How To Create 3D Pictures

This post is intended as a basic tutorial in the art and science of creating anaglyphic 3D images. It is much easier than you might think, and aside from a pair of red/cyan glasses (which you can get for free) you probably have everything you need to start creating your own 3D pictures today.


(Heads up: parts of this blog entry are in 3D so you might want to have your 3D glasses handy.)



Most people think that you need an expensive 3D camera like one of these to create 3D images.

http://3d-camera-review.toptenreviews.com/

And some folks create dual camera rigs out of a pair of regular digital cameras, which is fine if you can afford to buy two cameras and have the skill and patience to put together the mounting hardware.

How To Build A Dual Camera 3D Rig

 
There are even ways to craft a single-camera 3D rig which uses mirrors to split the image into left and right images.

Source: instructables.com via Mike on Pinterest

Once again, there is quite a bit of construction involved as well as the cost of materials. But you don't need to do any of those things. You can make 3D pictures today with the digital camera you have now, even if it is the camera on your cell phone.


This method is easy and gives great results as long as your subject is still. That's the only drawback to this method. Since you have to take two shot from different perspectives it isn't great for capturing action, but for that vase of roses or the butterfly perched on the window sill this method is perfect.


We'll start with the basics of taking the shots. The average distance between the pupils of the human eye is 2.48 inches, which gives us our stereo vision. This is what we want to replicate. However, if you don't know how to estimate 2 1/2  inches as you step to the side just take half a baby step and that will work fine.*


First we are going to take the left eye shot. your subject should be just a little off-center to the right in the frame. Snap the picture and step a tiny bit to the right. Do not angle the camera to train it on your subject as you take your step. Keep it parallel to the first shot. Your subject should now be just a little off-center to the left. Now snap your right eye shot. Always take the left shot first then the right so you won't get them mixed up. That's very important.

The correct method to take 3D photos

 

The incorrect method

Once you have taken your pairs of photographs it is time to turn them into 3D pictures. For that you will need 3D conversion software. You can go through the process of doing the color separation and blending of the images in your favorite editor like Adobe Photoshop but it is a complicated process. You'll probably want a piece of software that automates much of it for you. My favorite program is Wooly Anaglyph Maker. It is very easy to use and best of all, it's free! 


You can download it here:

Wooly Anaglyph Maker

You'll also need some anaglyphic 3D glasses if you don't already have a pair. You can purchase them online. Here is a link to the listing on Amazon:

3D Glasses on Amazon

Or you can get a free pair of paper 3D glasses from American Paper Optics by sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to this address:

 American Paper Optics, LLC
2995 Appling Road, Suite 106
Bartlett, TN 38133
USA
Attn: Free 3D Glasses

Click here for more detailed instructions.

Rainbow Symphony also offers a pair of paper 3D glasses by sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to this address:

  Rainbow Symphony, Inc.

6860 Canby Ave. Suite 120 

Reseda · CA · 91335

Click here for more detailed instructions and to see the other types of 3D glasses they will send you for free. 

Free 3D Glasses Dot Com will also send you a pair of free 3D glasses. You don't even have to send them a self-addressed, stamped envelope. You are however required to register your email for a newsletter subscription.

Okay, now that you have downloaded or copied your pictures onto your hard drive, your 3D glasses are perched on your head, and Wooly Anaglyph Maker is installed on your computer, let's learn how to use it. There is really nothing to it.

  

When you open Wooly Anaglyph Maker this is the first screen you will see. The big white area is where you will see your 3D picture come to life. At the top of the screen is a row of buttons which we will discuss in a bit. What concerns us now are the two boxes on the right.

You will begin by clicking the top box to load your left image. A pop-up window appears that allows you to browse your computer for the picture you want. Clicking the box beneath it allows you to browse for your right image.

When the left image appears and it is already filtered red. Sort of reminds you of the terminator doesn't it?

When the right image loads it is filtered cyan. Now the fun begins.

At this point it will be easier to align the two images if you are not looking through your 3D glasses, but you will want to peek through them often as you do this to make sure you are getting the effect you want.


The process is simple. You just drag the image around until you get it aligned on whatever you want the focal point to be. Everything else in the picture will appear to be in front of or behind this focal point. Don't worry about the weird red and cyan double-images in the rest of the picture. It's supposed to look like that.

If you are happy with your picture click the Save Button and give it a name like "super_pretty_pussy_cat_laying_in_the_sun_on_the_patio.jpg" Or you might want to shorten that just a bit, say perhaps, "3D cat.jpg." It's so easy a caveman could do it! Well, a caveman with a digital camera and a computer anyway.

But what if your picture isn't just right and requires a little extra fiddling with? That's where the other buttons come in.

One of the most common problems you'll run into is Funky Color Syndrome. This usually happens when there are lots of reds and blues in your pictures and looking at them with the 3D glasses is like having a bad acid trip. If you look at them too long your eyeballs will explode. Well, maybe they won't explode, but you'll probably get a headache.


