Distortion filters overview

Distortion filters are used to change the shape of layers—warping, twisting, and pulling them in different directions.

There are 27 Distortion filters:

  • Black Hole distorts an image by causing part of it to disappear into the specified center point, bowing the top, bottom, and sides inward.

  • Bulge distorts an image as if forced outward by something pushing from behind.

  • Bump Map uses a source object to define a bump pattern that’s used to displace an image.

  • Disc Warp stretches the object outward around a circular region.

  • Droplet simulates the effect of a drop of liquid falling onto the surface of a pool.

  • Earthquake creates an animated displacement effect on an object.

  • Fisheye distorts an object as if it were seen through the view of a fisheye lens.

  • Flop reverses an object horizontally, vertically, or in both directions.

  • Fun House simulates the distortion caused by an imperfectly shaped mirror, similar to those in a carnival fun house.

  • Glass Block cuts an object into a series of tiles, creating a duplicated pattern effect.

  • Glass Distortion simulates the effect of the object being deformed as it shows through a piece of glass.

  • Insect Eye maps a repeating hexagonal distortion pattern to an image, mimicking the POV of an insect.

  • Mirror splits an object in half vertically and reverses the remaining half to create a reflection.

  • Page Curl animates an object as if it is a page peeling away.

  • Poke distorts an object by bowing the edges inward.

  • Polar converts images from rectangular coordinates to polar coordinates, and vice versa.

  • Refraction creates a glass-distortion effect on an image.

  • Ring Lens creates a ring of distortion over the image, creating a donut-like bulge.

  • Ripple creates animated ripples over the surface of an object.

  • Scrape smears an image along an angle.

  • Sphere simulates the effect of an image wrapped around a sphere.

  • Starburst radiates solid-colored rays out from the center of your layer.

  • Stripes turns an image into a series of vertical stripes.

  • Target draws bands of concentric circles outward from the center point value.

  • Twirl twirls an image like a fork twisting a plate of spaghetti.

  • Underwater applies an animated distortion to an image, simulating a view through water.

  • Wave distorts an image to simulate waves oscillating across it.