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Start by using the first option on the wizard to create a new layout. The wizard will guide you through picture loading, and then give you
more detailed steps to help you get started on your photo mix.
Place Dots - Click on the "Add Dots" tool, then click anywhere on the first picture to add a dot. To create the best photo mix, try to
place dots on and around all key features of the picture. As an example, when mixing images of faces, key features are the eyes, nose, and
mouth. Remember that the more dots you place, the smoother your end result will be.
Adjust Dots - For every dot you place on one picture, a corresponding dot, or "partner" dot, will appear
on the other picture. You will only need to adjust the placement of each partner dot so that the key
features mix just the way you'd like them to. To move the dots around, first click on the "Move Dots" tool, then click on any dot in either
picture. Notice that the dot and its partner will both be glowing and blinking. Click on a dot and hold the mouse button down to drag the dot
to a new location. Release the mouse button when the dot is at the desired location.
Try to position the dots so that they match the key feature at which their partner dots are located on the other picture.
Viewing Your Photo Mix - Once you have completed placing dots on your
pictures, you can preview your photo mix in the "Preview" window. Alternatively, you can
select "Render Timeline" from the File menu and you'll be able to export your photo mix in
various picture formats for display on the Internet or Email.
Important tip about this help page: Many images are just thumbnails. When you move your mouse over these thumbnails and see the Enlarge arrow, simply
click the picture to display the full size image. Click the full size image to shrink it back to the thumbnail in order to read the text underneath it.
When this box is checked in the layout wizard, many advanced options will be hidden. None of the hidden options are needed to get started creating
basic photo mixes. If you are just learning to use Morpheus Photo Mixer Mac, it is recommended that you leave Beginner Mode Menus checked in order to
familiarize yourself with the basic options and make it easier to get started having fun.
On the second page of the wizard, you should load your pictures for your photo mix by clicking on the Load Picture
buttons above the preview boxes. After you see the pictures that you want to use in the preview
boxes, click the Next button.
At the top of each picture window, you will see a toolbar. On the right side of the toolbar are some basic buttons to zoom in and out of
the pictures. There is a dropdown box in the lower right corner of each picture window to view or enter a more specific zoom value.
The buttons on the left side of the toolbar are
the tools which you will use the majority of the time you are creating your photo mix. With the Zoom tool, you can click to zoom in and Control+click to
zoom out. With the Pan tool, you can click and drag to view different portions of the picture when you have zoomed in. The Move Dots tool allows you
to click and drag individual dots to move them around. The Select Dots tool allows you to drag a box around multiple dots, then click and drag any of
those dots to move the entire group around all at once. Finally, the Add Dots tool will place a new dot on the pictures every time you click the mouse.
In normal mode, you will also have line tools which operate very similar to the dot tools. Connect Dots will allow you to add a new line by
connecting any two existing dots, and will not allow any new dots to be placed. Draw Free Line will place a new line to or from an existing dot,
or at any other point on the picture, where a new dot will be placed on either end of the line if needed.
The toolbar in the Preview window
has two buttons which let you preview in proof mode or in draft mode. Proof mode shows you what your photo mix will look like in the actual size and
detail it will be if you render it to a file or email it. Draft mode allows you to fill the Preview window and to see your photo mix more quickly.
In normal mode, you can also toggle some preview options while in draft mode. First is the stretch button, which lets you stretch the photo mix
to fill the entire Preview window, or show it in its actual size. The next three buttons allow you to see the dots, lines, or triangles in the
Preview window.
Above these buttons is a track bar which lets you see the various photo mixes in your timeline, if you have more than one.
The Timeline window (which is not available in beginner mode) has one toolbar.
With the first button, you can add a new photo mix to your timeline.
Preview All Frames allows you to see a thumbnail of every frame of your photo mix in the Timeline window.
The easiest way to load pictures is to use the Layout Wizard, which will assist you in getting started with a new layout and new pictures. If you
want to load a different picture, or are past the wizard, there are many other ways you can add pictures to your layout. The Load Picture button
allows you to load a picture into the currently active picture window, and you can also drag picture files into the picture windows
from Finder. If you are using normal mode and have the Timeline window showing, you can also drag
pictures into the picture boxes in the timeline. If you drag a picture to the empty area of the Timeline window, a new photo mix will be appended
automatically and the picture will be added to that. You can also drag multiple pictures at once to the Timeline window to load pictures for
multiple photo mixes at once.
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.
)
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.
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 Cmd instead of Shift.
Zooming in allows fine-tuning of dots for detailed photo mixes and zooming out allows working with large pictures on a smaller desktop size. When using
the zoom tool, each click in the picture window will double the zoom, and each Control+click will cut the zoom in half.
While using any tool at all, you can select a zoom value from the zoom dropdown on the toolbar, or just type in any zoom value you wish.
"Fit in Window" will automatically pick the largest zoom value possible without causing the need for scrollbars to appear.
