Noob here, though I thought this would fit better under general discussion: I was looking into using a good 3d paint program; 3d Coat looks like it would do the job, but I have Photoshop CS4 Extended, and I've successfully imported geometry from Houdini, and directly painted bump, spec, diffuse, etc. on the 3d objects; Photoshop automatically adds the UV stuff, but regardless of what format I save it out to, I can't get the textures back into Houdini.

Has anybody else tried this? Is using Photoshop's 3D capabilities even worth it?

Thanks.

The UV maps will be included in the geometry file that you save, but the texture image(s) themselves are flat planes and need to be saved as an image file. They won't be included in your geometry file.

Thanks for the reply, probbins. I guess I was looking more for the pros / cons of utilizing something like Photoshop in this particular way.

The more I look around, I get the impression that people who bother prefer the more robust 3d paint programs, such as Zbrush and 3dCoat.

Of course, Photoshop for the 2d work.

Again, thanks!