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Part 2:

Okay, now that we have the base procedure for distorting our image, we can experiment with different variations.

This is my original image. You can can apply the various levels of twirl to it, or you can download this action, which will do all of that for you.

Once you've downloaded the action, you can load it into your Actions palette by choosing Load Actions… from the Action Palette options menu.

Using the Action

To use this action, after you have opened your image, and loaded the action, you will need to make a copy of your image background, and place it on its own layer. You can either choose Select All, from the Select menu, and do a copy and paste, or you can duplicate the background by dragging it onto the New Layer icon at the bottom of the layers palette.

Once this layer is created, you will have to rename it in order to make the action work correctly. Double-click the layer, and name it Layer 1.

Open the Actions palette. Locate the PSTutorial0001_Set, and select the action "Twirl-complexity". Click the Play button at the bottom of the palette. Now, sit back and watch the action run.

Okay, now you are set to move on to the next part of this tutorial.

Layer blending is a fun, and very interesting way to combine images in Photoshop. Select the top layer and play around with the different blending modes. What changes in the image? Make sure you try each blend.

Now, how do those blends change based on what the OTHER layers are doing? For example, set the top layer mode to Difference. Notice how the image changes. Set the layer below it also to Difference. See how the interactions change? What if all layers were set to Difference?

So, now you can see how a simple image of starfish can turn into a beautiful, rose-like, complex image.

Here are a few more examples (click the smaller image to see the full-sized image).

Guitar - 40K	Temple - 604K