User Guide Cancel

Distort filters

Last updated on Apr 27, 2021

Diffuse Glow

The Diffuse Glow filter renders an image as though it were viewed through a soft diffusion filter. This filter adds see-through white noise to an image, with the glow fading from the center of a selection.

Displace

The Displace filter uses an image, called a displacement map, to determine how to distort a selection. For example, using a parabola-shaped displacement map, you can create an image that appears to be printed on a cloth held at its corners.

This filter requires a displacement map file composed of either a flattened image saved in Photoshop format or an image in bitmap mode. You can use your own files or the files included in the locations:

C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop Elements 2018\Presets\Textures

C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop Elements 2018\Required\Plug-Ins\Displacement Maps

Apply the Displace filter

In the Edit workspace, select an image, layer, or a specific area.
Select Filter> Distort > Displace.
To define the magnitude of the displacement, enter a value between ‑999 and 999 in the Horizontal and Vertical Scale text boxes.

When the horizontal and vertical scales are 100%, the greatest displacement is 128 pixels (because middle gray produces no displacement).
If the displacement map is not the same size as the selection, select how you want the map to fit the image:

Stretch To Fit

Resizes the map.

Tile

Fills the selection by repeating the map in a pattern.
Select how to fill voids that are created by the filter in the image, and click OK.

Wrap Around

Fills voids with content from the opposite edge of the image.

Repeat Edge Pixels

Extends the colors of pixels along the image’s edge in the direction you specify.
Select and open the displacement map. Photoshop Elements applies the map to the image.

Glass

The Glass filter makes an image appear as if it were being viewed through different types of glass. You can choose a glass effect or create your own glass surface as a Photoshop file and apply it. You can adjust scaling, distortion, and smoothness settings.To apply your own texture file, click icon and select Load Texture.

Liquify

The Liquify filter makes it easy to manipulate areas of an image as if those areas had been melted. You work with a preview image of the current layer, using special tools to warp, twirl, expand, contract, shift, or reflect areas of the image. You can make subtle changes to retouch an image or drastic distortions to create an artistic effect.

Apply the Liquify filter

In the Edit workspace, select an image, layer, or a specific area.
Choose Filter > Distort > Liquify.
To zoom in on or out of the image preview, do one of the following:
- Choose a zoom level from the pop‑up menu in the lower-left area of the dialog box.
- Select the Zoom tool from the toolbox in the dialog box, and click in the image to zoom in, or Alt-click (Option-click in Mac OS) to zoom out. You can also use the Zoom tool to drag over an area of the preview you want to magnify.
- Select a tool from the toolbox.
Select one of the following tools from the toolbox:

Warp

Pushes pixels forward as you drag.

Twirl Clockwise

Rotates pixels clockwise as you hold down the mouse button or drag.

Twirl Counter Clockwise

Rotates pixels counterclockwise as you hold down the mouse button or drag.

Pucker

Moves pixels toward the center of the brush area as you hold down the mouse button or drag.

Bloat

Moves pixels away from the center of the brush area as you hold down the mouse button or drag.

Shift Pixels

Moves pixels perpendicularly to the stroke direction. Drag to move pixels to the left, and Alt-drag (Option-drag in Mac OS) to move pixels to the right.

Reconstruct

Fully or partially reverses the changes you’ve made.
In the Tool Options section, adjust the brush size and pressure of the tool, as needed:
- To change the brush size, drag the pop‑up slider, or enter a brush size value from 1 to 15000 pixels.
- To change the brush pressure, drag the pop‑up slider, or enter a brush pressure value from 1 to 100.
Note:

A low brush pressure makes more gradual changes.
- If you’re using a stylus tablet, select Stylus Pressure.
Note:

To create the effect of dragging in a straight line between the current point and the previous point that you clicked, Shift-click with the Warp, Shift Pixels, or Reflection tool.
To apply the changes in the preview image to the actual image, click OK.
(Optional) To revert to a previous state, do one of the following:
- Select the Reconstruct tool , and hold down the mouse button or drag over the distorted areas. The restoration occurs more quickly at the brush center. Shift-click to reconstruct in a straight line between the current point and the previous point that you clicked.
- To restore the entire preview image to its state when you opened the dialog box, press Alt (Option in Mac OS) and click Reset. Alternatively, click Revert to restore the original image and reset the tools to their previous settings.

