That Radial Wavy D-Map

[Stroker]

This starts with Rotate Variations.
In particular, the second half.
(Not one of my better discussions. It's a mess that I have yet to clean up.)

Let's do something along the same lines, except with the Zoom Cube:


Start a new document. Mine is 200x200.
Make your Zoom Cube. I do mine by going to the individual channels and laying down a linear gradient. As a matter of preference, I fill the Blue channel with 50% gray.
Start a new Alpha and do something like the following with an Angle gradient:



Pretty spiffy. Just make sure the ends are the same. Both either black or white. Mine ends are white.

If you want, copy it and do the next stop on the copy. Copying before a step is a reflex that I have. Too many hours lost to not copying before operating. :sigh:

Run Image > Adjust > Curves (ctrl + m) like so:



Alright. Time to slap it all together. Use the Curved Alpha as a mask for an Invert Adjustment Layer.



Again, as a matter of preference, I have the Zoom Cube on it's own layer with a 50% gray background beneath it. This is so I can easily add tweaks if I feel the need.

Save it as a PSD to be used as a D-Map. Pick a target and get busy with Displace.

That's about all of the strength I have for right now.
Few more things that I want to touch on to come later.

[wbiss]

Another 'fun' technique to play with! Thanks Stroker!

[Stroker]

Blah! I've lost my taste for mini-tuts in favor of wasting my time practicing painting.

I hope you've had fun playing with it, Wendy.

Now, remember some of the chat about "tandemness"? You can, of course, use that idea to make a wavy mask to match the distortion from the D-Map.

In the target document that you ran Displace on:
Start a new Alpha.
Paint some white blobs, probably best to keep the edges tight.
Run Displace on it just like you did the target photo/whatever.
Use the result as a mask.

Or, in a new Alpha:
Clouds/Difference Clouds to taste.
Levels to really tighten it up with out edges being too hard.
Displace just like the photo/whatever.
Use as a mask.

Doesn't that sound awlfully familiar? Pretty much how I made the mask in the other mini-tut concerning borders (except I used Dry Brush instead of Displace).

Even with out graphics, which I am too lazy to make, I'm sure you get the idea.

"Tandemness" is good. Many uses, even beyond creating a matching layer mask.

[wbiss]

I haven't had time to 'play' yet... but will get around to doing
so eventually Stroker! ;)

Tx for added tips/sugggestions/advice!

What happened to all your images here? They're gone! :(|