SkyPaint

• Overview
• Uses
 • Details
 • Links
 • Demos
 • User Manual
 • Tutorials

 

Overview

SkyPaint is the world’s first paint tool for creating and editing 3D, seamless, 360° panoramic images.

Cut days off your production schedules by painting 360° backdrops instead of modeling and rendering them. Painted backgrounds are common in 2D games and animations; SkyPaint lets you use the same shortcut for 3D games and animations.

Using SkyPaint is simple: start with a pre-defined template or an initial backdrop. Use the arrow buttons in the SkyPaint window to look around 'inside' the backdrop; when you see something you want to change, just press the "Paint This View" icon to transfer control to Photoshop (or almost any of the other popular paint programs). After making changes to that part of the backdrop, use plugin commands to transfer the changes to SkyPaint and either save the panorama or continue editing by selecting and changing another part of the backdrop.

Once created, these panoramas can be incorporated into interactive games, published and viewed on the web, inserted into Quake II levels or 3DStudio scenes.

SkyPaint is a Photoshop-compatible plug-in that works with Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, and PHOTO-PAINT. If you don't already have a paint program, download a shareware version of JASC's Paint Shop Pro .

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Who Uses SkyPaint and Why

Quake II and 3D Game Developers
Game developers have been using panoramic backgrounds for years. SkyPaint is a required addition to any game developer’s tool suite. Game integration is easy since SkyPaint outputs to a variety of standard image and panorama types, such as Quake II.

Feature article: Creating Backgrounds for 3D Games at the Gamasutra web site.

3D Studio MAX artists
You can save days of rendering time by creating background and reflection mattes for your 3D Studio MAX creations. Professional matte painters have been used for decades in feature films and live theater because it is much less expensive to paint a convincing 3D backdrop than it is to model every little detail of objects far away in the distance. The same is true for computer graphics production work, and SkyPaint is an invaluable tool for the computer matte artist.

Tutorial: Panoramas as 3DStudio MAX Backgrounds.

Details

Requirements • Windows 95, 98, or NT 4.0 • 32 Mb memory • 65K (16-bit) or greater color display • Works with:      Photoshop      Paint Shop Pro      Fractal Painter      PHOTO-PAINT (or any compatible with Photoshop 3 plug-ins)

Import Formats • 3D Studio MAX   (env and bkg maps) • Bryce/Quicktime VR (.bmp) • Quake II environments • Live Picture (Vista CUBE/     SPHERE/CYLINDER and     Background nodes) • Quicktime VR (.bmp) • VRML Backgrounds • .jpg, .png, .bmp, Targa

Export formats • 3D Studio MAX   (env and bkg maps) • Quake II environments • Live Picture (Vista CUBE/     SPHERE/CYLINDER and     Background nodes) • VRML Backgrounds

 

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Related Sites

2D Paint Programs
    • Adobe - Photoshop
    • Corel PHOTO-PAINT
    • JASC - Paint Shop Pro
    • Meta Creations - Painter

Games
    • ID Software - Quake II

3D Panorama Technology
    • Apple - Quicktime VR
    • Be Here - panoramic cameras

VRML
    • Web3D Consortium

3D Animation
    • Kinetix - 3D Studio MAX
    • MetaCreations- Bryce 2/3D