Part VI: Artistic Effects 634 FIGURE 19.14 Protecting the alpha channel and not the skin tones is the best option. Using the all-new Puppet Warp The Puppet Warp tool is new in CS5, and it gives you lots of control when it comes to changing the way a previously flat, two-dimensional image looks. It works by placing a mesh over the selected area in your image, giving you the ability to warp and move individual areas of the image, almost as if it were a piece of fabric. Using pins to hold areas in place and others to move your image, you can choose which areas to move, how they’ll move, and how far. It’s fun to try on an image with several independent areas. Figure 19.15 shows a spider on its own layer. Using Puppet Warp, you can move each of her legs independently. 28_584743-ch19.indd 63428_584743-ch19.indd 634 5/3/10 1:02 PM5/3/10 1:02 PM Chapter 19: Distorting Images 635 FIGURE 19.15 The independent nature of each one of these spider’s legs makes her ideal for playing with the Puppet Warp tool. Follow these steps to use Puppet Warp on the spider: On the Web Site Find the PSD of this spider saved as Figure 19-15 on the Web site. n 1. Select the layer containing the cutout of the spider. 2. Choose Edit ➪ Puppet Warp. This changes the options bar and places a grid over the spider, as shown in Figure 19.16. You can change the density of the mesh in the options bar. Increasing the density gives you control over more specific areas, and decreasing the density allows you to move larger areas. 3. Set the expansion found in the options bar. The expansion determines how many pixels outside the selected object the mesh will extend. A larger expansion makes movements larger and less precise. The default expan- sion of 2 pixels works well for this exercise. 4. Click different areas of the spider to place pins in different places. Every time you place a pin, that spot on the spider is locked down and doesn’t move unless you drag the pin. When you do move a pin, it uses the closest pin as a fulcrum to rotate the selected area around. For instance, if you place just one pin on the center of the spider and then move a second pin placed on the spider’s leg, the entire spider rotates around the pin placed on her body. In order to move a leg by itself, at least four pins are needed: two on the body to hold it firm, one on the knee of the leg that you want to move, and one on the end of the leg, as shown in Figure 19.17. 28_584743-ch19.indd 63528_584743-ch19.indd 635 5/3/10 1:02 PM5/3/10 1:02 PM Part VI: Artistic Effects 636 FIGURE 19.16 Puppet Warp places a moveable mesh over the selected layer. FIGURE 19.17 Pin placement is an essential part of getting the adjustment you want with the Puppet Warp. 5. From the options bar, choose a mode that determines how the mesh responds to movement by the pin. 28_584743-ch19.indd 63628_584743-ch19.indd 636 5/3/10 1:03 PM5/3/10 1:03 PM Chapter 19: Distorting Images 637 Rigid keeps the distances in the mesh more stable, making it harder to stretch the mesh and therefore the pixels. It is the best choice for limbs or other rigid objects. Normal makes the mesh loose, more like a fabric as it’s moved, similar to moving a rag puppet. Distort not only moves the pinned area but also changes its perspective, making it larger or smaller, depending on the direction it is being moved. You want the spider’s legs to stay straight, so choose Rigid, as shown in Figure 19.18. FIGURE 19.18 The mode determines how the mesh reacts to the movement of the pin. 6. Choose the pin at the end of the leg, and move the leg. You can move it freely, rotating it on the knee pin, even bending it toward the spider’s body if you choose. I want to change the apparent plane the spider is walking on to a horizontal one rather than vertical, so I bend the leg so it’s supporting the spider from underneath, as shown in Figure 19.19. FIGURE 19.19 Using multiple pins, I have changed the perspective of where the ground is underneath the spider. Tip You can select and move more than one pin by holding down the Shift key as you click each pin. n 28_584743-ch19.indd 63728_584743-ch19.indd 637 5/3/10 1:03 PM5/3/10 1:03 PM Part VI: Artistic Effects 638 7. Change the rotation of the mesh around the selected pin. You can do this from the options bar by choosing Auto or Fixed from the Rotate drop- down menu. Auto rotates the selection automatically based on how you move the pin. Fixed allows you to set your own rotation. You can type a rotation degree into the appro- priate box, or you can hold down the Alt/Option key while you hover to the outside of the pin until a Rotation tool appears, as shown in Figure 19.20, and allows you to rotate the mesh around your selected pin. In the case of the spider, you can add feet or reduce unnatural bends caused by the initial pin movement. FIGURE 19.20 Using the Auto Rotate option doesn’t always give you the best results. You can hold down the Alt/Option key to freely rotate the mesh and take out any kinks. 