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The liquify effect is only somewhat what I was asking for, though it could be easily expanded to a very useful tool and not just an effect. The liquify effect is a warping tool, but it is not precise.

With the ability to grab and drag grid points to control the warping effect, I can level objects within layers in relation to each other, specially shape images such as text, or provide realistic spatial effects in image editing or combining. These powerful effects are almost impossible using a brush, or even region type point systems.

For example, say I wish to add text to a photo with a flat top and a perfectly curved bottom. I can use the circle text function to create the arc, but it may be too circular for my needs, and controlling the warp of the top to flatten the text has to be extremely precise to prevent the text from looking amateur and cartoonish. With the grid, I would use snap to grid and drag the corresponding points straight up until all of the letters were on a flat plain. I could then turn off the snap to grid feature and carefully adjust the bottom grid points to get the exact curve necessary.

I think too many people underestimate the usefulness and power of the warp tool and tend to think of it as more of a toy, when it is actually a powerful drawing and editing tool for someone that knows how to use it. I thought of trying to make such a warping tool as an 8bf plugin. However, a person needs to see more than the affected layer when applying the warp, in most cases, to get the desired effect right, so sending the handle to a single layer would be ineffective.


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