September, 2007
In this tutorial you'll learn the amazing way to cover a box for a software package using Vanishing Point.
Let's start off with a box. You can create a box in Photoshop, Illustrator, or any other program of the type. I created this box in Maya 8.5 which allowed me to turn it around to the position that I needed to work with.
Because I brought my box in from Maya, I needed to reset the aspect ratio by setting it to square. You can see the difference when you compare both boxes.
I created a white layer by filling it with white and dropped it behind the box template.
I reduced the opacity of the template to 50%.
I've got my cover located on another layer which I unhide. All of the cover is merged. I suggest that you have a duplicate of unmerged layers.
I've also created a layer for the cover.
Select the software layer and Control+Click on it to select it and then copy it (Control+C). Now hide the layer and deselect. Select the Converted Cover layer now.
Open Vanishing Point. It will be on the default tool which is what we need. Begin to click on each of the four corners of the front.
Now hold the Control key down and drag to the right to create the side.
Using the Edit Plane tool, drag down the corner point to fit the box.
Press Control+V to paste the artwork into the screen then drag the artwork down to the box.
Select the Transform tool and make the necessary adjustments to the cover to position it correctly. Make sure the side of the box is centered. Now press OK.
Hide the template layer. (You are seeing jagged edges on the box. That is because I created this tutorial at 72 px resolution. Create your work at 300 px resolution to avoid this.)
Lock the layer and use the Rectangle Marquee tool to select the side of the box. Also create a new layer.
Apply a black to white gradient to the rectangle and change it's opacity to 50%. While still in this layer, Control+Click on the box to select it. Invert the selection (Control+Shift+I). Press Delete to remove the outside portion of the gradient.
Here is what you should end up with.
Download the original source files from this tutorial in Zip format Here
Copyright (c) 2007, Jacquelin Vanderwood, All Rights Reserved