8. If you’ve warped too far and aren’t sure how to get back to where you started, you can delete your pins. You can delete any of the pins you placed by holding down the Alt/Option key and click- ing directly on the pin (scissors should appear) or by hitting the Delete button to delete any selected pins. Removing a pin also removes all the effects that are associated with that pin. If it held an area in place while another pin was moved, that area moves as if the pin had never been placed. If the pin was used to move the mesh, the mesh returns to the starting point. Playing with the legs of a spider is a fun way to learn the basics behind the Puppet Warp tool, but although moving individual elements can be entertaining, the Puppet Warp tool is more useful in making adjustments and corrections in your everyday images. For instance, you could use it to correct crooked lines created by using the Content-Aware Scale or to tweak the perspective of images that have more complicated lens aberrations than just widening the top fixes. 28_584743-ch19.indd 63828_584743-ch19.indd 638 5/3/10 1:03 PM5/3/10 1:03 PM Chapter 19: Distorting Images 639 The Liquify Filter Although the Liquify filter can be used for creating textures, giving tummy tucks, or several other serious Photoshop tasks, I predict that you’ll be laughing too hard to get much serious work done. The Liquify filter is so versatile that it almost qualifies as an application all on its own. It’s certainly more than just a tool. When you select the Liquify filter by choosing Filter ➪ Liquify, your image is opened inside the Liquify utility, as shown in Figure 19.21. Right away you can see that you can do so much here. I break each area in the utility into manageable chunks and introduce them one at a time. The Liquify utility works in a very similar way to the Puppet Warp. A mesh overlay is placed over your image, creating a grid that can be pulled and warped to change your image as if it were made of fabric. Each tool uses the mesh in a different way to create a different effect. The Reconstruct tools also are based on the mesh. The Liquify tools The Liquify tools are stacked neatly in their own Toolbox on the left of the Liquify utility. Some will be familiar to you, namely the Hand tool and the Zoom tool. Others are unique to the Liquify utility. These tools are listed here in the order in which they appear in the Toolbox. Note While you are in the Liquify workspace, each of these tools can be accessed by a hotkey. Hover over each tool to see its name and hotkey. n l Forward Warp: The Forward Warp tool drags the pixels starting at the center of your cursor forward following the direction you drag. The effects look just like the wake of a boat. This is a very basic way to push pixels around and can create very specific results, as seen in Figure 19.22. l Reconstruct: The Reconstruct tool is a simple way to restore specific areas of your image. Brush over areas that you’ve already distorted, and they are restored to their original pixel composition. Tip Holding down the Alt/Option key while either the Forward Warp tool or the Reconstruct tool is activated tem- porarily changes it to the other of these two tools. n l Twirl Clockwise: Using the Twirl Clockwise tool is like a curling iron for your pixels. Hold down your mouse button to twirl them around your cursor. Be sure to hold your mouse in one spot to do this; the longer you hold, the tighter the twirl is. If you want the twirl to go counter-clockwise, hold down the Alt/Option key while you twirl. 28_584743-ch19.indd 63928_584743-ch19.indd 639 5/3/10 1:03 PM5/3/10 1:03 PM . Part VI: Artistic Effects 634 FIGURE 19.14 Protecting the alpha channel and not the skin tones is the best option. Using the all-new Puppet Warp The Puppet Warp tool is new in CS5, and. 1:02 PM5/3/10 1:02 PM Part VI: Artistic Effects 636 FIGURE 19.16 Puppet Warp places a moveable mesh over the selected layer. FIGURE 19.17 Pin placement is an essential part of getting the adjustment. select and move more than one pin by holding down the Shift key as you click each pin. n 28_584743-ch19.indd 63728_584743-ch19.indd 637 5/3/10 1:03 PM5/3/10 1:03 PM Part VI: Artistic Effects 638