Segments

Author of the Photoshop Bible and host of the Martini Hour, Deke McClelland joins Bert this week to show you the Vanishing Point.

The Vanishing Point filter allows you to match the perspective of a scene. Deke uses a grimy subway stock photo as an example. The final result will be clean bricks done by manually removing the graffiti and the addition of nicer artwork and signage.

First, we will gather the asset which will repeat along the subway wall. Deke demonstrates how to remove an artwork from it's frame and remove the perspective to make a flat image. The image must be flat, because we will later give the art a new perspective that matches the subway. To do this, use the crop tool. Turn on the check for perspective, and you can drag the corners of your crop boundary to match the corners of the photo. Upon commitment to the crop, the image will be a flat rectangle. Place this image in your clipboard by selecting all, then using copy.

Insert this artwork on your subway walls by first creating a new layer. Use Filter > Vanishing Point and a utility window will pop up. Simply paste the artwork in your clipboard. When you drag the image around, it will adapt to the existing plane. You can use the transform tool within the Vanishing Point window and you can scale the image down while keeping within the perspective. Use Option+Drag to repeat the image on different parts of the subway wall. Click OK to see the final changes.

Create a new layer called Reflections. Use the filter Vanishing Point to set up a plane that will extend along the floor. Drag the bottom edge of the existing plane to extend the space. Shift+Option+Drag to duplicate the artwork and maintain the angle. Use the Transform tool and check the option called Flop. When you click OK, the changes are committed. Lower the opacity of the layer.