AV News 197 - August 2014
If you create an active selection within your working layer before opening
Liquify then the Liquify filter will automatically turn your selection into a mask.
This mask allows manipulation of the area within the selection while freezing
the unselected area. If you wish to manipulate outside of this selected area click
the 'Invert All' button under 'Mask Options' on the right hand side control panel.
Note that for many editing procedures it's convenient and perhaps more
intuitive to paint any required mask with the 'Freeze Mask' tool after opening
the Liquify filter. The control panel
shown here (in its advanced mode)
is where settings are made to
control the behaviour of each Liquify
tool, i.e. brush size, density,
pressure etc. Some settings are
obvious and self explanatory
although the five symbols used for
'Masking Options' require some
clarification. From left to right they
are: 'Replace Selection', 'Add to
Selection', 'Subtract from Selection',
'Intersect with Selection', and 'Invert
Selection'. By hovering your curser
over the tiny drop down menu
arrows immediately to the right of
each 'Mask Option' a descriptive title
appears, however at first sight their
use isn't obvious or intuitive.
Two of the most important
buttons on this control panel are
entitled 'Reconstruct' and 'Restore
All'. If an error is made during
editing then these buttons can be
used to restore your work, either in
small controllable stages using the
'Reconstruct' button in conjunction
with the 'Reconstruct Brush', or
back to its original state quickly with
just one click using the 'Restore All'
button. Be aware however that for
retouching a human figure Liquify
should be used with great care,
patience, and subtlety. However if using Liquify for artistic or creative purposes
i.e. to alter the shape of clouds, trees, or other elements within a creative image
then subtlety can be disregarded. The topmost tool in the toolbox named
'Forward Warp' is the most basic tool provided but probably the most used. This
tool pushes pixels as you drag your mouse or stylus across an image.
Controlling the amount of pixels movement depends on the size of brush and
pressure setting selected in the contro [