Use the Liquify filter

The Liquify filter lets you push, pull, rotate, reflect, pucker, and bloat any area of an image. The distortions you create can be subtle or drastic, which makes the Liquify command a powerful tool for retouching images as well as creating artistic effects. The Liquify filter can be applied to 8‑bits per-channel or 16‑bits per-channel images.

Tools, options, and an image preview for the Liquify filter are available in the Liquify dialog box. To display the dialog box, choose Filter > Liquify. Select Advanced Mode to access more options.

Magnify or reduce the preview image

Select the Zoom tool in the Liquify dialog box, and click or drag in the preview image to zoom in; hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac), and click or drag in the preview image to zoom out. Alternatively, you can specify a magnification level in the Zoom text box at the bottom of the dialog box.

Navigate in the preview image

Select the Hand tool in the Liquify dialog box, and drag in the preview image. Alternatively, hold down the spacebar with any tool selected, and drag in the preview image.

Liquify filter enhancements (Creative Cloud only)

In the Creative Cloud version of Photoshop, the Liquify filter is significantly faster than previous versions. The Liquify filter now supports Smart Objects, including Smart Object video layers, and is applied as a smart filter.

Another enhancement to the Liquify filter is an added behavior for the Reconstruct tool. If you hold down the alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) key while dragging the tool across a warp, the Reconstruct tool smooths a warp rather than scaling back or removing it.

Applying Liquify as a smart filter (Creative Cloud only)

The Liquify filter supports Smart Objects, including Smart Object video layers, and is applied as a smart filter. When applying the Liquify filter to a Smart Object, meshes are now automatically saved into your document. Meshes applied to Smart Objects are compressed and re-editable when reapplying the Liquify filter. Keep in mind that the embedded meshes, even compressed ones, increase the file size.

To apply the Liquify filter as a smart filter:

Face-Aware Liquify

Introduced in Photoshop CC 2015.5 release

The Liquify filter features advanced face-aware functionality that automatically identifies eyes, noses, mouths, and other facial features, making it easy for you to adjust them. Face-Aware Liquify is great for retouching portrait photos, creating caricatures, and doing much more.

You can use Face-Aware Liquify as a smart filter for non-destructive editing. See Apply smart filters in Photoshop to understand how.

Prerequisite: Enable the graphics processor

As a prerequisite to using Face-aware Liquify functionality, ensure that the graphics processor is enabled in your Photoshop preferences.

1. Choose Edit > Preferences > Performance.
2. In the Graphics Processor Settings area, select Use Graphics Processor.
3. Click Advanced Settings. Ensure that Use Graphics Processor To Accelerate Computation is selected.
4. Click OK.

These settings are enabled by default when you launch Photoshop for the first time. If you have questions regarding GPU usage in Photoshop, consult this document.

Adjust facial features using on-screen handles

1. In Photoshop, open an image with one or more faces.
2. Select Filter > Liquify. Photoshop opens the Liquify filter dialog.
   
3. In the Tools panel, select (Face tool; keyboard shortcut: A). The faces in the photo are automatically identified.
   

5. When you hover the pointer over the faces, Photoshop displays intuitive on-screen controls around them. Adjust the controls to make adjustments to the faces. For example, you can increase the eye size or decrease the face width.
   
6. When you're satisfied with the changes, click OK.
   

Adjust facial features using sliding controls

1. In Photoshop, open an image with one or more faces.
2. Select Filter > Liquify. Photoshop opens the Liquify filter dialog.
   
3. In the Tools panel, select (Face tool; keyboard shortcut: A).
   
   The faces in the photo are automatically identified and one of the faces selected. The identified faces are also listed in the Select Face pop-up menu in the Face-Aware Liquify area of the Properties panel. You can select a different face by clicking it on the canvas or selecting it from the pop-up menu.
   

4. Adjust the sliders in the Face-Aware Liquify area to make appropriate changes to the facial features.
   

5. When you're satisfied with the changes, click OK.

Useful considerations

• Face-Aware Liquify functionality works best on facial features facing the camera. For best results, rotate any titled faces before applying the settings.
  
• The Reconstruct and Restore All options don't apply to Face-Aware Liquify changes. Use Reset and All options in the Face-Aware Liquify area to reset the changes applied to a selected face and all faces, respectively.

Distortion tools

Several tools in the Liquify dialog box distort the brush area when you hold down the mouse button or drag. The distortion is concentrated at the center of the brush area, and the effect intensifies as you hold down the mouse button or repeatedly drag over an area.

Pushes pixels forward as you drag.

Reverses the distortion you’ve already added, as you hold down the mouse button and drag.

Rotates pixels clockwise as you hold down the mouse button or drag. To twirl pixels counterclockwise, hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you hold down the mouse button or drag.

