Perspective Warp in Photoshop – Change Perspective of Objects!
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Perspective Warp in Photoshop changes the perspective of any object by drawing a grid over it in Layout mode and dragging the pins in Warp mode.
Learn how to change the perspective of ANYTHING In Photoshop!
Key Takeaways
- Perspective Warp has two modes. In Layout you draw grid quadrants that match the lines in the photo. In Warp you drag the pins to change the perspective.
- Convert the layer to a Smart Object first. The warp stays editable, and a double-click on the Perspective Warp label reopens it.
- Quadrants snap together when an edge highlights in blue. The grid has to cover the whole photo, or you get odd distortions.
- Shift-click a grid line to straighten it and lock its two points together. Shift-click it again to unlock them.
- Anything above the horizon line shows its bottom. Anything below it shows its top. Match that before you warp an object into a scene.
- A Smart Object of flat rectangles, warped once, becomes a template that puts any graphic in perspective.
Table of contents
- What You Will Learn
- Requirements
- Keyboard Shortcuts
- Perspective Warp in Photoshop Guide
- Step 1: Create The Layout
- Step 2: Warp The Object
- Perspective Warp and Compositing
- Change The Perspective of a Room in Photoshop
- Change The Perspective of a Building in Photoshop
- Apply a Logo in Perspective in Photoshop
- Apply a Graphic in Perspective to Multiple Planes
- Step 1: Create Rectangles
- Step 2: Convert to Smart Object
- Step 3: Apply Perspective Warp
- Step 4: Add Graphic
- Step 5: Adjust Blend If Option
- Step 6: Add Another Texture
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Conclusion
- Related Links
What You Will Learn
- How to build a Perspective Warp grid that matches the lines of an object
- How to switch between Layout and Warp mode and drag the pins
- How the horizon line decides what a composite should look like
- How to change the perspective of a room and a whole street of buildings
- How to place a logo on the floor in perspective
- How to build a Smart Object template that applies any graphic to several planes
Requirements
Before you start
- Photoshop 2023 or the current version. Perspective Warp has been in Photoshop since Photoshop CC 2014.
- Use Graphics Processor turned on in Preferences > Performance. Perspective Warp is grayed out in the Edit menu without it.
- A photo with an object, a room, or a building whose perspective you want to change, or the practice files below
Practice Files
Download the files used in this tutorial and follow along step by step.
Keyboard Shortcuts
| Action | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Switch to Layout view | L | L |
| Switch to Warp view | W | W |
| Go from Layout to Warp, or commit the warp | Enter | Return |
| Scale or extend a grid in perspective | Shift drag | Shift drag |
| Straighten a line and lock its points, or unlock them | Shift click the line | Shift click the line |
| Pan around the canvas | Space drag | Space drag |
| Disable or enable a layer mask | Shift click the mask | Shift click the mask |
| Sample with the Clone Stamp Tool | Alt click | Option click |
| Move Tool | V | V |
| Duplicate while dragging | Alt drag | Option drag |
| Free Transform | Ctrl T | Command T |
| Duplicate the selected layers | Ctrl J | Command J |
| Select a range of layers | Shift click | Shift click |
| Split a Blend If slider | Alt click | Option click |
Perspective Warp in Photoshop Guide
Start by opening up the document you want to work with.
In our example, we have a background layer and a crate that we want to adjust the perspective of.
I’ve already masked out the crate from its background.
Tip: To disable a layer mask, hold Shift (Windows) or Shift (macOS) and click on the mask thumbnail. A red X appears over it. The same click brings it back.
Convert it to a Smart Object, so we can make non-destructive changes to it later on.
Go to Edit menu > Perspective Warp.
You’ll see a new workspace where you can create a grid to match the perspective of your object.
Step 1: Create The Layout
Click and drag over the crate to create a grid, and use the handles to match the perspective of the object.
Adjust the lines by clicking and dragging, and if you hold Shift (Windows) or Shift (macOS), you can scale in perspective up and down.
