Jeff Foster - the PixelPainter

This was first demonstrated live at NAB this year and I’ve been waiting to post it on my Blog until after the release of the step-by-step tutorial was published on the ProVideo Coalition web site. Instead of trying to stabilize the footage first and then track it, I decided I wanted the bouncy/shaky camera movement and just replaced the side panel on the truck - shakes and all!

Before & After Motion Tracking the Video Footage

This is a link to the actual article on PVC, which takes you through a step-by-step tutorial process of how I created the side panel of the truck in Photoshop CS4, then imported the layers into After Effects CS4, tracked the motion with Mocha and completed the final composition back in After Effect, including a reflection map on the side of the truck for believability.

Here’s what the Before & After shots look like.

Motion Tracking - After Effects CS4 with Mocha from Jeff Foster on Vimeo.

Watch for more tutorials, reviews and articles I’ll be submitting to PVC’s site soon, as well as continued reviews at the International Press Association’s web portal

I recently wrote a review for Macworld for a 3D software product called GroBoto [Click Here to Read]

I’ve had a lot of fun exploring this software and found it pretty amazing to say the least (it got a 4-mice rating by Macworld standards) though some of the tools and interface were a little non-intuitive and you’re left with little resources to find out things on your own. It still produces some incredible models.

They have lots of gallery examples on their web site that really show off what the product can do, but I wanted to share with you what I did by exporting a model (as an OBJ file) and imported it into Photoshop as a 3D layer. I applied a texture and my own lighting to it and created this animation: Click Here to View

I also created a 3D Stereographic version (get out those Red/Blue 3D glasses) that really shows this incredible robo-organic model! Click image below to view the 3D movie

If you’d like to check out GroBoto yourself, go to their web site: groboto.com

It’s finally here folks! My latest DVD from PhotoshopCAFE.com!

Photoshop CS4 Video & Animation covers a lot of material that can all be done INSIDE Photoshop CS4 Extended. Techniques covered range from basic video editing and animation techniques, to rotoscoping, frame animation, video clean-up/retouching, masking, smart filters & FX, green screen compositing, 3D modeling and animation, and my favorite: 3D stereoscopic FX! (3D Glasses included in disk) - also includes all sample projects and source footage/image files on the DVD.

Sample movies will soon be up on the PhotoshopCAFE channel on Adobe TV.

Don’t forget the best companion DVD to this title is also at PhotoshopCAFE.com!

Learning After Effects CS4 is available by clicking the image above or in the “Published” panel to your right.

Some of the 3D stereoscopic materials I’ve been sharing with you in the recent weeks are included on these DVDs. Look for more info and samples to follow here in my Blog after NAB!

Cheers!
Jeff

I’m preparing my sessions for the Post Production Conference at NAB 2009 and I’m excited to share so many cool new tips & tricks! A lot of my content for these sessions will be right out of my new DVD titles from PhotoshopCAFE.com

“Learning After Effects CS4″ and “Photoshop CS4 Video & Animation”

Here’s my current session schedule:

4/20 Mon 3:30-4:45pm [N254] - Character Animation from Photoshop Layers with After Effects

4/20 Mon 5:00-6:15pm [N254] - 3D Stereoscopic Motion Graphics in After Effects CS4

4/21 Tues 2:00-3:15pm [N254] - Motion Tracking & Stabilization with After Effects CS4 & Mocha for AE

4/21 Tues 3:30-4:45pm [N264] - Green Screen Keying and Mattes in After Effects CS4

4/22 Wed 10am-1:00pm [N260] - Boot Camp: Photoshop for Video & Animation

4/22 Wed 3:30-4:45pm [N264] - Creative Titles with CS4 Production Premium

If you can’t make it to my sessions at NAB this year, then please check back here and I will be posting more info about articles and reviews that are upcoming, as well as more about my DVDs and other training seminars, workshops and conferences that I’ll be appearing.

