Chapter 9: Pixelate, Distort, and Render

Overview

As discussed in Chapter 8, although corrective filters enable you to eliminate image flaws and apply special effects, the filters that pixelate, distort, and render are all about special effects. These are the filters that modify your image in ways that can range from minor manipulation to total destruction ” twisting and turning content, shifting colors, creating the look of natural and unnatural substances, mimicking light sources ” the list goes on and on and. Of course this includes the results of using two or more of these filters in concert, for even more special effects.

Photoshop offers nearly twice as many of these "destructive filters" (as they're often termed) as corrective counterparts; therefore, each and every one of them is not explained in this chapter ” if we did cover each and every one, you'd need help carrying this book to the cashier. So, instead of covering each and every one of the destructive filters, this chapter focuses on the ones that you're likely to use most often, plus an additional handful of the less- often-used filters. After reading this coverage, you can apply what you've learned to the rest, experimenting on your own to find out about the ones not covered here. If that sounds like a plan, read on!