Displacing Textures

page one
[Elements 2 users, you can save alphas by using Select > Save Selection. You can't see or edit your alphas but they will show up in the Lighting Effects dialog.
     The Ctrl-J shortcut for duplicating a layer or selection contents to a new layer is disabled in Elements 2. Use Layer > New > Layer via Copy instead.]
Elements offers limited texture wrapping via the Displace filter. Photoshop, which has alpha channels, is much more versatile, but Elements can be made to do a reasonable job, too.
     The Displace filter acts by moving pixels according to a displacement map. Any areas on the map which are darker than middle gray will move corresponding pixels in the image in one direction. Pixels in the map which are brighter than middle gray will move pixels in the image in the opposite direction. Pixels in the map which are middle gray will leave the corresponding area in the image unchanged.
     This effect works fairly well for simulating things such as text etched in wood or stone, or a footprint or handprint impressed into a soft material. It can also be used to simulate the displacement of a reflection in water.
     The example I’ll use in this lesson features a very loud texture so you can be sure and see the displacement effect. I don’t think you’d normally want to be so heavy-handed with a texture.
     Start with a new file. In the New dialog box, make the background white, and set resolution at 72 ppi.
     Make a new layer by clicking the New Layer button at the bottom of the Layers palette, or by choosing Layer > New > Layer.
     Go to the palette well, and grab the Swatches palette by its name tab. Drag it out of the well. Click on the little arrow in its upper right corner to access the palette menu. Choose ‘Small List’ from the options. From the list, click on ‘Dark Green Cyan.’ This will now become your foreground color.
     With the new layer you just created still selected in the Layers palette, press Alt-Backspace to fill it with the color just selected. Or, you can choose Edit > Fill and select Foreground from the menu in the dialog box.
     With that layer still selected, choose Filter > Texture > Texturixer. Use the settings shown below.

Note that in the Texture drop-down menu, you have the option of loading your own texture, though today I want to use the Burlap texture. I hope you will try playing with the Scaling and Relief sliders to see what they do.
     Shown below is a sample of the texture created by this procedure. At this point, you should have two layers. The bottom one is white, the second one has the green texture fill, shown.
     With the green layer selected, click on the New Layer button in the Layers palette. Go to the Swatches palette and click on the 50 % Gray swatch to make this your foreground color. With the new, empty layer still selected in the Layers palette, press Alt-Backspace to fill that layer with the gray you just chose.
     Press the D key on your keyboard, followed by the X key. The first will reset your colors to the default black and white. The second, X, will switch the two so that white is now the foreground color.
     Choose the custom shape tool in the toolbox. It’s hiding under the rectangular shape. Use the flyout to choose it, or simply pick the rectangular shape tool and then switch to the custom shape on its options bar.

In the custom shape tool’s options bar, click on the icon to the right of the word Shape. In the pop-up palette that appears, click on the little arrow in the upper right corner to access the palette menu. Click on ‘Arrows’ in that menu.

Older Tutorials
Quick Mask
Adjusting Contrast
Using Curves
Scanning Negatives
Rubberstamping
More Adjustments
Sharpening
Filters
Color

After you click OK, the white arrow on gray background layer will appear as a new document. Choose Image > Mode > Grayscale. An alert box will appear asking “Discard color information?” Click OK. Save the grayscale document in a place you can remember and then close it.
     Back in the original document, go to the History palette, and click on the Gaussian Blur state to reverse the layer merge.

In the Layers palette, click on the solid gray layer, and delete it.
     Click on the eyeball for the white arrow layer to turn off its visibility. Then click on the green texture layer to select it. Choose Filter > Distort > Displace. Use the settings shown.

When you click OK, you will then be expected to pick a displacement map. This is what you’ll see. Browse to find the image we just created from the duplicate layer, and click ‘Open.’

You’ll almost certainly be disappointed in the results. It’s very hard to see any change at all in your image following the Displace procedure. Be patient. You’ll see the results in a moment.
continue on page two

Copyright © 2002 by Jay Arraich.
All rights reserved.
All photographs copyright ©2002 by Jay Arraich
jay@arraich.com