Using the Distort palette

The Distort palette provides a variety of distortion effects that let you alter the fill on any object layer. There are several distortion effects:

None

Applies no effect.

Displace

Shifts the fill. Increasing the Distance value moves the fill further in the direction of the angle you specify.

Lens

Magnifies or shrinks the fill. Increasing the Magnification value enlarges the fill, decreasing shrinks it. Entering an Angle value rotates the fill in the direction you specify.

Twirl

Rotates the fill more sharply at the center than at the edges. A positive Turn value rotates the view clockwise; a negative value rotates the view counterclockwise. A value of 100 creates one complete turn.

Increasing the Band Size value splits the image into increasingly larger concentric bands. Within each band the pixels are rotated the same amount.

Spherize

Wraps the fill around a sphere, creating an effect similar to a fish-eye lens. Increasing the Magnification value enlarges the fill, decreasing shrinks it. A positive Spherize amount increases the size of the fill at the center, a negative value shrinks it.

Quantize

Breaks up the fill into tiles or blocks. The Size value determines the size of the tiles in pixels.

Radial Quantize

Breaks up the fill into circular bands radiating from the center of the shape. The Size value determines the width of the band in pixels.


Distortion effects A. Original B. Displace C. Lens D. Twirl E. Spherize F. Quantize G. Radial Quantize

To distort a layer:

1. Select the object in the Composition window, and select the layer in the Object Layers palette.
2. If needed, specify the fill for the shape on that layer: the background, an image, or a texture. (A solid color is not recommended.)
3. Choose Window > Distort.
4. Choose a distortion effect.