How to create anaglyph 3D photos in Photoshop.
Take your photographs into a new dimension with this easy photo effect.
Seeing double? You can create a 3D image by overlapping two images: one with a red filter and one with a cyan filter. This is called an anaglyph image. Anaglyph glasses (the kind you probably got at a 3D movie as a kid) have a red and a blue lens that correspond to the filtered images. Your brain does the rest of the work, putting the two overlaid images together for a 3D effect.
It may sound complicated, but creating cool anaglyph 3D photos is really simple if you learn how to apply some basic photo effects in Adobe Photoshop.
How to create a 3D anaglyph in Photoshop
You'll essentially duplicate, recolor, and overlay your image on top of itself (with modifications) to create that red-blue effect. Open your image in Photoshop and follow these six steps:
- Set up your layers. Label your background layer "Left." Duplicate that background layer and name it "Right."
- Isolate the color channels by layer. Select Blending Options, and then pull up the Advanced Blending feature. For your Right layer, uncheck the "R" channel in the RGB row. This will isolate the red in your layer. For your Left layer, uncheck the "G" channel. This will isolate the green in your layer.
- Adjust the perspective by layer. Start with your Left layer. Navigate to Edit, select Transform, and then Perspective. Click and drag the top left corner of the layer upwards to increase the image by at least 50 pixels. Do the same with your Right layer.
- Move your layers. Move the Left layer to the left around 5-15 times and then move the Right layer to the right the same number of times. The two layers should line up in the middle.
- Crop your final image to remove the colored edges.
- Get out your red and blue glasses and admire your 3D photo.
More dimensions, more potential.
Discover additional creative photo ideas and learn more about how you can use Photoshop to push your photography into new dimensions.