[Ginni Francis]

It will always involve being able to use a selection method to isolate whatever element needs to “pop”. Either a clipping path, or channels, etc. PS has many methods of isolating a subject.

Here’s one tutorial that produces a neat 3-D effect:

file:///Applications/Adobe%20Photoshop%20CS3/Tutorials/3d-popout/extreme_3d_popout.html