A morphing sequence is the smooth transformation of one image to another.
This was earlier done using cross fading techniques in motion pictures. However,
to get a convincing shot, the transforming subject had to stay absolutely still
in front of a steady background. With the development of dedicated software, it
has become relatively simple. FantaMorph is one such morphing software for
enthusiasts and professionals alike. It uses hardware acceleration to provide a
real-time preview of your morphing sequence. This allows you to see the output
instantly, thereby eliminating the need of saving the project or rendering it.
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How to use
FantaMorph has a project wizard that guides you through the installation
process. By checking your computer's configuration, it informs you about the
morphing speed. You can choose the type of work you want to perform-morph, warp
or multiple morph. After importing the required images, you can crop or adjust
them as desired. You can also choose the length and display size of the output
image/movie. The green dots in the images below are called 'Key dots,' which
need to be placed on the major elements of the picture that would be morphed or
warped to define the transition. There is no limitation on the number of key
dots that can be placed on an image.
You can add, remove or scale them to the desired size. The more the number of
key dots the better the transition. Another interesting feature in FantaMorph is
real-time preview. The preview window uses hardware acceleration and displays
the preview of your completed work. On the left side of the preview window is
the effects toolbar. Using this you can add stunning effects such as background,
mask, foreground, and transition. The software comes with a small library of
these, and a whole range of other effects are available for free download from
its website.
Shown above is one example of what you can achieve using this software. You can extend this to create AVI clips, animated GIFs and SWFs for more intense professional applications |
The Pro version comes with two add-in features. One is the image viewer,
which provides a thumbnail view of images in a folder; and the second one an
image sequence packer. This allows you to import various images and then save
them as a flash animation file.