PhotoPlus X2 User Guide - Serif

Overview
Image Adjustments and Effects 121
Suppose you’ve applied a 3D layer effect preset from the
Instant Effects tab, and then you bring up the Layer Effects
dialog. On inspecting the settings used in the preset, the
first thing you’ll notice is that three boxes may be checked.
• 3D Effects is a master switch for this group, and its
settings of Blur and Depth make a great difference; you
can click the "+" button to unlink them for independent
adjustment.
• 3D Pattern Map allows for blend mode, opacity, depth,
displacement and softening adjustments, along with a
choice of gradient fills. This is checked depending on the
type of instant effect selected. 1
• 3D Lighting provides a "light source" without which any
depth information in the effect wouldn’t be visible. The
lighting settings let you illuminate your 3D landscape and
vary its reflective properties.
Another thing you’ll probably wonder about is that all the 3D effects seem to have
"map" in their name. The concept of a map is the key to understanding how these
effects work: it means a channel of information overlaid on the image, storing
values for each underlying image pixel. You can think of the layer as a picture
printed on a flexible sheet, which is flat to start with. Each 3D layer effect employs
a map that interacts with the underlying image on a layer to create the visual
impression of a textured surface.
Bump Maps superimpose depth information for a bumpy, peak-and-valley effect.
Using the flexible sheet metaphor, the bump map adds up-and-down contours and
the image "flexes" along with these bumps, like shrink-wrap, while a light from off
to one side accentuates the contours.
Pattern Maps contribute colour variations using a choice of blend modes and
opacity, for realistic (or otherworldly!) depictions of wood grain, marbling, and
blotches or striations of all kinds.