Isn't there just an easy way to make the sticks spin like that? I don't need colour or anything, just want to know how the effect is done. Well I guess fractals could help...
It could also be done in Photoshop through the use of TRANSFORM WARP tool....
This is the image we'll be using... I'm using a layer of green lines with a slight ghostly glow over a black background layer so it's easier to see what's going on... And create the document at between 150 - 300 dpi in order to minimize on the jaggedness and discoloration caused by warping...
With the stick layer selected, and using the TRANSFORM WARP, click and drag any of the corner points or handles whichever way to to get the look you want....
You can also click and drag along the warp grid lines and/ or within the grid sections to warp and intersect the stick lines...
You can also use the distort filters. Here, I'm using SHEAR set to Wrap Around...
You can use any of the transform tools including WARP to distort the resulting image.
But here, I applied the Polar Coordinates filter set to Rectangular to Polar....
To get this.... a bit too extreme, but just to show you possibilities....
Note : Pressing CTRL + F applies the filter again and exaggerates the effect.
What I've presented here is the bigger picture - how to create the fractal-like image. For your use based on your sample, use small sections of the image positioned to your liking. And with the eraser tool or the use of masks layers to hide or fade unwanted areas, fine tune your "sticks image"....
Hope this helps you....