Tilting 2D photos in a true 3D field

http://www.blender.org

is a free 3d program

why can't/won't you do this in photoshop?

Thanks for the answer. I know about Blender, but I'm skeptical of it's ability to do what I need without a steep learning curve, but I'll look into it.

I don't do this in Photoshop because I don't own Photoshop, don't know how to use Photoshop, and using Photoshop would not make it truly 3D. it would be fake and it would look fake.

If Blender won't allow me to export my work in at least a.jpg, then it would be useless when dealing with photos that are much larger than the size of a standard monitor, and that's one of the main things I need it for.

What exactly are you needing to achieve, how will you use your final output. I don't understand the link reference which looks like http://www.cooliris.com to me.

I tried something with google sketchup. The result although on a plane, the quality of the pic left a lot to be desired.
tilt-photo.png

Hey Phil,

That's the kind of thing I need. I'm using the final output in a 2D game development software program called "Construct".

I'm taking a photo of a custom made football field and trying to simulate three-dimensional depth like was done in the game Tecmo Super Bowl 3. Here is a video of the field in TSB 3:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZN2TH8VwZM

As you can see from the video, being able to place a very large photo on the software's 3D field is very important. After it's placed, I'd then tilt it to get the depth I want, and then export to a .jpg so that I can use it in Construct or other game development programs.

Do you think the programs you've mentioned so far would do this? And what would you say the learning curve is for both?

Google Sketchup dont have a native render, so you got just a screenshot that have very low image quality. Blender is free, but is dificult. User friendlly never was a priority, as said by Ton Roosendaal, Blender creator.

A free and decent option is Caligari Truespace 7. This software was made recently free for anyone, is very very easy, and their render can output high quality images (check the gallery).
For free:
http://www.caligari.com/

I've never used Blender, but have used things like Modo and Cinema 4d, so I was familiar with dropping in images onto a plane for manipulation or tracing. I suggested Blender as that is a free 3d app I know. The trouble with Blender is it probably has the potential to be too complex for what you want.

If it's ease of use and a shallow learning curve then Google Sketchup is the way to go (The app does come with a far bit of hand holding if required and has good documentation). There is also a Pro (paid for) version for if you think you need it. I think the un-pro version will help you a lot as it's easy to knock up quick architectural features and furniture if you need things like that.

It's quite easy to drop in a pic, You can delete the figure.

SketchUp dont have a render, they  just do a 'screenshot' of the current screen, usually showing line artifacts, like aliasing and poor image quality. You can render high resolution images on Sketchup using plugins like vray.

Truespace can output a high quality image and, if necessary, lights can be added for a more realistic effect, or you can use different cameras and lenses: a true 3d package, free and easy.

I'm just thinking this one over and reviewing the info here. I will make a decision shortly.

Hey Jon,

As far as I know, 3D-Wall won't let me export the results. It keeps it in the program for viewing only.

I'm still looking the other programs over and will likely have questions soon.

I have two questions:

1. In Truespace, how do you place a 2D image on a 3D plane? I worked with it for a little while but couldn't find that specific operation.

2. In Google SketchUp, how do you change the background color? I'd like to, for example, change it from blue to green.

Google Sketchup seems to work the fastest. The only drawback is that it only takes a screenshot, and therefore cuts off part of an image if it exceeds the size of SketchUp window.

*crickets*

Anyone?

http://download.sketchup.com/OnlineDoc/gsu6_win/Content/F-Model_Settings_and_Managers/Settings-StylesBrowser.htm