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What
is transforming?
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Transforming
changes an objects appearance by modifying one or more of
its physical characteristics. The transform functions in Photoshop
include scaling, rotating, skewing, changing perspective, distorting,
and flipping.
Photoshop
allows users to transform entire images, individual layers and/or
specific selections.
The
transforming options are located under the Edit menu
in the Transform fly-out menu (shown below).
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The
following are descriptions and illustrations of each kind of transformation,
beginning with an initial, un-tranformed bounding box:

- Rotate
rotates the bounding box clockwise (positive angle) or
counter-clockwise (negative angle):
- Skew
makes the image look like it is leaning. The top or bottom
of the bounding box shifts to the left or right, OR the left or
right side of the bounding box shifts up or down. The corner angles
of the bounding box change but the opposite sides remain parallel:
- Changing
perspective makes one part of the image look closer or
further away. The corner angles of the bounding box change; one
pair of opposite sides stays parallel while the other does not:
- Distort
makes
the image look oddly twisted. The corner angles of the bounding
box change, and no two sides are parallel:
- Flipping
reverses an image. The image can be flipped either horizontally
(reversing its left and right sides) or vertically (reversing
its top and bottom):
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How
do I transform a layer, image, or selection border?
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To
apply a transformation:
1)
Tell Photoshop what it is youd like to transform:
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To
apply a transformation to a layer, first select it in the Layers
tab.
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To
apply a transformation to an image, select the image using the
selection tools.
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To
apply a transformation to the selection border, make the desired
selection, then pull down the Select menu and choose
Transform Selection. (This lets Photoshop know you want
to transform the selection border itself, not the selected image.)
2) Pull
down the Edit menu and choose the desired transformation from
the Transform fly-out menu. A
bounding box with handles will appear around your selection.
3)
Drag the handles to make the desired change and view the results.
The bounding box stays visible.
4)
To apply additional transformations to the same selection, you can
repeat steps 2 and 3. (For example, you could select Scale
and drag a handle to scale the selection, and then select Distort
and drag a handle to distort the selection.)
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5)
To accept the transformation(s), press the Enter or Return
key, or click OK ( )
in the Options Bar. Press the Esc key, or click Cancel
( ) in the
Options Bar to cancel the transformation.
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Tip:
You can also use the Options Bar to enter specific numbers for
the desired rotation, skewing, etc. This can give you very accurate
control of transformations, if needed. |
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Some
examples
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In
the original image below, we selected the birdfeeder using the selection
tools, and then cut and pasted it onto a new layer. With the birdfeeder
on its own layer, we can transform it without affecting the rest
of the image.

Original Image
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In
this image, we scaled the birdfeeder down using the Scale transformation:

Scaled
Image
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In
this image, we rotated the birdfeeder using the Rotate transformation:

Rotated
Image
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In
this image, we skewed the birdfeeder using the Skew transformation:

Skewed
Image
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In this
image, we distorted the birdfeeder using the Distort transformation:

Distorted
Image
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In
this image, we changed the birdfeeder perspective using the Perspective
transformation:

Perspective
Image
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In
this image, we flipped the birdfeeder vertically:

Flipped
Image
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Copyright
© 2001, Bloomsburg University Virtual Training Help Center.
All rights reserved. This material may not be used without written
permission.
Contact Dr. Mary Nicholson at mjnich@bloomu.edu
The screenshots contained in this tutorial were created in Adobe
Photoshop 6.0.
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