and import it into Photoshop to a new layer in the current document or if no document is currently open, it will create a new image document with a white background.
If a document is already available in Photoshop, the import dialog will activate the Link active document to DAZ Studio checkbox.
If you click on Render to New Layer again,Photoshop will ask if you want to update the current image in the layer. Clicking on Update will update the layer with the new render, clicking on Cancel will load the render into a new layer.

Update Image

2011-11-01T17:35:22+00:00

This page exists within the Old ArtZone Wiki section of this site. Read the information presented on the linked page to better understand the significance of this fact.

Update Image

You can make whatever poses you want in DAZ Studio and then update the scene in Photoshop.

To update the pose of the figure within the Photoshop window, click on the Update Image button. This simply refreshes the image or layer in Photoshop with the current DAZ Studio viewport image.

If the current Photoshop document has multiple layers, the topmost layer will be the one updated since the plug-in sees only the topmost layer as the working layer.