The bright idea is to grab any old vector World Map™, make it a 3D extrusion in Photoshop, export this new 3D object like we did with the text in Part 1, and use Dimension to get the effect we want. Maybe you could find a suitable stock image, but searching the web or stock image sites for just the right image could take hours. Let’s say you have a client who wants you to incorporate a 3D-looking world map into the layout you’re creating for them: something that looks cut from a thin sheet of material. “Well,” was the reply, “I certainly wouldn’t start from here.” Sometimes design projects can be that way. Irish comedian Dave Allen relates that a tourist visiting Ireland asked for directions from one of the locals.

You can use the same approach to make a 3D shape out of a vector shape, like a logo or other graphic, but you can run into a problem if the shape is too complex. In Part 1, we looked at how easy it is to create 3D text by making a minimal model in Photoshop and using Adobe Dimension to do the rest.

Adobe dimension template