displace filter

[Klaude]

I followed along step by step the article "displaced art" in Volume 4, Number 2 and I can't get the flag to distort to the wall map.

[GaryK]

Hi Klaude

Welcome to the forums.:)

I haven't tried the tut from the newsletter yet. I do know that the displacement map filter is kind of hard to sort out. I still have to follow instructions to get it to work.

What seems to be happenning on your end?

[Wendy]

Hi Klaude ...

... and welcome to the forum :)

Just let us know where abouts in the tutorial you are having problems and hopefully we will be able to help you ...

Wendy

[Klaude]

I think I figured it out. I had to convert the flag into a RGB file and save the distortion map in the distorttion map file under the plug-in file. The tutorial didn't mention these two steps, maybe I was supposed to already know about them.

Thanks
Klaude:)

[Klaude]

In the last posting I should have said "Displacement map" instead of "Distortion Map":eek:

[GaryK]

Klaude

I never noticed... and distortion map is probably closer to the truth.:D

I would say that any tutorial (at least any I've come across) assumes the file is RGB unless otherwise stated. That would even go, for a black and white.:)

[j johnny]

Hi Klaude,

Thanks for that bit about where to save the file. A while ago I had tried the tut from Wendy and had the same problem. Then seeing the tut in the new issue I tried it and was surprised to see that the undo folder was without showing the fliter being applied.

Stay well,
J

[Wendy]

Hi ...

There isn't a special place to save the file to ... you can save it to anywhere you like.

If you look at the tutorials at the top of the page (Page 26 .. Vo1 4 No 2) you will see that Sarah says. "Save this file as a PSD file. You can close it, but remember where you saved the image because you'll have to load it when you use the Displace Filter".

Then in Step 5 ... near the bottom she says " Browse to where you saved the map file, highlight it, and click Open".


Wendy

[Klaude]

Wendy

For some reason when I saved it someplace else it wouldn't work. I didn't have any trouble finding the map file, but until I moved it using the browser, the filter wouldn't work.

Any Ideas?

Thanks
Klaude

[graficalicus]

the filter *should* prompt you to navigate to wherever you saved it - -

One thing I've found while using that filter is to create the map itself (the .psd file you save to use as a "map") as a high-contrast grayscale - and really boost the blacks & whites (that's how the map reads the file to create the distortion effect - it peaks and valleys based on white, gray or black areas)

So, before saving the map, add a Hue/Sat adjustment layer above it and remove the saturation - then add a Brightness/Contrast adjustment and tweak as desired - then save the "map".

[Wendy]

Hi Klaude ...

What a strange problem ... its the same image so where you load it from shouldn't make an difference at all. Are you sure that you saved is as a flattened psd file ?

Wendy :)

[Codebreaker]

One thing I remember about the Displacement Filter is that its a little bit picky about the path name to the file. If its too long it wont find the map.

Colin

[Wendy]

Hi Colin ...

Oh that must be a Windows issue ... on the Mac it doesn't have that problem. It certainly could account for some of the problems Klaude has :)

Wendy

[graficalicus]

I don't think it's a Windows issue, either -

Click Filter>Distort>Displace, and the Displace dialog opens where you can choose your scaling, stretching/tiling & wrap options:

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f219/graficalicus/Displace.gif

When you're finished with this screen, click OK - next, the "Choose a Displacement Map" dialog will open, where you can navigate around your system to select a .psd to use :confused:

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f219/graficalicus/DisplaceMap.gif

[Wendy]

Hi Grafi ..

Colin suggested it may be a path issue ... so does it still load OK if its buried deep within a series of folders ?

Must admit that when I do one of these I usually save it on the desktop ... so thats a short path and its also easy to find :D :D

Wendy

[graficalicus]

I don't see why it *wouldn't* work - you're prompted to browse for it, so you can store it anywhere you want - desktop, external HD, CD, . . .

All I can think of is that maybe a path isn't available (if you stored it on an external drive or disk, and the drive or disk isn't loaded?)

Must admit that when I do one of these I usually save it on the desktop

Ditto - esp. since it's usually just a temporary image I only made to create the map!

[Wendy]

Hi Grafi ...

I would have thought so too ... certainly on the Mac it works that way, it loads no matter where it is :)

Wendy

[Codebreaker]

It just doesn't work if the path is too long - even though you can browse for it nothing happens. This is particularly a problem on Windows when the default folder is My Pictures because this is actually a shortcut that starts of with...

C:\Documents and Settings\Colin\My Documents\My Pictures

Then you have the folders for the images. If the number of characters gets too many you run into problems.

Colin

[Wendy]

Hi Colin ...

Thanks for the info ... I will make a note of it in case there are problems in the future :)

Wendy

[TonyW]

Probably irrelevant to the discussion but the only problem I've had with saving displacement map psd files is that I usually have that maximize compatability preference turned off to reduce file size. When you do that the psd file doesn't contain the composite image and that's what the displacement map uses. Elements does tell you when you try and use it although the way it tells you is a bit cryptic.

Tony

[Wendy]

Hi Tony ...

I don't use maximise compatability ... what I do when save a file for a displacement map is flatten the image and then save it as a psd :)

Wendy

[j johnny]

Hi All,

Codebreaker has it correct. That's why in my earlier reply I noted that the undo history failed to show the displace filter being applied. And yes that was after locating the file where it was saved as a PSD. It worked well by saving it to the plugin folder. I'm PC based. XP

Stay well,
J