Once you’ve created the first quadrant, you can move on to the second and third quadrants, using the same process to match the perspective of the crate.
When you’re finished, you’ll have a complete grid that matches the perspective of the object.
Step 2: Warp The Object
Click on the Warp icon, or use W (Windows) or W (macOS) to switch to the Warp view.
You can also tap L (Windows) or L (macOS) to switch back to the Layout view.
Note: In Layout view, Enter (Windows) or Return (macOS) takes you to Warp view. Press it again in Warp view to apply the changes. Because the layer is a Smart Object, you can double-click the Perspective Warp label in the Layers panel at any time to go back and adjust the warp.
Drag on the points to completely change the perspective of the crate.
Straighten lines by holding Shift (Windows) or Shift (macOS) and clicking, and you can straighten all lines vertically or horizontally with the icons in the toolbar.
Once you’re happy with the changes, press Enter (Windows) or Return (macOS).
Perspective Warp and Compositing
In any scene, you have a ground plane and a sky, and the horizon line where they meet.
Anything above the horizon line, you’ll be able to see the bottom of it, and anything below the horizon line, you’ll be able to see the top.
Understanding this concept is crucial to making your composites look realistic.
Change The Perspective of a Room in Photoshop
First, let’s start with the room.
Always start by converting your layer into a Smart Object so that you can keep it editable.
Go to Edit > Perspective Warp.
Zoom out to have more room to work with and hold Space (Windows) or Space (macOS) as you drag to pan.
Create a grid and use the lines already found in the image to align the quadrant to it.
When it highlights in blue, release and Photoshop will snap it into place.
You can adjust it accordingly to match the perspective.
Warning: The quadrants need to cover the entire photo to avoid weird distortions.
If you have something that looks like this, tap W (Windows) or W (macOS) to switch over into Warp mode.
Then click on this corner handle to rotate the room in perspective.
Click and drag on the other points to better adjust your image.
Keep adjusting the Perspective Warp until you have something that looks like this.
To fix the transparent areas, use a new Layer and enable the Clone Stamp Tool.
Hold Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) and click to sample. Then align and paint.
Tip: In the Options Bar, set Sample to All Layers. That lets the Clone Stamp Tool sample the room while you paint on the empty layer.
Commit the changes and click on the Eye icon to see the before and the after.
Before:
After:
Change The Perspective of a Building in Photoshop
Now, let’s move on to the building.
Right-click on the layer and choose Convert to Smart Object.
Go to Edit > Perspective Warp.
Select a smaller portion of the building.
Hold Shift (Windows) or Shift (macOS) and drag out to extend the grid.
Adjust the grid to make sure that it covers all the buildings.
Create a grid on the opposite side, make sure that it snaps into place, and adjust the grid to match the perspective.
Tap W (Windows) or W (macOS) and from here hold Shift (Windows) or Shift (macOS), click on the center line, and drag to change the perspective of that street.
Apply a Logo in Perspective in Photoshop
We’ll use Perspective Warp to make it seem like the logo is on the floor.
Using the same steps, Convert it into a Smart Object.
Then, Edit > Perspective Warp.
Create just one grid.
Tap W (Windows) or W (macOS) to enter the Warp mode.
Use the corner handles to match the perspective in the scene.
Match the lines of the grid to the lines found in the photo.
To unlink the lines, hold Shift (Windows) or Shift (macOS) and click on them again.
Press Enter (Windows) or Return (macOS) to commit the changes.
Hold Shift (Windows) or Shift (macOS) and click on the line to join two points together.
It will turn yellow and you can drag it accordingly.
Now the logo is on the ground in perspective.
For a more realistic effect, change the Blending Mode to Soft Light and you can use any other blending technique to blend the logo better with the background.
Apply a Graphic in Perspective to Multiple Planes
We’ll take a look at how to create a perspective template that can be used to apply any graphic with ease.
