AV News 197 - August 2014
A d o b e P h o to s h o p - L iq u ify O v e rv ie w
Keith Scott FRPS
Occasionally readers seek advice about Photoshop problems to which I can
offer no simple solution, of course there can be many reason for this. Not
everyone seeking advice express their problems using standardised terminology
leaving me baffled as to what they are trying to describe. Sometimes I'm unable
to replicate their problem on my own equipment and therefore unable to find
either a work-around or appropriate remedy. One such request reminded me
that the subject in question 'Liquify' had never been mentioned before within
these pages, hence an incentive for this article. I'm assuming of course that your
version of Photoshop and 'Liquify' work correctly unlike the problematic version
used by our reader.
So what exactly is the 'Liquify' function within Photoshop? Liquify is a plug in
software program commonly known as a filter. It is accessed via the main 'Filter'
menu or shortcut keys Shift+Ctrl+X on a Windows based system or
Shift+Command+X on a Mac. The Liquify filter is a powerful tool used for
photographic editing or for creating artistic effects. Liquify can be applied to any
bitmap layer but it can't be applied to a layer that has been
converted to a 'Smart Object'. Liquify enables pixels to be pushed,
pulled, puckered, bloated, rotated or reflected, in this instance
reflected means mirrored. The Liquify filter is one of several filters
within Photoshop frequently used by commercial artists and photo
re-touchers to create improvements to the appearance of glamour
models, fashion models, and (usually female) celebrities in the
glossy magazines. It's especially good for tucking in tummies,
bottoms, reshaping arms, thighs or busts, and to a much lesser
extent nose and eyes. This is a great filter for reshaping larger body
parts, but it can of course be used on many other creative types of
image. However if you frequently retouch facial features then
'Anthropics Portrait Professional Studio' software offers a more
useful range of controllable facial editing functions. Portrait
Professional Studio can work as either stand alone software or as
a useful plug-in to Adobe Photoshop. For more information on
prices and versions of Anthropics Portrait Professional Studio
software visit their website at http://studio.portraitprofessional.com/
Back to the Liquify subject: It's always good practice to first
duplicate any image you wish to edit, simply create a copy layer
using Ctrl+J on a Windows system or Command+J on a Mac then
edit the duplicate layer leaving your original unaltered. After
opening the Liquify filter (Shift+Control+X) you will be presented
at the top left side of your screen with a small 'Toolbox' containing
essential tools, the tools available vary depending on which version
of Photoshop you use (CS6 shown).
From top to bottom these tools are named: Forward Warp,
Reconstruct, Twirl, Pucker, Bloat, Push, Freeze Mask, Thaw Mask,
Hand and Zoom. If using Photoshop CC you will have two
additional tools named Mirror and Turbulence.
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