Nicola's Baby Blog

Morphing Images

For those who are into web design, creating computer graphics and altering digital photographs, like I am, there are a few must-have pieces of software.  Some people will swear by the bigwigs - you know, the programs that cost an arm and a leg and normally take up half your hard drive – while others support open source software, created by some of the Internet’s greatest minds, who aren’t asking you to re-mortgage your home for the privilege of using it.  But whether you choose the professional/expensive option or the sometimes-bugged but very affordable option, we all have our favorites.  A healthy hard drive, in my opinion, holds a bit of both and everything in between.

Over the years, I have found amazing programs.  Some help you create new designs, while other simply make your life easier by helping you skip a few steps to reach your design goal.  And once I find something that does the desired job efficiently, I stick with it.  I still use some of the software that I acquired quite a few years ago.

One such piece of software, which I imagine I’ll still be using in years to come, is Morpheus Photo-Morpher.  The program allows you to quickly and easier morph one image into another.  For example, you could morph the picture of a baby into that of an adult.  Use images of objects to morph into one another.  Change yourself into Marilyn Monroe.  Or better yet, morph your annoying little brother into an alien.  Just joking.

The resulting morphed files can be saved in various formats making it easier than ever to embed your animation into a website or blog.  With easy-to-use tools and professional results, you’ll be creating Hollywood-style graphics in no time.  The possibilities are endless.

How does it work?  You simply create ‘dots’ on your start image and then move the corresponding dots on the end image so that the program knows which two spots on each image correspond to each other.  For instance, mark the centre of the left eye with a dot on the start image.  A dot will appear in the same location on the end image.  You’ll need to move that dot on the end image so that it lands in the centre of the left eye.  When the image is animated, you’ll see that one eye literally morphs into the other.  The more dots you use, the smoother the morph will be.

Here is a screen shot from my morph: 

Click to see the larger version

You’ll see that my start image is on the left, my end image is in the middle and the right pane holds the morphed animation.  If I hit the ‘play’ button above that animation, my morph plays so that I can test it out.  Not smooth enough?  Just add more dots or move the dots around.

The program is easy and it’s fun.  No technical skills are required.  It really is that simple.  Click here to check it out for yourself.

This post has been sponsored by Zoombli

Advertizers!
Click here to have me blog about you via PayPerPost Direct!

12.9.07 21:39