Lesson 7: Table manipulation in perspective
Intro
As you probably already know, a lot of times the only images we can find on a vendors website are front views or oddball 3 quarter views. If we just depend on these images alone, we end up with a style board that is scattered and somewhat confusing for our clients to visualize.
So, we need to understand how to take whatever image our vendor product comes in and manipulate it to fit the perspective of our space.
in this tutorial, I will be going over how to take vendor images (Sofas, tables, chairs, curtains and area rugs for example) into Photoshop and “tweak” their perspective for any given 3D space.
First up, let’s talk tables:
The Table.
So, here is a classic front view of a table that you come across with most vendor sites. At this point I’ve already removed its background and if you need a refresher on removing backgrounds check out the previous lesson 6. Now, having this table as a front view is great, if, I just wanted to place it on my back wall but I want to place this table on my left wall.
Step1: Duplicate.
I’m going to start by duplicating the table so that I can always go back to it if I end up destroying it. This is one form of “non-destructive” workflow. then I will drag the copy over to roughly where I think the front edge of the table will end up.
Step 2: Perspective Lines.
I then will squeeze the table using the transform tool until the right edge of my table is approximately aligned along the same vertical axis that it will be in after I place it in perspective. Then I will turn on my perspective lines so I can have a guide to work with. note: in Lesson 2 we learned how to create perspective lines like this one so if you want to check that out I urge you to go for it.
They will be crucial when getting the perspective correct on this object and throughout your style board. You can also download this perspective .png on our website under free downloads.
Step 3: Separating the image.
With the perspective line turned on, I will drag the table over. Then place it, so it’s from the edge is roughly in the position that I want it to be in the end. Next, with the marquee tool, I will begin breaking the table up into pieces. First, I want to select the front face of the table, then I will hit CMND J to duplicate my selection and place it on its own layer. I will name that front face. I will then do that to the top of the table. (depending on the complexity of your object you may have to make several layers. The nice thing is that you want to separate layers that will need to be manipulated separately from their neighboring sides. Usually, for each face or side of the object that is showing, you will need to separate it out.
Step 4: Manipulating the table. Then, using the transform tool, I will start placing each face on the table into perspective. starting with the front face.
Step 5: Filling the Gap- Making a new plane for the missing side.
Once I’m happy with the alignment of my pieces, I will need to fill this hole. Or missing side panel. With a little research, you can usually find out what the side of this table looks like but I usually just stick to the principle of just making it look good as fast as I can and move on. Note: I’m using another copy of the original table to build the side edge. After I get it right I delete the excess parts I no longer need.
Tabletop ( see the video for more specifics).
Conclusion.
Lastly, It is good practice to combine the layers (merge layers) of the object into one single layer. (keeping the file size down) Or at least group (CMND G) them to keep your organization clean. There you have it, we have taken a front facing table and manipulated it to sit in a given perspective. Lastly, I want to make sure you guys are getting what I’m putting down, Home Work Give this a try on your own and let me know how it goes in the comment section below. Coming Up Next. In the next Lesson 8, we will take a look at how to add curtains in perspective to the side wall. Thanks again for joining me until next time take care. Brian