Swerve
Swerve is a plug-in filter for Photoshop and other paint programs. It warps images by stretching them in a smooth or jagged way.
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->Swerve.
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. In PSP's menus, choose File-> Preferences->General Program Preferences... and click the Plug-in Filters tab. Use a "Browse"button to choose the folder. The plugin will appear in the menus as Image->Plug-in Filters->Flaming Pear->Swerve.
Swerve offers controls for basic warping and for 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.
Chop makes the distortion less smooth
The Chop Mode popup menu determines what kind of distruption is added by the Chop slider. There are four settings: normal, stripes, V, and stairsteps. To remove all chopping, choose the normal mode and set the Chop slider to zero.
Glue defines how the image produced by Swerve will combine with the original image. Normal mode replaces the original image entirely; the other modes produce a variety of colorful effects. Some of the modes are the same as those offered by Photoshop's layers.
Load (the red button) lets you open a settings file.
Save (the blue button) lets you save your settings in a file.
Randomize (the button with dice) chooses random values for all the controls. This is ideal for searching for new effects.
Variation (the button with a green wavy line) changes the randomness in the image. Clicking it will change the specific way the image is warped, but the overall look will be the same.
Try loading the settings files that come with Swerve 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 Swerve.
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1. Basic warping. Try these settings: Warping 20 This is a basic smooth warp with no chopping. To change the look of the warp, try different settings for Warping and Warp size. |
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2. Chopping. Use the same settings as for the first example, but increase Warping to 50, Chop to to 50, and choose the V-shaped item from the Chomp Mode popup menu. When Warp size is small, the individual distortion features in the picture become small too. |
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3. Wobbles. Use a small warp, a large warp size, and any chop mode you like. Set the glue mode to "exclusion." The small warp creates a new image barely different from the image you started with. When combined with the original, a visual echo is created. |
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4. Graphics hash. Use a very high Warp, a small Warp Size, high Chop and the normal Chop Mode. With settings this strong, an image can be turned into an abstract swirl of color. |
Click the dice button to see more effects.
You can place an order online here. A secure server for transactions is available.
If you prefer, you can place an order offline by using the "Register" program that comes with the software.
Purchasing the software removes the time limit. You will get an unlocking code by email in a message titled "Thanks for your payment."
Answers to common technical questions appear on the support page, and free upgrades appear periodically on the download page.
Trouble with your order? Orders are handled by Kagi, which can be reached at admin@kagi.com .
For bug reports and technical questions about the software, please write to lloyd@flamingpear.com .