photoshop

So many different styles and methods though. For instance, I'd say a morpher like Project-P went through an entirely different process (no pun intended) than a morpher such as Magic or MarksMorph. Maybe a break down of certain tools you can use in Photoshop and how they can benefit you?

Liquify

Photoshop's Liquify tool is the beginning and the end for many newbie inflation artists, but it doesn't have to be. First of all, any warping tool has limits. One can push the pixels only so far before they turn to mush, or start looking like finger painting. For example, Filter > Distort > Spherize and the Liquify suite's Bloat tool do very much the same thing: they magnify the pixels in the center of a circular area more than those at the edge. Push the tool a little and the pattern under it appears to bulge. Push it too hard and the pixels turn to a hazy mush. To get the most out of this kind of warp, apply the tool twice at 50%. By using only half the intensity the first time, the pixels are magnified to a new state. Thus the second application is working on "new" pixels. Still, this technique has its limitations, too.

Another limitation of warping tools is that they can destroy the dimensionality of your image. Let's say you over-apply a bulge warp in a BE effect. Aside from possible mushy pixels, as noted above, the drape of a blouse or other garment suddenly looks wrong and two-dimensional. This is the "finger-painting" effect I mentioned above. When you get to this point, it is time to try other techniques in your art. (I will write about alternatives later, unless other artists in the community wish to chime in with their techniques.)

Last but not least, isolate your subject from the background. Warping a subject and having the background warp as well is as much a giveaway as the messed up drape and stretch of cloth mentioned above. The easiest way to break your image into Layers is to duplicate the original, then delete all but the subject of each Layer. For example, Layer 1 (the original "background") might be the background scene, while Layer 2 will be the inflatee. Deleting the unwanted material on the second Layer can be done manually with the Eraser, selecting areas with the Lasso, the Path tool, Alpha Channels, the Magic Wand or any number of other methods, then deleting the selection.

Once isolated, Layer 2 can be warped bigger without affecting the background. But suppose you want to make something smaller, like giving a woman a Jessica Rabbit tiny waist? You will then have a gap in the background that the originally wider waist used to cover. No problem, get out the "rubber stamp" Clone tool, or do a little painting with the Smudge tool on the first Layer. Of course, you might choose to replace the background entirely with a new scene.

(A tablet, like any of the fine tablets from Wacom, can make a big difference in many of Photoshop's tools. By varying the pressure of the stylus, one can vary the behavior of the tool. It is not necessary to buy a huge tablet. One of Wacom's smaller Bamboo tablets can be very effective. I've found tablets larger than a sheet of "letter" or "legal" size paper to be counterproductive. But if you have the money for a Wacom Cintiq, go for it. I'll be jealous.)

One final word: This "tutorial" has been about warping or "distorting" tools. "Morphing" is a combination warp and dissolve between two images, usually animated. Morphing tools are available for both Mac and Windows, some free, or very inexpensive, wile others are professional grade expensive. Much can be done with the cheaper variants. I'll go into morphing after a few words on compositing...

...next time on the Inflation Channel.