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.