Graphic Design CoursesThe Liquify filter in Adobe Photoshop is a fun and easy dialog box to explore, and can be used for a variety of effects. We dip into it in our Photoshop courses.
First of all open an image in Photoshop. We started here with a photograph of a Morris Minor. Then go to the top Filter drop-down menu and choose Liquify. You have zoom and pan tools, but just use the usual keyboard shortcuts of Ctrl +, – and 0 (Mac: Command).
First go to the top tool on the left hand side – this is the Forward Warp tool. Note the Brush size – you can change this on the right hand side, or just use the shortcuts of square brackets beside the letter P on your keyboard. Make the brush about medium size relative to your image. Then click & drag on part of the image – note that the pixels warp with the main strength being in the centre of the brush and tapering outwards in strength to the edge of the brush.
If you make a mistake, just go to the second tool down, the Reconstruct tool. Paint over the area to return it to its original condition. Explore the other tools below. The Twirl tool will rotate the area clockwise; pressing Alt will reverse the direction. Note also the various options on the right-hand panel. The Pucker tool will squeeze pixels inwards, and the Bloat tool will inflate the pixels outwards. Generally speaking it’s best to only manipulate the image subtley.
Push Left and Mirror are also worth exploring. Below these are Mask tools – these allow you to first mask off an area so that it’s not affected by the distortions. When you click OK the red mask area will disappear. If you don’t like the effects, simply hit Cancel or Control + Z.
The Liquify tool can also be used when retouching images, to push and pull areas of the face or body, enlarge eyes, make noses smaller, etc.
Many more tips and techniques can be found at the Adobe website. And see many examples of our clients’ work on our Facebook page.
Other related Photoshop Blog Posts:
Photoshop liquify
Jun6
