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How does the ds Photoshop bridge work

robert952

Brilliant
I've wondered this myself. And not being a PS user, I have never installed it. I wonder if it can be made to work with other software (such as GIMP or PaintShop Pro.) Not to hijack your thread, but additional and appropriate aspects that would be nice to know. (I doubt it can work with anything else, but worth asking.)
 

Pendraia

Sage
Contributing Artist
I have had problems installing it with CS3 so don't use it. As I have Zbrush I'm more likely to use that any way if I want to texture using 3D. Sorry...
 

Jay Versluis

Admirable
The Photoshop Bridge is a little old school, and was designed in an era when many of us didn’t have a Photoshop version with 3D capabilities. Every current version of Photoshop CC has it, and as such it’s often easier to load an OBJ directly into Photoshop and texture there.

However, the bridge still has its uses. Let me explain how it’s (supposed to) work.

Start by launching DAZ Studio and load an object that you’d like to modify in Photoshop. Head over to File - Initialize Photoshop Bridge. Notice that the viewport will change and you’ll look through the “Photoshop Bridge” camera. Position the view as you see fit.

Now launch Photoshop and head over to File - Automate - DAZ Studio Bridge. This will bring up a floating palette with several options. If you don’t see this menu item, the bridge is not installed correctly. Check the path to your Photoshop installation (in Install Manager, under Applications - Photoshop).

Let’s go through the options in that floating Photoshop palette:
  • Close DAZ Studio: as the label suggests.
  • Preview Image, Update Image and Enable Auto Update no longer work. Ignore those options.
  • Render to New Layer: asks DAZ Studio to render the current image and imports it as a new layer into the current document. This is handy if you want to combine your 3D object with a 2D background.
  • Export Scene as U3D/DAE: asks DAZ Studio to export the current scene. It’s the same as heading over to DAZ Studio and choosing File - Export. Not sure why we would want to ever do this from Photoshop.
  • Import Image Maps: very handy option to import selected texture files from anything in the current DAZ Studio scene. This lets you modify an existing texture without having to find where the actual texture file is saved.
  • Export Image Maps: currently crashes Photoshop CC 2015.5 - therefore, ignore this option.
  • Close: closes the floating palette and the connection to DAZ Studio.
So really, there are only two useful options here for us: “Render to New Layer” for compositing, and “Import Image Maps" for texturing. I’ve used the latter option many times, using the following workflow:
  • import image maps for the object you want to texture
  • add layers and designs as you see fit
  • save the file as PSD (Photoshop will suggest the same folder of the current texture)
  • in DAZ Studio, choose Surfaces and select your saved Photoshop file as the new texture (under Diffuse)
  • see your changes in action
  • make more changes in Photoshop, then hit CTRL+S to save the file
  • head back to DAZ Studio and see your changes update live
  • if you don’t see your changes reflected, hit CTRL+I to refresh the image manually
Hope this helps ;-)
 

Lorraine

The Wicked Witch of the North
Thank you so much for that, Jay! I've never had any luck and I'm now going to have another go :)
 

Lorraine

The Wicked Witch of the North
Jay, can you tell me which version of DS you are running? I'm on DS4.8 still and the bridge won't load...the plugin manager thingy said it was for a newer version. Maybe I'm going to have to upgrade to 4.9 *sniffle, sniffle*
 

Jay Versluis

Admirable
I'm using DAZ Studio 4.9 and Photoshop CC 2015.5 (both latest current versions). The bridge is often updated alongside DAZ Studio, so if you install it now it'll probably install the bridge for 4.9 :-(
 

Jay Versluis

Admirable
I know. Tell you what: if I get round to it this week I'll make a quick demo video of how it works, then you can see if it's something you want to risk sacrificing a working setup for (I'm always super ambivalent about new versions myself). The bridge is handy, but certainly not essential for texturing.
 

Lorraine

The Wicked Witch of the North
That would be really kind of you, Jay :) I'm wondering myself if it's worth upgrading as I seem to do well enough with my texturing now.
 

RAMWolff

Wolff Playing with Beez!
Contributing Artist
So I CAN use Photoshop CC to texture say ... Dawn or a piece of clothing without using fancy plugins like Quixel?
 

RAMWolff

Wolff Playing with Beez!
Contributing Artist
PS CC is a monthly subscription of $10.00. You do get a full on version of Photoshop too, so the download is very long. Comes with PS Bridge and I think Lightroom which I don't use either.
 

Pendraia

Sage
Contributing Artist
So Ram...if you stop subscribing can you still use photoshop? I would really like to update but don't like the idea of using a subscription for it? Is there a specific time period you have to subscribe for?
 

RAMWolff

Wolff Playing with Beez!
Contributing Artist
I've not tried that but I imagine they have some sort of code written into the program that if you kill the sub you kill the program. I wasn't thrilled with this option either but I do like the idea of having the most updated version of a program I use daily. They just issued a HUGE update, even the splash screen is different. Not sure what all was updated or added to but do notice differences here and there.
 

Pendraia

Sage
Contributing Artist
That was what I thought would happen but I didn't think you actually downloaded the program, so I wondered if I was wrong. I know with Microsoft office my daughter was still able to use it she just couldn't update it.
 

RAMWolff

Wolff Playing with Beez!
Contributing Artist
Yes, it's a full on download so you have a digital copy on your hard drive taking up as much digital space as older versions of Photoshop. I uninstalled Photoshop CS 5 or 6, can't remember as this works just fine and for ME, it's like driving a leased car, you don't have to worry about upkeep or in this case, updates, your paying a low monthly fee and Adobe provides all the updates for free
 
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