A while back we demonstrated how to make a magnifying glass using simple masking. Although this masking technique works very well, it cannot be used to simulate fish-eye type lenses or other lenses that result in distortion of the image.  Using the Flash 8 displacement filter, we have created a new component that simplifies the creation of lenses that show distortion.

The lens outline can be made invisible which allows the user to distort areas of an image in a seamless manner. The image below is an example of such distortions. The left most image is the unaltered image, the middle image shows its head expanded using a magnify lens and the right most image shows its head reduced using a reducing lens.

This component will work with SWiSH Max3 and miniMax3 with build dates of 20091130 or later, and although the component is not included with the 20091130 build’s installer, it can be download here.

After downloading it, extract both files within the zip file to:

C:\Program Files\SWiSH Max3\Components\Effects\2D\

Note that the exact location may be different depending on where you installed Max3. The component will also be included with future versions of Max3 and miniMax3 within the Effects\2D\ component group.

Other lens effects are possible and they are demonstrated in the flash file below. Note that for most of the demonstrated effects, you can drag the lens with the mouse. Press the next button to cycle through some of the possible variations.

To use the Lens component, drag it onto the stage and expand it in the Outline panel. Insert the items that you which to place “under” the lens into the container movie clip. As you place items into the container movie clip, note that the component will align them so that the top left most item is aligned with the container clip top left hand corner. This alignment is necessary for the component to work correctly. Once you have added your items, the testmovie movie clip can be deleted.

The default position of the lens can be adjusted by dragging the lensoutline object. The color of the lens outline can be altered using the properties panel for the lens outline. Do not alter any other properties such as name, width, height, _x or _y scale. Altering any of those properties will prevent the component from working correctly.

The component also has the following methods:
SetLensPosition(xpos:Number,ypos:Number) – move the lens to the selected x,y position within the component. the position is with respect to top right hand corner.

SetStrength(s:Number) – change the strength of the lens. This is the same as altering the Strength parameter. – values tend to reduce the size, + values tend to magnify. Typically values should be < 150, although for fisheye lens types higher values work well.

Notes:

Due to a limitation of flash 8 filters, the component will not work correctly if scaled or placed inside of a movie clip that is scaled.

If scaling is applied, the lens area as defined by the parameter Diameter will not be altered, however the overlaying lens outline (and mask) will be scaled and moved according to the scaling that is applied.

You can however scale the objects within the container movie clip to make the source object larger or smaller.

Source .swi for the example movie demonstrated above, can be downloaded from here.

I hope you enjoy using this new component.

Tags: displacement filter, effect, filter, lens

This entry was posted on Monday, March 1st, 2010 at 9:23 am and is filed under Max3, components, miniMax3. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.