Step 1: Create Rectangles
Enable the Rectangle tool from the Options Bar, with Shape enabled and Fill set to black.
Create a rectangle by drawing it on your canvas.
Press V (Windows) or V (macOS) to enable the Move tool and hold Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) while dragging to the side to duplicate the rectangle
Make the second rectangle white to see the difference.
Press CtrlT (Windows) or CommandT (macOS) to transform and scale it down.
Then select both rectangles by holding Shift (Windows) or Shift (macOS) and clicking on them from the Layers panel.
Duplicate them by pressing CtrlJ (Windows) or CommandJ (macOS) and move the duplicates to the left side.
Step 2: Convert to Smart Object
Click on the top rectangle, hold Shift (Windows) or Shift (macOS), and click on the bottom one to select all rectangles.
Right-click and convert them into a Smart Object. This will be our template.
Step 3: Apply Perspective Warp
Go Edit > Perspective Warp.
Create a grid that follows each of the rectangles.
Press W (Windows) or W (macOS) to enable the Warp mode, then drag on the pins to match the perspective on the steps.
This process might take you some time, but be as accurate as you can.
If you’re having difficulty seeing the background, change the Blending Mode to Color.
Once you have something that looks good, commit the changes by pressing Enter (Windows) or Return (macOS).
Step 4: Add Graphic
Double-click on the Smart Object Thumbnail to open up the Smart Object in a new tab.
Add whatever graphic you like over the squares.
You can drag a texture from the Libraries panel and scale it to fit the black square.
Commit the changes and duplicate them by holding Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) and dragging it over to the other side.
Click Save and you’ll have something like this.
Tip: Change the Blending Mode to Multiply and the white pixels disappear, so only the texture shows on the steps.
Step 5: Adjust Blend If Option
Double-click on the side of the layer to bring up the Layer Style window.
Under the Underlying Layer Blend If option, hold Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS).
New to these sliders? The Blend If guide explains how the split works.
Create a smooth transition between visible and invisible pixels on the shadows by splitting it in half to make it more realistic.
You’ll see the highlights pop through on this step when you do the same thing on the other side.
Step 6: Add Another Texture
You can always add another texture.
Drag it into the canvas, disable any layers covering it, and adjust the scale.
Save and go back into your working document to see the result.
Frequently Asked Questions
Go to Edit > Perspective Warp. Convert the layer to a Smart Object first so the warp stays editable. Photoshop opens a workspace where you draw a grid that matches the perspective of your object.
Perspective Warp needs the graphics processor. Go to Preferences > Performance and turn on Use Graphics Processor. Once it is on, Perspective Warp becomes available in the Edit menu.
Layout is where you draw the grid quadrants and match them to the lines in the photo. Warp is where you drag the pins to change the perspective. Tap the L key for Layout and the W key for Warp, and press Enter on Windows or Return on macOS to commit.
Hold Shift and click on the line. Photoshop straightens it, turns it yellow, and locks its two points so they move together. Hold Shift and click the line again to unlink the points. The icons in the toolbar straighten every line vertically or horizontally at once.
Yes, as long as the layer was a Smart Object before you applied the warp. Double-click the Perspective Warp label under the layer in the Layers panel and the grid reopens, ready to adjust.
Convert the logo to a Smart Object and go to Edit > Perspective Warp. Draw one grid, tap the W key, and drag the corner handles until the grid lines match the lines on the floor. Press Enter on Windows or Return on macOS, then set the Blending Mode to Soft Light so the logo blends with the ground.
The horizon line is where the ground plane meets the sky. You see the bottom of anything above it and the top of anything below it. When you warp an object into a scene, match it to that rule or the composite will look wrong.
Conclusion
Congratulations! You now know how to use Perspective Warp in Photoshop.
To push the same idea further, try the perspective-bending effect in Photoshop, where the ground folds up at a right angle along the horizon.
If you have a question about Perspective Warp, leave a comment on the video.
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