The most radical solution to Funky Color Syndrome is to just get rid of the colors completely. That way you don't have to worry about reds and blues wavering and vibrating in front of your eyes. Just click the Grayscale Button and the problem is solved. Don't fret. Some of the most dynamic 3D pictures are in black & white.

Does this utility belt make me look fat?

The button sitting right next to the Grayscale Button just minding its own business is the Full Color button. This is the perfect option if there aren't a lot of bright reds and blues to confuse your senses. And since it is a fully functional button you can feel free to click the other color buttons to your heart's content to see which you like best with no danger of losing the colors of your original images.

But what if  there are some reds and blues that are too bright but you don't want to get rid of the color completely, just tone it down a bit. Well, this is your lucky day, kid. Have I got a button for you!

This is the Half Color Button. It will tone down the reds and the blues to make them easier on the eyes without losing them completely.

The Optimized Color Button makes sure your image is web color-friendly, because why make a 3D picture if you aren't going to plaster it all over the Internet, right?

 The last color button is the Amber/Blue Blending Button. It is for creating a different type of anaglyphic picture and requires Amber/Blue lensed 3D glasses to view. You probably won't be using this button much.


The next four buttons are all for making position adjustments to your image and are fairly self explanatory. If you are unsure what they do just fiddle with them a bit and their function will become apparent.

 The last two buttons are for settings and information about the genius who created this program. I have never had to alter the settings for the program. You should probably just stick with the defaults too.

And there you have it! You have just created your first 3D photograph and met all the requirements for graduating from The Big Cat Daddy School of 3D Photography with an associates degree in Awesome!

Your Big Cat Daddy is very proud of you

If you have a smart phone and want to create and edit 3D pictures on your phone or tablet, well, there's an app for that. In fact there are several. In an upcoming blog post we'll explore some of these. Some are quite good, others, not so much. I'll tell you which ones I like and why, and before you know it you'll be creating anaglyphic magic right from your phone. So stay tuned. Same bat time, same bat channel.






*Of course I know that "half a baby step" is subjective, but you get the idea. Don't worry, this isn't rocket science. You aren't going to mess it up.

LEM Wigglegram

In honor of the 43rd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, please enjoy this wigglegram of the Lunar Module ascent stage.

I Am Beside Myself

The Wheatstone Stereoscope

Stereography is even older than the art of photography itself. Long before the development of anaglyphic methods of fooling your brain into seeing depth where there is none, clever inventors were figuring out ways to create the illusion of the third dimension with two-dimensional media. In 1834 Charles Wheatstone invented the first stereoscope, an apparatus that used an arrangement of lenses and mirrors to view a pair of illustrations drawn from slightly different perspectives thus creating the illusion of depth.

19th Century Hand-held Stereoscope

Soon less bulky and complex stereoscopes were developed which made use of stereograms, or stereopairs, a pair of images taken from the respective position of the left and right eye and presented side-by-side. These forerunners of the Viewmaster* were bleeding-edge entertainment technology in the 19th century. While Grandma enjoyed viewing the beauty of Paris in 3D, Grandpa enjoyed viewing the beauties of Paris in 3D. Stereographic French postcards were all the rage in the wondrous century before the invention of pay-per-view.

The stereogram sat in a holder at the end of a sliding bar which was used to focus the image. A partition divided the magnifying lenses through which the viewer looked. The 3D image appeared with crystal clarity and no color distortion.

Stereopair Collectibles

 But one does not need a special viewer to view stereopairs. There is a method called, freeviewing and all it requires is some patience and practice. With the first freeviewing technique the viewer focuses his or her gaze at a point beyond the stereopair until the two side-by-side images become one and a 3D image emerges. This is the technique for viewing SIRDS-- Single Image Random Dot Stereograms, the crazy static-like pictures of dots and patterns that conceal hidden images of 3D bunnies and dolphins that everybody claims they can see but most people can't.

The next technique is the cross-eyed viewing technique. It is actually pretty self-explanatory. One crosses the eyes so that the left eye views the right image and the right eye views the left image. The 3D image will appear at the point in front of the stereopair where the lines of sight converge. Perhaps this anaglyphic illustration will make it clearer. Please don your red/cyan glasses for the full effect.

Like your mother said, if you keep doing that your face will stick that way.

There is another technique that is similar, but requires the eyes to diverge, creating the 3D image behind the stereopair. All these techniques are difficult to master, stupid to look at and cause eye-fatigue and headaches. Just invest in a dang Viewmaster already.

*When I was a kid my best friend David had the Star Trek "Omega Glory" Viewmaster reel. I coveted that thing. I could have sat and gazed for hours at Captain Kirk and Co. in 3D. The shots of the two starships hanging in space inspired my later 3D efforts. What a great memory!

The toy Enterprise and home-brew asteroid that grace the top of a bookcase in my office

3D Glasses: The Better to See You With, My Dear

Even tribbles enjoy a good 3D movie now and then.

