Dots

Each dot is really a pair of two dots; one on each picture. The opposite dot is referred to as a partner dot. Each dot pair will be combined to an average location to generate your photo mix. For example, if you were mixing two face pictures and wanted the nose on the starting picture to mix into the nose on the ending picture, you should make sure that the dots you place around the nose in the starting picture are the partner dots of the dots that go around the nose in the ending picture.

The more dots you place on the pictures, the smoother your end results will be. Use the Add Dots tool, then click anywhere on the picture to add a new dot. You can also hold Alt and click when using the other dot tools to quickly add a dot without switching to the Add Dot tool.

Try to match dots to features found in both pictures (such as eyes, nose, mouth, etc. if you happen to be morphing images of people, for example). After you place your dots on the starting picture, match up the positioning of dots on both pictures by clicking and dragging the dots while using the Move Dots tool. Notice when you hover over a normal dot () that it will become highlighted with color () and that dot's partner dot will become highlighted in black and white (). When you click on a dot to select it for moving, it will also blink (), as will its partner dot (). If you click on the picture, but not on a dot, the Move Dots tool will act like the Pan tool for moving around the picture when zoomed in.

There are many combinations of keys which can be used to move dots more precisely. Shift+click will move dots only in a straight vertical or horizontal line, while Ctrl+click will select a dot without allowing any movement. When you have a dot selected, you can use the arrow keys to move the dot one pixel at a time. Hold Shift while using the arrow keys to move 10 pixels at once. Hold Ctrl and use the arrows to change which dot is currently selected for movement. Press delete to remove that dot and its partner dot from the pictures. Also, if you right-click on a dot, there is a menu with some common toolbar items on it.

To move multiple dots at once, use the Select Dots tool, then click on the picture and drag a box around the dots you want to move. Next, click on any of the selected dots to move them all around together. To add dots to your existing selection, Shift+click directly on a dot, or Shift+click on the picture and drag a box around some more dots. To remove dots from your selection, use Ctrl instead of Shift.

With the Select Dots tool, the arrow keys work opposite to how they work with the Move Dots tool. Pressing the arrow keys will move around the "cursor" on the dots, which may or may not be part of your selection. Hold Ctrl and use to arrows to move the dots which are currently selected. The spacebar will toggle the cursor dot in and out of the dots selected for movement.