Twist

What it does

Twist distorts images by smearing them around in a smooth or turbulent way.

How to install

Illustrated installation instructions are online.

To use this software, you need a paint program which accepts standard Photoshop 3.0 plugins.

Just put the plug-in filter into the folder where your paint program expects to find it. If you have Photoshop, the folder is Photoshop:Plugins:Filters or Photoshop:Plug-ins. You must restart Photoshop before it will notice the new plug-in. It will appear in the menus as Filters->Flaming Pear->Twist.

Most other paint programs follow a similar scheme.

If you have Paint Shop Pro: you have to create a new folder, put the plug-in filter into it, and then tell PSP to look there.

PSP 7:

Choose the menu File-> Preferences-> File Locations... and choose the Plug-in Filters tab. Use one of the "Browse" buttons to choose the folder that contains the plug-in.

The plugin is now installed. To use it, open any image and select an area. From the menus, choose Effects->Plug-in Filters->Flaming Pear->Twist.

PSP 8, 9, and X:

Choose the menu File-> Preferences-> File Locations... In the dialog box that appears, choose Plug-ins from the list. Click "Add." If you are using PSP 8 or 9, click "Browse". Now choose the folder that contains the plug-in.

The plugin is now installed. To use it, open any image and select an area. From the menus, choose Effects->Plugins->Flaming Pear->Twist.



Controls

When you invoke Twist, a dialog box will appear:

Quick start
If you just want to see some effects quickly, click the dice button until you see something you like; then click OK. Using the dice is the easiest way to use Twist. If you want to hand-tune your own effects, it helps to learn the controls, which are explained below.		dice

Settings
Twist offers controls for warping, streaks, and adding extra distortion. Warping is the strength of the distortion, ranging from 0 (no distortion) to 100 (maximum). Warp size is the scale of the distortion features. Low values give many small wiggles, and high values give fewer, larger wiggles. Streaks adds fine lines in the image which run in the direction of the smearing. Streak Size lets you choose narrow or wide lines. Twist changes the angle of the smearing. Chop adds extra fractal variation to the smearing pattern.

Things to try
Try loading the settings files that come with Twist to see what it can do, or click the dice until you see something you like. Here are some example effects that you can do. Open a favorite picture for these examples -- you won't see anything if you start with a blank canvas. Select part of the picture, and invoke Twist.
1. Basic smearing. Use these settings: Warping 20 Warp size 50 Streaks 20 Streak size 20 Chop 65 This is Twist's most typical effect. To get smoother curves, reduce Chop. Larger values give a more convoluted effect.
2. Blobs. Use the same settings as for the first example, but increase Warping, decrease Warp size, and set Streaks to zero. When Warp size is small, the individual distortion features in the picture become small too.
3. Chemicals. To get this effect, you need three main ingredients: -Very small Warp Size -Very large Chop -The Glue mode shown here is "difference." The various glue modes can produce new colors not present in the original image.
4. Runny paint. Warping 12 Warp size 50 Streaks 50 Streak size 70 Chop 65 When Streak size is large compared to Warping, the streaks become blobs of light and dark. Very small Streak size values produce a fine, feathery look.

Other controls
Dice The dice choose a random effect. Click as much as you want to see different effects. Random seed Clicking changes only the random pattern, and leaves everything else the same. Glue mode popup menu Lets you combine the result with the underlying image in various ways. Modes other than "normal" produce special effects. The next-glue button advances to the next glue mode. Plus, % and minus buttons: These zoom the preview in and out. Drag the preview to move it. Load preset Twist comes with some presets, which are files containing settings. To load one, click this button and browse for a preset file. Save preset When you make an effect you like, click this button to save the settings in a file.  Undo backs up one step. OK  Applies the effect to your image. Cancel  Dismisses the filter, and leaves the image unchanged.		dice random seed next glue load preset save preset undo

Versions Version 1.55 June 2007 Fixes a problem where the plug-in wouldn't remember its registration when it was installed in one user account but activated in another. Version 1.4 July 2004 Works in 16-bit color. Version 1.3 December 2003 Recordable as a Photoshop action. Version 1.25 September 2003 Adds more glue modes and the next-glue button. Version 1.22 February 2003 Adds more glue modes and fixes a crash that could happen when using the menus under Windows XP. Version 1.21 December 2002 Adds new glue modes: Color, Luminance, Linear Light, and Pin Light. Fixes the appearance of text in the interface when running under Mac OS X 10.2.3 . Version 1.2 February 2002 Adds previews in the preset browser. Version 1.1 September 2001 Adds an Undo button. Version 1.0 September 1999 First release.

How to Purchase

You can place an order online here. A secure server for transactions is available.

Questions

Answers to common technical questions appear on the support page.

For bug reports and technical questions about the software, please write to support@flamingpear.com .