The Timeline Options window can be found by selecting Options from the Timeline menu or by pressing Cmd+I. The options here control your entire
photo mix across the entire timeline. More options, which can vary from photo mix to photo mix, can be found in the Morph Options window.
The Morph Options window can be found by selecting Options from the Morph menu, or by pressing Cmd+O. The options here control only the specific
photo mix for which they are set, and each photo mix can have different options set for it here. More options which control the entire timeline
can be found in the Timeline Options window.
Lines allow for more fine tuning of the creation of the triangles that actually control which portions of the starting
picture mix with which portions of the ending picture. If you enable the Show Triangles option
,
then you can see all of the automatically generated triangle lines, creating the optimal triangle configuration based on the locations of all
currently placed dots.
The solution to this problem is to define some lines of your own. In this case, if you add a line connecting the yellow and red dots, then the line
which connected the black and green dots will no longer be generated, and the dots can move to the same position in the ending picture without
causing overlapping triangles.
The Move Lines tool functions just like the Move Dots tool, except it works on lines. Lines will become highlighted and blink with color, and their
partner lines will do the same in black and white. The same arrow key combinations used to move dots also works to move lines. The Delete key will
also delete a selected line.
The Select Lines tool functions just like the Select Dots tool, except it works on lines. When dragging a selection box to select lines, only a
piece of the line must be inside the box to be selected. You do not need to drag the box around the entire length of the line.
Connect Dots will allow a new line to be placed, without creating any new dots in the process. You can either click on a dot, hold the button down,
and drag a line to any other existing dot, or you can click on a dot and let go, then click on another dot. With this tool, you do not need to
drag the mouse all the way to the second dot or click on the second dot. A dotted line will be shown from the first dot to the dot nearest the current
mouse pointer location as you move the mouse around, showing you exactly where the new line will be created. Morpheus Photo Mixer Mac will not allow two lines to
be connected to the same two dots, and attempting to do so will produce no new line.
Draw Free Line operates similar to Connect Dots, except that you can optionally create one or two new dots in the process of adding a line. Either
end of the line you create can be on an existing dot or in any empty place on the picture, where a new dot will be created. If you
hold Shift with the first click, then only a horizontal or vertical line will be created. When using the Move Lines or Select Lines tools,
Option+click will add a line, just like it would add a dot when using the dot tools. Though this will require a second click (or a long drag from the
first click) for the other end of the line. Also, Option+Shift+click will add only a straight horizontal or vertical line.
Dots and lines can be displayed in a variety of different color schemes, styles, and sizes. By default, dots are set to cycle through a set of
8 colors in a medium sized square shape. Each photo mix in your timeline can be given a different look for the dot's default look in that photo mix.
Lines can be displayed in a variety of different ways just like dots, except there is no shape selection. By default, all lines are a solid color.
Triangles can also be customized with all the same choices as lines. All lines are also triangle lines, but when you are viewing both lines
and triangle lines in your pictures, the settings for lines will be used for the lines you placed, while the settings for triangles will be used
for the generated lines which cannot be moved.
In addition to being able to set a default way to display dots and lines for each photo mix, you can assign specific customization to dots and
lines individually by using the Customize Selected Items option under the Edit menu. While the color scheme option does not apply to customizing
a specific dot or line, there is an additional choice for each option called 'Automatic'. Selecting Automatic for any of the various options will
result in using the default settings for that photo mix.
Customizing groups of dots or lines individually lets you group them to your tastes, to separate pieces of your work. For example, you could set
all the dots around the eyes in a picture of a face to one color and shape, and set the dots around the mouth to a different color and shape.
When you are finished with your photo mix, you will want to render it to a file so you can view it in other programs, upload it to your webpage,
or email it to a friend. Use the Render Timeline button
on the toolbar to render your photo mix.
After you select a folder and enter a file name, make sure you select the type of file you want to render to from the
"File format" dropdown at the bottom of the Save window.
does not do the same thing as rendering with the Render Timeline option
Cut, Copy, and Paste work similar to how they work in other programs, with one important difference: When you cut or copy dots or lines, what you are
actually copying is the locations of those dots or lines on the picture. When you paste dots or lines, you will actually be pasting the locations
of the dots or lines, in effect, moving them to new locations.
The Preview window displays one photo mix at a time and is constantly updated as you add or move dots or
lines in the picture windows to show you what the results will look like. Toggle displaying and hiding the Preview window by pressing Cmd+P.
and Draft
buttons change how the Preview window displays the current frame. In proof mode the rest of the buttons are disabled, and the frames are always
displayed in the exact size and quality used when rendering to a file. This may mean that the preview is displayed smaller than it could be, leaving
empty space around the edges, or that it is displayed with scrollbars if it does not all fit in the Preview window. In draft mode, the picture is
rendered faster, depending on which draft speed is selected from the menu associated with the Draft button. The higher the draft speed, the more
pixelated the Preview window will display, but the quicker the frame can be displayed.