Ocean Ripple

The Ocean Ripple filter adds randomly spaced ripples to the image's surface, making the image look as if it were under water.

Pinch

The Pinch filter squeezes a selection or layer inward or outward.

Apply the Pinch filter

In the Edit workspace, select an image, layer, or a specific area.
Choose Distort > Pinch from the Filter menu.
Drag the slider to the right, into positive values, to pinch a selection inward toward its center; or to the left, into negative values, to shift a selection outward. Then click OK.

Polar Coordinates

The Polar Coordinates filter converts a selection from its rectangular to polar coordinates, and vice versa, according to a selected option. You can use this filter to create a cylinder anamorphosis—art popular in the 18th century—in which the distorted image appears normal when viewed in a mirrored cylinder.

Ripple

The Ripple filter creates an undulating pattern on a selection, like ripples on the surface of a pond. For greater control, use the Wave filter. Options include the amount and size of ripples.

Shear

The Shear filter distorts an image along a curve.

Apply the Shear filter

In the Edit workspace, select an image, layer, or a specific area.
Choose Distort > Shear from the Filter menu.
To define a distortion curve, do one of the following in the Shear dialog box:
- Click anywhere on either side of the vertical line.
- Click on the vertical line, and then drag the new curve point.
  You can drag any point along the curve to adjust the distortion, and you can add additional curve points.
Select one of the following in the Undefined Areas options and click OK:

Wrap Around

Fills new voids in the image with content from the opposite side of the image.

Repeat Edge Pixels

Extends the colors of pixels. Banding may result if the edge pixels are different colors.

You can click Defaults to start over and return the curve to a straight line.

Spherize

The Spherize filter gives objects a 3D effect by wrapping a selection around or inside a spherical shape, distorting and stretching the image.

Apply the Spherize filter

In the Edit workspace, select an image, layer, or a specific area.
Choose Distort > Spherize from the Filter menu.
For Amount, enter a positive value to stretch the image outward as though it were wrapped around a sphere. Enter a negative amount to compress the image inward as though it were wrapped inside a sphere.
For Mode, choose normal, horizontal, or vertical, and then click OK.

Twirl

The Twirl filter rotates an image or selection more sharply in the center than at the edges. Specifying an angle produces a twirl pattern. You can drag the slider to the right into positive values to twirl the image clockwise, drag the slider to the left into negative values to twirl counterclockwise, or enter a value between ‑999 and 999.

Wave

The Wave filter creates an undulating pattern on a layer or selection.

Apply the Wave filter

In the Edit workspace, select an image, layer, or a specific area.
Choose Distort > Wave from the Filter menu.
Select a wave type in the Type section: Sine (creates a rolling wave pattern), Triangle, or Square.
To set the number of wave generators, drag the slider or enter a number between 1 and 999.
Drag the minimum and maximum Wavelength sliders to set the distance from one wave crest to the next. Set both sliders to the same value to create a consistent pattern of wave crests.
Drag the minimum and maximum Amplitude sliders to set the wave strength.
Drag the horizontal and vertical Scale sliders to set the height and width of the wave effect.
To apply random results based on the set of values in the dialog box, click Randomize. You can click Randomize multiple times to get more results.
Select one of the following and click OK:

Wrap Around

Fills the voids in the image with content from the opposite edge of the image.

Repeat Edge Pixels

Extends the colors of pixels along the image’s edge in the direction specified.

ZigZag

The ZigZag filter distorts a selection radially, depending on the radius of the pixels in your selection.

Apply the ZigZag filter

In the Edit workspace, select an image, layer, or a specific area.
Choose Distort > ZigZag from the Filter menu.
Drag the Amount slider to set the level and direction of distortion.
Drag the Ridges slider to set the number of direction reversals for the zigzag from the center to the edge of the selection.
Choose a displacement option from the Style menu and click OK:

Around Center

Rotates the pixels around the center of the selection.

Out From Center

Produces a rippling effect toward or away from the center of the selection.

Pond Ripples

Produces a rippling effect that distorts the selection to the upper left or lower right.

Get help faster and easier

New user?