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FaceShop is a photoshop plug-in that allows you to create a 3D model of a human face based upon a 2D image. The skeptics out there will doubt the effectiveness of such an application as, clearly, a 2D image lacks the depth information required to build such a model. The answer to these skeptics is that, while the models generated by FaceShop are not as comprehensive as a fully rendered mathematically mapped one, they are perfectly acceptable if your finished product is a 2D image in which you don't mind manually fixing and altering the FaceShop output.
The interface may look familiar:
Rather like the techniques used in creating morphing effects, you have to first map corresponding points on two separate images. In this example I've chosen a babies face, which are rounder than adults, in order to challenge the software a little more than would the average face. The red spots on the sample face directly correspond to the green ones on our subject. You will be prompted to select these points one after the other in a fixed sequence until all of the point are indicated. This task can be completed in less than a minute.
The second stage of the process is to map corresponding lines on the subject's face such as eyebrow, mouth, nose, and facial outline. This procedure is a little more time consuming than the first stage but only take a minute or two. The lines are created using automatically by the software; all that you have to do is plot points along where the lines should be. The alternative method would be to construct them from bezier curves but such a method can prove unwieldy to the uninitiated.
Once this data has been entered, the software will morph its 3D model to resemble your subject (assuming that you've entered your points in the right places). Your subjects bitmap can then be applied to the 3D model giving you an extra dimension in which to manipulate your image.
Portrait photographers may utilize this application in order to tweak the angles a little for a better composition; the process can be accomplished quite quickly once you've used the software a few times.
The effect is best used subtly to avoid obvious CGI artifacts. The best means of creating a model that can be rotated further with better results, is to refine your results by means of an additional profile shot of your subject that can be added to the model data to give a more accurate rendering.
The software comes in two flavours that are installed together:
There's a 2D version in which the affected image, once you've adjusted your angles and so on in 3D, is imported back into photoshop as a 2D image. This version is suitable for all photoshop versions.
There's also a 3D version of the plug-in that allows you to export the 3D image in its entirety to a 3D layer in photoshop. As the only version of photoshop that supports 3D layers is CS3 Extended you will, of course, need this version to utilize this feature.
There was one minor problem upon installation and this concerns the actions that are associated with the 3D version of the plug-in. The error message The command "set 3D State" is not currently available" may occur when you press Ctrl F3 (the designated keyboard shortcut for creating your 3D layer after you've finished with the plug-in). The action that is run by this keyboard shortcut is trying to load the 3D object from the hard-drive folder where FaceShop has saved it but it's not finding it. You may have to change the folder in which the action is looking to C:faceshop if it is indicating another location. If you're unsure which location to indicate in the action, try searching for the file fs3d.obj on your C:Drive and change the action to this location.
When Worlds Collide:
There seems to be an unbridgeable chasm between the worlds of 2d and 3d image creation and manipulation. 2D people generally lack the patience and formality required to assemble 3d objects and place them into environments and then set the environments variables and allow the computer a hours to render the image. 3D people can create a virtual reality from what are fundamentally geometric shapes and mathematical algorithms and they would regard manual pixel manipulation as old fashioned. This application will allow those with no knowledge of 3D graphics to dip their toes in the water.
In The Bad Old Days:
For those who remember the 3D Transform filter this type of manipulation is nothing new. 3D Transform came with photoshop as standard, but had to be installed separately from an extras folder since photoshop 7. Though with this old filter you could only define your object as a box, sphere or cylinder. I can only recall using the filter once and that was to make a minor rotation to a box shaped object. I wouldn't have used it for anything more adventurous than that.
You can buy or trial the software from Download.com.