,
Draw Dots
,
Draw Lines
,
and Draw Triangles
buttons are only available in draft mode. Stretch to Fit will cause the Preview window to display the frame as large as possible without using scrollbars.
Turning Stretch to Fit off will display the frame the actual size it will be rendered, leaving empty space or using scrollbars as needed. The three
draw buttons will toggle showing the current position of the dots, lines, and triangles in the Preview window. These can be useful for
seeing where the mixed dots positions appear in the resulting photo mix.
The Timeline window shows thumbnails of all the pictures for each photo mix in your layout. You can add additional photo mixes to the timeline by
using the first button on the Timeline toolbar. To open a picture in order to place dots or lines on it,
doubleclick on the thumbnail in the Timeline window. If you doubleclick on the photo mix buttons above the pictures, then both pictures for
that photo mix will be opened side by side. Toggle displaying and hiding the Timeline window by pressing Cmd+T.
| General Shortcuts | |
|---|---|
| Cmd+S | Save Layout |
| Cmd+R | Render Timeline |
| Cmd+Z | Undo last operation |
| Cmd+Y | Redo last undone operation |
| Cmd+I | Timeline Options |
| Cmd+P | Toggle Preview window |
| Cmd+T | Toggle Timeline window |
| F1 | Help |
| Option+Left/Right | Forward/Backward 1 frame in the Preview window |
| Cmd+Option+Left/Right | Jump to first/last frame in the Preview window |
| Per-Picture Shortcuts | |
| Cmd+O | Morph Options |
| Cmd+1 | Zoom to 100% |
| Cmd+W | Zoom to automatically fit in window |
| Mouse Wheel Up / + | Zoom in |
| Mouse Wheel Down / - | Zoom out |
| Enter | Jump back and forth between the two picture windows |
| Tool Shortcuts | |
| P | Pan |
| Z | Zoom |
| D | Move Dots |
| S | Select Dots |
| A | Add Dots |
| L | Move Lines |
| E | Select Lines |
| C | Connect Dots |
| F | Draw Free Line |
| Move or Select Dots or Lines Shortcuts | |
| Cmd+X | Cut dots/lines positions |
| Cmd+C | Copy dots/lines positions |
| Cmd+V | Paste dots/lines positions |
| Delete | Delete dots/lines |
| Cmd+A | Select all dots/lines |
| Cmd+D / ESC | Deselect all dots/lines |
| Cmd+U | Customize selected dots/lines |
| Page Up/Down | Change selected dots/lines color |
| Shift+Page Up/Down | Change selected dots style |
| Option+Click | Add dot or draw free line |
| Shift+Option+Click | Draw free straight hroizontal or vertical line |
| Move Dots or Lines Shortcuts | |
| Click+Drag Dot/Line | Select a single dot/line and move it |
| Click+Drag Picture | Deselect dot/line and pan picture |
| Shift+Click+Drag Dot/Line | Select a single dot/line and move it only in a straight horizontal or vertical line |
| Cmd+Click Dot/Line | Select a single dot/line without being able to move it |
| Arrow Keys | Move dot/line by 1 pixel |
| Shift+Arrows | Move dot/line by 10 pixels |
| Cmd+Arrows | Move cursor to nearest dot/line |
| Cmd+Shift+Arrows | Move cursor 10 dots/lines at a time |
| Select Dots or Lines Shortcuts | |
| Click+Drag Picture | Set a new selection by dragging a rectangle around dots/lines |
| Click+Drag Selected Dot/Line | Move dots/lines |
| Click+Drag Unselected Dot/Line | Select just that dot/line and move it |
| Shift+Click+Drag Picture | Add dots/lines inside rectangle to selection |
| Shift+Click+Drag Dot/Line | Add dot/line to selection and move entire selection |
| Cmd+Click+Drag Picture | Remove dots/lines inside rectangle from selection |
| Cmd+Click Dot/Line | Remove dot/line from selection |
| Arrow Keys | Move cursor to nearest dot/line |
| Shift+Arrows | Move cursor 10 dots/lines at a time |
| Cmd+Arrows | Move selected dots/lines by 1 pixel |
| Cmd+Shift+Arrows | Move selected dots/lines by 10 pixels |
| Spacebar | Toggle the cursor dot/line in and out of the selection |
| Draw Free Line Shortcuts | |
| Shift+Click | Draw straight horizontal or vertical line |
Also, Control+click in the picture windows, on dots and lines, on any of the buttons in the Timeline window, or on any of the toolbars at the top of the main window for helpful popup menus.
20. Additional Help
Please run through the tutorial, read the FAQ, and play around with the variety sample photo mixes that come included with Morpheus Photo Mixer Mac.
If you have come to this point and you still have questions or if you would like to suggest a feature, feel free to visit our support forums and we will do our best to assist you in making your experience with Morpheus Photo Mixer Mac a great one.
Thank you for using Morpheus Photo Mixer Mac.