PSDto3D Offers a Nice Workflow for 2D Work in Maya

E.D Films releases PSDto3D, a plugin that simplifies creating 2D style animations in Maya from Photoshop.

If you have ever worked with AE’s 2D space, even for setting 2D scenes up in 3D, you know that a lot is lacking in that workflow. Ae is dog-tired slow with this type of work, and it’s a bit tedious to set up not to mention Ae’s lack of tools for debugging, like finding the frame rate of a rig while you are working with it. 3D applications, on the other hand, are a viable alternative, but they are no easier to set up, especially if you don’t have a lot of 3D experience. Now that might change with a new plugin from E.D Films called PSDto3D. As the name suggests, the plugin helps get Photoshop layered artwork out to a 3D application, in this case, Autodesk Maya.

Working with 2D cards in Maya however is a much better experience than After Effects, especially for animators. Using the plugin, a simple click of a button is all that it takes to turn 2D Photoshop layers into meshes and textures in 3D space. That’s right the plugin makes the 2D cards (as meshes) for you.

The plugin comes in two flavors a lite and pro version. The pro version lets you draw your own meshes using the pen tool in photoshop, for those that want a specific type of geometry for their exports.

Check out E.D Films tools page to learn more about this neat new plugin, PSDto3D.