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Tutorial Assets
The following assets were used during the production of this tutorial.
Envato Logo
Step 1
Open the logo in Photoshop. Note that the PNG file contains transparency—this is important when we convert to 3D. There’s no need to adjust the image size since we will change it at the end when we save it as an animation.
Step 2
Select the Crop Tool and extend the top and bottom to give our scene more space. Hit Enter to commit to the changes.
Use the Rectangular Marquee Tool to select just the ‘envato’ text (the leaf is excluded) and click on the “Add Layer Mask” icon in the Layers Panel. This will isolate just the text.
Step 3
To make things easier, I’ve renamed the only layer to “Text.” Go ahead and make a copy of this layer, rename if “Leaf,” and click on the Layer Mask (this targets the mask, making it editable). Press Command/Ctrl + I to invert the selection and thus, isolating the leaf. The result should look identical to the original image that we opened. The only difference is that the text and leaf icon are now on separate layers.
With the “Leaf” layer still active, go to Layer > Layer Mask > Apply. This will remove all delete all pixels that were hidden by the mask.
Next, go to 3D > New 3D Extrusion From Selected Layer. This will automatically bring up the panels we need to work in our 3D scene.. If not, you can always go to Window > Workspace > 3D to force those panels open. Notice that the “Leaf” layer now appears as a 3D object layer.
Step 4
In the 3D panel, select the “Leaf” object (denoted by the extruded star icon) and go to the Properties Panel and set the Extrusion Depth to 35. Also, deselect Catch Shadows and Cast Shadows.
We now need to move the “Leaf” object to the exact center of our scene. Before we do this, it will help to change our camera to a better view. Select the “Current View” layer in the 3D panel, then select the “Top” preset in the View setting .
On the canvas, use the onscreen widget to position the leaf in the exact center of our scene (denoted by the intersection of the red and blue lines).
Step 5
Currently, our canvas is showing the Top View. Select “Default Camera” in the 3D panel to reset the camera. Notice that the leaf object does not appear to be in its proper position. We will fix this in the next step.
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