Displacement map effect, Liquify effect – Adobe After Effects CS3 User Manual
Page 411
AFTER EFFECTS CS3
User Guide
406
Displacement Map effect
The Displacement Map effect distorts a layer by displacing pixels horizontally and vertically based on the color
values of pixels in the control layer specified by the Displacement Map Layer property. The type of distortion created
by the Displacement Map effect can vary greatly, depending on the control layer and options you select.
This effect works with 8-bpc, 16-bpc, and 32-bpc color.
Original (top left), displacement map (bottom left), and displaced image (bottom right)
The displacement is determined from the color values of the displacement map. The color values range from 0 to
255. Each value is converted into a scale ranging from -1 to 1. The displacement amount is calculated by multiplying
the converted value by the maximum displacement amount you specify. A color value of 0 produces maximum
negative displacement (–1 * maximum displacement). A color value of 255 produces maximum positive
displacement. A color value of 128 produces no displacement.
The effect uses the control layer specified by Displacement Map Layer, without considering any effects or masks. If
you want to use the control layer with its effects, precompose it. If the control layer isn’t the same size as the layer to
which the effect is applied, it is centered, stretched, or tiled depending on the setting for Displacement Map Behavior.
Select Expand Output to allow the results of the effect to extend beyond the original boundaries of the layer to which
it’s applied. Select Wrap Pixels Around to copy pixels displaced outside of the original layer boundaries to the
opposite side of the layer; that is, pixels pushed off the right side appear on the left side, and so on.
Rick Gerard provides additional explanation and an example project for the Displacement Map effect on his website:
Liquify effect
The Liquify effect lets you push, pull, rotate, enlarge and shrink areas in a layer. Several Liquify tools distort the brush
area when you hold down the mouse button or drag. The distortion is concentrated at the center of the brush area,
and the effect intensifies as you hold down the mouse button or repeatedly drag over an area.
You can limit the area of a layer you distort by using Freeze Area Mask. Use the Reconstruction mode to lessen or
undo distortions you’ve created.
The Liquify effect can extend beyond the boundaries of the target layer. This extension is useful when the target layer
is smaller than the composition.
This effect works with 8-bpc and 16-bpc color.