Here’s a sneak peek at a couple of the projects I’ll be teaching this year… the first is from the Motion Tracking with Mocha & After Effects CS4 session (before & after)…

Motion Tracking - After Effects CS4 with Mocha from Jeff Foster on Vimeo.

This next sample is from the 3D Stereoscopic in After Effects CS4 session, which was really just a simple conversion of an existing single camera 3D animation, so it wasn’t originally designed to be a Stereo 3D animation (3D glasses will be provided at the session, but you can get yours for Free - info below)…

3D Stereo Convertion - After Effects CS4 from Jeff Foster on Vimeo.

Don’t have Red/Cyan 3D Glasses? Get ‘em here FREE!
Send me a self addressed stamped envelope (letter sized) and I will send you a pair!
(one pair per request)

Jeff Foster
PO Box 187
Ojai, CA 93024

Due to the popularity of my recent articles, posts and live training events, featuring the 3D Stereo capabilities of Adobe Photoshop CS4, I’ve decided to post a couple more examples so you can view with your Red/Cyan 3D glasses! (if you don’t have any, please see details below examples on how to get your Free glasses!)

Enjoy!

3D Stereo Anaglyph Coke Can Animation - Photoshop CS4 from Jeff Foster on Vimeo.

3D Stereo Anaglyph Model Animation - Photoshop CS4 from Jeff Foster on Vimeo.

3D Stereographic Donut Animation - Photoshop CS4 from Jeff Foster on Vimeo.

Don’t have Red/Cyan 3D Glasses? Get ‘em here FREE!
Send me a self addressed stamped envelope (letter sized) and I will send you a pair!
(one pair per request)

Jeff Foster
PO Box 187
Ojai, CA 93024

Since I’ve already stepped out into the 3D Stereoscopic world with my recent posts on Photoshop CS4, I thought I’d put yet one more out there that takes the process a step further - and combines some other techniques I’ve covered in previous posts. In this example, I’ve combined a 3D model I brought into Photoshop CS4 and converted other 2D layers to 3D and repositioned to visually line-up with the model and applied the Stereo Render option to each layer to add depth and dimension to the scene.
*Note: this requires Red/Cyan Anaglyph glasses (see bottom of post for info on getting some for Free!)

Here’s the final scene image in stereo 3D:

Final rendered 3D scene created in Photoshop CS4

I started with a 3D Model I brought into Photoshop CS4 (.3ds file type - see Blog post: http://pixelpainter.com/wordpress/?p=53), placed it into position and added a second 2D layer of a stretch of road. I then converted the “road” layer to a 3D Postcard from the 3D menu. CLICK HERE to Read the Whole Post! »

Since I’ve been busy working on my latest training DVD for PhotoshopCAFE, I haven’t been posting to my Blog as frequently as I’d like. So I thought I’d put together another “3-Minute Podcast” as a bit of a “teaser” for my upcoming DVD, Photoshop CS4 for Video & Animation.

This episode covers an exhaustive workflow that utilizes video clips (first stabilized in After Effects CS4) as both an animated surface map and bump map on a 3D sphere. Along with painted layers to create big exaggerated craters, the effect is pushed to the limit with dramatic lighting and finished off with a concave star field behind it.

Get your 3D Glasses!
The final step in this process is to convert the 3D objects in this animation to stereo anaglyph (red/cyan) - giving it incredible depth!

3-Minute Podcast - 3D Stereo in Photoshop CS4 from Jeff Foster on Vimeo.

**NOTE** You can also download a clean, hi-res version of this movie HERE!

Here is a still shot of the final stereo 3D composition:

Don’t have Red/Cyan 3D Glasses? Get ‘em here FREE!
Send me a self addressed stamped envelope (letter sized) and I will send you a pair!
(one pair per request)

Jeff Foster
PO Box 187
Ojai, CA 93024

Due to popular demand (okay, a few “How’d you do that?” and “Cool animated avatar!” comments) I’ve decided to show you the steps I took to animate my PixelPainter avatar in Photoshop CS4; as well as the last few steps in putting your own animated avatar (GIF) up on your Twitter account. *Tip: It’s really just a matter of persistence - and don’t believe everything you’re told!

