If you create more layers of depth it also means that youвЂ™ll have more depth information and the depth effect will feel more natural and close to reality, but more layers need more work as even a single more complex object (a person in the photo for example) might even need 5, 10 or even more layers with depth information and that requires more time to be done precisely. Using additional layers for the depth map might be good idea in order to have more control when working with fine details and/or if you need to more easily convert multiple similar images. After youвЂ™ve prepared the background of the depth map, you can start to define one or more layers of depth for the different objects displayed on the image. This is needed in order to not have empty regions in the depth map left by mistake as this might mess up with the end result youвЂ™ll get in terms of depth. When converting a single 2D image into a stereoscopic 3D one with Photoshop, you need to start with drawing the depth map (in a separate layer of course) and starting with a gradient or fully filling with a grayscale color the whole image surface.

So a pixel with white color in the depth map seems close to you (jumping out of the screen), a gray one will be in between (at screen depth) and a completely black one will be furthest away from you (going inside the screen). In a depth map file the pixels rage from pure white to complete black (no other colors are being used), where if a pixel is brighter it represents the fact that the real pixel of the image should seem closer and if it is darker it should be far from the viewer. Depth maps are grayscale graphic files that define the depth of each pixel of the image, so when you combine a 2D still image with a depth map file you can generate a second view of the image with the needed offset as defined in the depth map so that the result is a stereoscopic 3D image.

And in order to start making really good conversions youвЂ™ll need some time to play and experiment to get the right feeling of doing the conversion, and youвЂ™ll also get some useful experience in the process, even though in the demo video above the procedure might seem very simple and easy to you, it is not so easy getting really good resultsвЂ¦Д«ut let me do some more explanations about the depth maps if you donвЂ™t know what are these. You should also be careful not to have depth contradicting cues when you are doing the conversions as this might disturb you when you view the final image and create a negative effect instead of positive one in the viewer. This is needed because the 2D to 3D conversion process needs not only to rely on doing the things lets say mathematically correct, but also in a way that they will visually look best and that requires visual checking. You should have patience and not get discouraged if you donвЂ™t manage to get great results the first time you do this, try again and again and further improve the results, but be ready to spent a lot of time experimenting. This is done with the help of the Displace filter available in Photoshop that allows you to reconstruct the view for the other eye based on the depth map youвЂ™ve created.

Here is one interesting video tutorial that I stumbled across that demonstrates a simple, but effective technique to create a depth map of a 2D photo or another image and then use the depth map to convert it to stereoscopic 3D image in a Side by Side format.

Sony xbr55x930d 2d to 3d conversion