Selected areas can be distorted, or warped using the Distort Tool. It allows you to distort selections and motifs in the directions that you drag the control handles. This tool is also very useful if you need to correct a distortion applied during scanning.
- Make a selection of the area you wish to distort.
- Click on the Distort Tool in the Tools Palette or press W on the keyboard to automatically select the tool. A box will appear around the selected area. When you move the cursor over the four inner nodes, you will see the cursor icon change to a four-way arrow.
Note: The four outer nodes (grey handles) are used to resize the selected motif. The four inner nodes (red handles) are used to distort the motif.
- Click down on one of the inner nodes and drag to a new position. The selected information will distort to a new shape.
- Or hold down ⌘ (command key) and click inside the selection to add new nodes. Hold down ⌘ again to move these nodes. When you drag them, they will distort the design within the selection. If you do not hold down ⌘ when you move a node, the selection will disappear.
Note: The Distort Tool normally works in draft mode to make it work faster. When the required distorted shape has been created, double click on the distort tool to update the distorted selection to best mode and improve its quality. The selected area will still be editable after distortion. You can undo the distort command in the normal way.
- When you have finished distorting the selection, go to Edit Menu > Select > None (⌘D) to deselect the shape.
Tip: To remove an unwanted node, hold down the command key and click on the node.
To learn about advanced distortion techniques, refer to the Advanced Distort.