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

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

Moves pixels to the left when you drag the tool straight up (pixels move to the right if you drag down). You can also drag clockwise around an object to increase its size, or drag counterclockwise to decrease its size. To push pixels right when you drag straight up (or to move pixels left when you drag down), hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you drag.

Distortion tool options

In the tool options area of the dialog box, set the following options:

Sets the width of the brush you’ll use to distort the image.

Controls how a brush feathers at the edge. An effect is strongest in the center of the brush and lighter at the edge.

Sets the speed at which distortions are made when you drag a tool in the preview image. Using a low brush pressure makes changes occur more slowly, so it’s easier to stop them at exactly the right moment.

Sets the speed at which distortions are applied when you keep a tool (such as the Twirl tool) stationary in the preview image. The higher the setting, the greater the speed at which distortions are applied.

Uses pressure readings from a stylus tablet. (This option is available only when you are working with a stylus tablet.) When selected, the brush pressure for the tools is the stylus pressure multiplied by the Brush Pressure value.

Distort an image

Freeze and thaw areas

You can freeze areas that you don’t want to modify or thaw frozen areas to make them editable again. You can also invert both frozen and thawed areas.

Freeze areas

By freezing areas of the preview image, you protect those areas from changes. Frozen areas are covered by a mask that you paint using the Freeze Mask tool . You can also use an existing mask, selection, or transparency to freeze areas. You can view the mask in the preview image to help you apply distortions.

Select the Freeze Mask tool  and drag over the area you want to protect. Shift-click to freeze in a straight line between the current point and the previously clicked point.

If you’re applying the Liquify filter to a layer with a selection, layer mask, transparency, or alpha channel, choose Selection, Layer Mask, Transparency, or Quick Mask from any of the five icons’ pop‑up menu in the Mask Options area of the dialog box. This determines how areas of the preview image are frozen or masked.

Click Mask All in the Mask Options area of the dialog box.

Click Invert All in the Mask Options area of the dialog box.

Select or deselect Show Mask in the View Options area of the dialog box.

Choose a color from the Mask Color pop‑up menu in the View Options area of the dialog box.

Mask options with the Liquify filter

When you have an existing selection, transparency, or mask in an image, that information is retained when the Liquify dialog box opens. You can choose one of the following mask options:

Shows the selection, mask, or transparency in the original image.

Shows the mask in the original image, so that you can add to the selection using the Freeze Mask tool. Adds selected pixels in channel to the current frozen area.

Subtracts pixels in channel from the current frozen area.

Uses only pixels that are selected and currently frozen.

Uses selected pixels to invert the current frozen area.

Thaw areas

• Select the Thaw Mask tool , and drag over the area. Shift-click to thaw in a straight line between the current point and the previously clicked point.

• To thaw all frozen areas, click the None button in the Mask Options area of the dialog box.

• To invert frozen and thawed areas, click Invert All in the Mask Options area of the dialog box.

Work with meshes

Using a mesh helps you see and keep track of distortions. You can choose the size and color of a mesh, and save the mesh from one image and apply it to other images.

• To show a mesh, select Show Mesh in the View Options area of the dialog box, and choose a mesh size and mesh color.

• To only show a mesh, select Show Mesh and then deselect Show Image.

• To save a distortion mesh, after distorting the preview image, click Save Mesh. Specify a name and location for the mesh file, and click Save.

• To apply a saved distortion mesh, click Load Mesh, select the mesh file you want to apply, and click Open. If the image and distortion mesh aren’t the same size, the mesh is scaled to fit the image.

• To apply the last saved distortion mesh, click Load Last Mesh.

• (Creative Cloud) Meshes are automatically saved in your document. Meshes applied to Smart Objects are compressed and re-editable.

Work with backdrops

You can choose to show only the active layer in the preview image, or you can show additional layers in the preview image as a backdrop. Using the Mode options, you can position the backdrop in front of or behind the active layer to keep track of your changes, or to line up a distortion with another distortion made in a different layer.

Select Show Backdrop, and then choose Background from the Use menu and an option from the Mode menu.

Select All Layers from the Use menu. Setting the Opacity to 0 shows only the target layer with the full effects of the Liquify filter. Setting the Opacity to a higher value shows less of the Liquify filter’s effect on the target layer.

Specify a Opacity value.

Choose an option from the Mode menu.

Deselect Show Backdrop in the View Options area of the dialog box.

Reconstruct distortions

After you distort the preview image, you can use a variety of controls and reconstruction modes to reverse changes or redo the changes in new ways. Reconstructions can be applied two ways. You can apply a reconstruction to the entire image, smoothing out the distortion in unfrozen areas, or you can use the reconstruction tool to reconstruct specific areas. If you want to prevent reconstruction of distorted areas, you can use the Freeze Mask tool.

Reconstruct an entire image

Click Reconstruct in the Reconstruct Options area of the dialog box. Then, in the Revert Reconstruction dialog box, specify an amount and click OK.

Remove all distortions

Reconstruct part of a distorted image