We’ve discussed building symmetry effects in the last 2 posts using a simple MSG preset. This post shows off a different approach to building symmetry effects using interactive Translate warps.
The paint action sequence (PASeq) below was used to build the above image. The first action step just creates an abstraction from the source image using a simple MSG preset.
The second gallery image shows the MSG preset I used, and the 3rd gallery image shows the canvas after running the MSG preset.
I then used 2 interactive translate warps to quickly build up an interesting symmetry effect. The 4th gallery image above shows the result of the first translate warp. The 5th gallery image shows the final effect shown at the top of the post.
Interactive warp operation mode works by pressing in the mouse cursor while the cursor is over the canvas, and then moving the cursor. Based on where you started cursor movement with the mouse button pressed down, and where you move it to determines the warp effect.
Translate warp affects the entire canvas, so it’s like sliding the canvas around, but whatever edge you move to the interior generates a reflection mirror effect as that edge moves inwards.
Here’s another simple example below, using the source image as the starting point. The first gallery image shows off the interactive warp settings we’re using in this post. Note that we’re using the Translate warp. And we’re processing the Current Layer for our Source for the warp.
I started by drag and dropping the source image of the deer dancer from the source area to the canvas. Drag and dropping the source preview into the canvas is equivalent to erasing the canvas to the source image. This created the canvas image shown in the 2nd gallery image. I then used 2 interactive translate warps in succession, as shown in the 3rd and 4th gallery images above to create my final symmetry effect.
The best way to get a feel for the kind of effects you can generate with translate warp is to just try it out on some images. It’s a quick interactive effect, and by using multiple combinations of it on a single image you can create all kinds of interesting effects.
