Custom Distort for printing on non-flat media

[maho]

Big picture: I'm using PhotoLine to make an image, to be "printed" (engraved) on a beer glass. Something like this:



The problem is that because the surface is not flat, the image appears distorted when viewed. That logo is actually a perfect circle (when measured on the physical glass), but appears as an elongated ellipse when viewed straight on (741 pixels wide and 847 high).

I am looking for some tool similar to the Distort tool, that allows images to be distorted in a non-linear way. In particular, to print on a cylinder, I would like some kind of arcsin(x) transformation Distort, that leaves y-coordinates unchanged. The left and right edges need to be stretched more than the center. EG, something that does this:

Before:


After:


Any suggestions?

[Hoogo]

Had a similar problem when I recreated the stencils of my bike, just the opposite way.
I pasted squared paper to the tubes, took a photo, then used the distort tool to turn everything into squares again.

For a moment I was also thinking about a more perfect tool, but then I considered focal length and didn't bother anymore. Good enough was simply really good enough, I could print, test and correct.

If you're looking for something perfect, then you'd have to consider the distance of the viewer. If you can't tell the distance, then a photo of wrapped squared paper and some manual distortion should be good enough.

[shijan]

There is a Effects -> Effect Filters -> Projection -> Preset: Cylinder
Is it creates perspective in the way you need?

[maho]

Thanks for the responses, guys.

Hoogo - My problem is actually a bit harder than what I originally described, as my glasses are in the form of a conical frustum rather than a cylinder. The transformation I need is:

x' = R(1-y/H)*arcsin(x/(R(1-y/H))
y' = y (unchanged)

I am sympathetic to the idea of just settling for "good enough" rather than trying to make it "perfect". As you mention, it is only perfect if viewed from a particular distance and a particular angle.

I can't seem to find a way to transform in a non-linear fashion using the Distort tool.

shijan - Thanks for pointing out the Projection menu, which I had never used before. Those effects are really cool. Unfortunately, none of them have the transformation that I need to print on my glass. Conceivably it could be implemented as a custom Rotation file (.rot file), but I don't know how to do that.

[Martin Huber]

I can't seem to find a way to transform in a non-linear fashion using the Distort tool.

You can non-linearly change the content of a layer by changing the helper points:

DistortTool.png

You can set a precise precision by double-clicking a point. In the position dialog, you can also insert calculations, so you can simple append a "+ 50" to shift a point by 50 units.

Martin

[Hoogo]

I hope we're all talking about the same distort... There are some distort filters within Effects, there were some misunderstandings about that in the past.

Distort.png

[shijan]

Yep, it is Distort Tool in Toolbox

[maho]

Thanks Martin, using the Distort Tool the way you suggest looks very promising- I tested it on paper. I'm going to test it on the laser tomorrow.

Is the Distort Tool available as an Adjustment Layer as well? That would be very helpful.

[Juan]

Is the Distort Tool available as an Adjustment Layer as well? That would be very helpful.

Agree.

[shijan]

Probably Distort can't be Adjustment Effect because it is a Vector Effect, so same as all other vector effects you can enable/disable/edit it in Layer Attributes:

[russellcottrell]

Quite a challenge! I think the only way to do it accurately is with scripting. I was going to write a PL script but I started testing the math on an HTML canvas and came up with this:
http://www.russellcottrell.com/blog/glassWrap.htm
It is very utilitarian (so far) but I believe it is accurate. You can select a file on your computer, then right-click and save the resulting image.
Actually, it is only accurate in the x direction; there should be a very slight curvature in the y direction, but it probably is not significant. Will look into it.

[shijan]

Guess Distort Tool method suggested by Martin Huber produce sort of Linear transformation but not a true reversed cilindrical projection. So russellcottrell's method seems more realistic.

[Martin Huber]

Guess Distort Tool method suggested by Martin Huber produce sort of Linear transformation but not a true reversed cilindrical projection.

It is a 3rd degree polynomial, and yes, it is not a true reversed cylindrical projection.

[russellcottrell]

True transformation:
http://www.russellcottrell.com/blog/glassWrap.htm

[Herbert123]

I would do this in a 3d App. Also because the shape on which the graphic is projected may not have a smooth surface and attempting to convincingly deform a decal along an uneven surface is a big hassle in my experience. Here is a quick Blender example:

muggy.jpg