I knew that my finished avatar needed to be square so I created a new Photoshop file and imported all the components I needed for my animation. In my case, it’s my company logo, as shown here, but with the designed Text, Arrow and Brush on separate layers in a Photoshop file. Then I scaled them to best fit the new file for the animation.

I opened the Animation palette and selected the Text layer as it was going to scroll across the panel horizontally. I decide that I want the animation to be 3 seconds in length so it’s not too big, so I condense the Work Area bar down to the 3-second mark. I then move the Time Indicator (TI) down to just short of the 1-second mark and set a keyframe for the first position by click on the Stopwatch next to the Text layer in the Animation palette. I then move the TI to the 2-second mark and click-drag on the text layer in the view panel until it goes off the left side and out of view. I can then scrub back and forth with the TI and watch my Text layer move. CLICK HERE to Read the Whole Post! »

Okay - get out those red/blue cardboard glasses from your last TV or magazine promo and check this out!*Note: see end of post to find out how to get your own FREE 3D glasses!

I’ve complained enough about the limitations of both the 3D Layers and Animation panels in Adobe Photoshop CS4, but now let’s combine both of those features for a moment and have some fun! I’ve created a true stereo 3D scene with 3D layers and the Red/Blue Render option (technically known as Anaglyph).

To start with this project, I took a photograph and created layers out of three main elements (an example I used in an earlier post about animating layers). You can just use any elements you want as layers in your 3D scene, just make sure you have a background, mid-ground and foreground elements. IN this image, I also converted the layers to grayscale since I didn’t want the bright red curtains int he background to interfere with the Red/Blue stereo process, but usually, it will still work just fine in color in most cases.

I then convert each layer to a 3D layer by selecting the layer in the Layers palette and choosing New 3D Postcard from Layer from the 3D menu. After I’ve converted the layers, I need to combine them in one single 3D “scene”. I select the top layer, and choose Merge Down in the Layers palette menu. I then repeat with the newly merged layer - merging down to the bottom (or background) layer. This will now give us one 3D layer with 3 different 3D elements inside.

The 3D layers merged into one “scene” as shown in the Layers palette and the 3D Palette

I then select each mesh item and use the move & scale tools in the 3D palette to position them apart from each other. I want to “push” the background back and scale it up to fill the frame and move the mid-ground element ( the chair in this case) back a bit as well to give some sense of distance from the foreground subject (the bride). CLICK HERE to Read the Whole Post! »

RANT…

First of all, let me start this post by stating that I DO applaud Adobe for combining the animation capabilities of Image Ready into Photoshop, starting with Photoshop CS3. I was hoping they would have stepped up to the plate and given us a bit more in CS4, however. Simple things like a little more control of keyframe interpolation. Allow us a little finesse in the control of keyframes, as we have in After Effects (for several versions now). Also, the biggest disappointment is the stuttering layer movement that makes your animations look like a GIF animation from 1998. Opacity fades are a bit more smooth, but move a layer over time, and you may be a bit disheartened.

Let’s take a look at the Photoshop CS4 Animation Panel:

Photoshop CS4’s Animation Panel - showing a 3-layer animation

This is an example of a simple 3-layer animation… a background in motion, along with a mid-ground element and a foreground layer. In After Effects, this would go together quickly with many simple controls to chose from on the Timeline. However, this is a much more complicated process in Photoshop, since there are so many limitations and lack of simple animatible functions and keyframe tools.

For instance, the simple tools that would give you more control over layer animations would be:
• Keyframable Scaling
• Keyframable Rotation
• Keyframe Interpolation controls - more than just Hold or Linear (on/off)
• Smoother motion of layer elements in an animation (perhaps adjustable by frame rate?)
CLICK HERE to Read the Whole Post! »