3D or Not 3D, That is The Problem

I was enjoying an episode of Photoshop User TV over the weekend. Cory Barker gave one of his many tutorials on 3D effects. I was inspired to play a little with Photoshop CS6. Episode ended, I fired up Photoshop while listening to the InDesign Secrets podcast (who says men can't multitask?). Created a new document, used the pen tool to create a half bottle shape. Added a gradient fill. So far, so good. Selected the 3D tab. But I can't select any items on the tab. Uh oh.

OH NO!! No 3D?

Seems I forgot about the dialog box that opened after a recent Creative Cloud subscriber update to Photoshop. The 3D feature that replaced Repousse (was one of the selling points) no longer works with my 128MB VRAM iMac. Adobe's response in the link and sales support is to replace the video card. Unfortunately (for me) my video card is attached to the motherboard, and possibly cannot be replaced. Bummer.

But since I was still in the mood for a little fun, I launched Illustrator CS 6. The 3D feature, while not as robust as Photoshop, still works.  Sample illustrations are below. In honor of St. Patrick's Day (the patron saint who brought the Good News to Ireland), green is the dominant color choice.

Series of stars created on a path and duplicated.

Bottle created, duplicated, added shadows. Duplicated the group and lowered opacity to simulate a reflection.

Series of squares.

 Time enjoyed.

I'd still like to be able to use the 3D feature with Photoshop CS6 again. A possible motherboard customization or new iMac is not in happening this year. Maybe Adobe will change the requirement with a future upgrade if we all ask really nicely. But as many of you have already learned, when life gives you a lemon, it's time to make lemonade. I'm grateful I have a job and can afford the Creative Cloud subscription.

This Illustrator created file has nothing to do with 3D, but it was fun to make.