Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Boxshot Updated for Realistic Cover and Container Creation

The application for creating 3D book and product covers has added a new lighting option and several image manipulations.

Purists will say, "Why do I need this, I can do it all in Photoshop?" While this is true, creating realistic illustrations of books, CDs and similar objects can take time unless you're a Photoshop whiz. And for those without Photoshop or a similar image editor, well, something like Boxshot is simply essential.
You begin by selecting a shape for your products, with the supplied library providing more than 50 that include DVD cases, books, stacks of books, brochures, paper bags, cans and bottles. You can also import a shape in the FBX, 3DS and Collada (DAE) file formats. Then you import the image you want applied to the product, such as the cover of a book. The final step is to hit the Render button, with Boxshot employing ray-tracing to generate a realistic illustration. The program can load JPEG, PNG, BMP, TIFF and PSD files (both in RGB and CMYK), complete with a transparency channel, with rendered images saved to JPEG, BMP, PNG or TIFF.
The ability to load height and specular maps and create a relief-effect on the flat sides of shapes adds to the creative possibilities, as does the control of box reflection, transparency and depth on the floor, as well as the blur level of reflections. The quality of the rendered image can also be adjusted, to generate everything from a fast draft to a highly detailed rendition. Boxshot supports resolutions up to 8000x8000 when running in 64-bit mode, about A4 size at 300 dpi.
The latest version restores the simple lighting approach used in Box Shot 3D. It's also possible to now rotate and flip images. A new shape has also been added, the Doy Pack pouch.
The Home version of Boxshot 4.0.22 for Mac and Windows can be purchased on the Applications For Life site for $49. The Professional and Ultimate versions are priced at $179 and $199, respectively. A trial version is also available for download.

 

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