Whenever I advise people to get a pair of Red/Cyan glasses for viewing anaglyphic images someone invariably says, "I've got a pair of 3D glasses left over from the movies. Can't I just use those?" Unfortunately, the answer is no. There are many different types of 3D and each one requires its own glasses. One of my pet peeves is finding packages of inexpensive 3D glasses (usually in the party favors section of the big box store) that are labeled simply, "3D Glasses." They don't tell you what type of image they are used to view, so some little kid is going to be awfully disappointed when they don't work on the picture he or she wants to see. That disappointment might turn them off of 3D completely and they'll never know the fun they missed. So without further ado, let me try to explain the differences.

Let's start with Red/Cyan.

My campsite from a recent camping trip with my grandson

Above is an example of a Red/Cyan anaglyph.

You can tell if an image is anaglyphic by the fuzzy colored halo that surrounds objects in the picture. And you just thought your eyesight was failing!

Anybody up for "The Creature From The Black Lagoon?"

Paper glasses are the most inexpensive glasses to find for viewing Red/Cyan anaglyphic images. They cost pennies per pair. Usually they are sold in packs of 10 or more, but you can find singles for sale too. Since I paste 3D photos into my journals I keep a pair in each volume. They fold up flat, take up little space and are tops for convenience. But if style is your thing and you don't want to look like you just stumbled out of 1953 you can also get these in plastic in a variety of styles.

Buddy Holly is coming right at me!

 Plastic frames are sturdier than the paper ones, if I may be so bold as to state the obvious. The lenses are sturdier too, but they are usually made of acrylic so you must be careful not to scratch them.

These are my "Roy Orbisons."

They are proportionately more expensive than the paper ones, but not bank breakers by any means. You can usually find a good deal on surplus glasses left over from events and shows. These might have half a dozen pairs in them, sometimes with extra freebies thrown in.

Now you see 'em...

These clip on to your regular glasses and flip up.

Now you don't.

 That comes in handy when I'm editing 3D images on the computer.

Wanna see laser beams shoot out of my eyes?

But red and blue glasses are just as good as the red and cyan ones right? Cyan is just a shade of blue isn't it?

Unfortunately, red and blue lenses are greatly inferior to Red/Cyan. Color distortion is a factor with red and blue and the 3D effect is less pronounced than with red and cyan images. Ghosting is a major problem. You see fuzzy auras of color around the subjects in your picture. That type of blurry image can even set off headaches. That's not really the 3D experience we had in mind, is it?

Why is this so?

Well, it all boils down to a little thing called the Tristimulus Theory which points out that the human eye is sensitive to three wavelengths of light-- red, blue and green. Since we only have two eyes and not three we must find a way to squeeze all three colors into our eyes with just two lenses. The red and blue glasses don't do the job because they can't filter the green wavelength. Green just sort of hangs out in the picture with nothing to do but cause trouble. (There are some 3D images which require red and green lenses, but they have the same issues as red and blue.)

Remember the Martian eye from "War of The Worlds?" That thing would be perfect for viewing 3D!

Enter Cyan. Cyan is the combination of blue and green and allows both wavelengths to get into your peepers without having to elbow each other out of the way. The red lens filters for red of course. By using these two complementary colors we can see sharper images with more depth and truer colors. It's beautiful.


 Using the complementary color theory a newer anaglyphic system has been developed called ColorCode 3D which employs an amber lens over the left eye and a blue lens for the right. The left eye gets all the color information while the right eye sees a monochromatic image which provides the illusion of depth. That illusion is achieved in the brain as it mixes the information from both eyes into a single image. Viola! And we didn't even have to pull a rabbit out of a hat.

The upshot to all this amber and blue stuff is that colors are much truer and the image when viewed by folks without the funny glasses on is less distorted and easier on the eyes.

 Here is a link to a veritable cornucopia of 3D glasses available on Amazon.


In my next post we'll jump back in time and explore side-by-side Stereography the oldest method of achieving the 3D illusion.

Welcome to Anaglyphopolis

Welcome to Anaglyphopolis, the City of 3D, a bustling resort town on the coast of Stereotopia.

Here, catch!

Welcome to Anaglyphopolis, where we will share our passion for all things 3D. I'm Mike Cope, amateur 3D photographer, observer and student of the third dimension. I'll share what I know about the subject, with an eye toward helping the budding 3D enthusiast go from just looking at the 3D images made by others to creating his or her own three-dimensional photos and artwork. And the beauty of the thing is that it can be done on the cheap with a free piece of software and a single digital camera, even if it is just your cellphone camera.

The left eye RED, the right eye CYAN

I'll share lots of my own photos and artwork and explain the methods and techniques I used to make them. Don't worry, while we will delve into what can be a bit of an esoteric subject I'll try to keep my tutorials short and not overly technical. For those who wish to know more about stereoscopy I'll explain what it is, how it works and where you can get the gear you need to see it. (Again, don't worry. Paper 3D glasses are readily available and relatively inexpensive.) Will there be links? Oh yes indeed! I'll do the legwork and hook you up with links to everything you need to get started and to in-depth articles from other sources as well as other 3D devotees around the globe.

So get ready and stay tuned and we will start with the most basic piece of equipment you need to begin enjoying the world of 3D-- the glasses.