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fotographication
Participant
October 3, 2025
Answered

Rotating Animation

  • October 3, 2025
  • 1 reply
  • 180 views

Hi all,

 

I have got a picture which can be viewed from any angle (like a "Little Planet"). So I tried to copy the layer 360 times and rotate each layer 1° more and then wanted to convert the layers to animation frames. The idea was to have a continuously rotating picture (animation) which shows the (one) picture from any angle.

I tried to do this with an Action (duplicate current layer - rotate by 1°) which I repeated 360 times. But somewhere during all this rotation the original picture got more and more fuzzy, blurry, noisy... 

 

Now, is there either some other way to rotate the picture, as "part of" the animation process for instance, or has somebody got another idea to rotate the layers without quality loss?
I'd really appreciate any help! Thanks so much!

 

Thilo

Correct answer Conrad_C

It’s difficult to know if this will solve the problem without seeing the image you’re working with, so if you’re able to post the picture that would help. In the absence of that, if it’s necessary to copy for every rotation, we might assume that the reason it degrades is because of generational loss from each rotation being copied from the previous rotation.

 

If that’s the case, one way to try and solve it would be to make each rotation start from the original, not from the previous rotation.

 

In other words, if this is what you’re doing now…

1. Layer A copied to become Layer B and rotated 1 degree

2. Layer B copied to become layer C and rotated 1 degree

3. Layer C copied to become layer D and rotated 1 degree

 

…try this instead:

1. Layer A copied to become layer B and rotated 1 degree

2. Layer A copied to become layer C and rotated 2 degrees

3. Layer A copied to become layer D and rotated 3 degrees

 

The second method would always be copying from the un-rotated original so that every copy is only one generation from the original, limiting quality loss.

 

In other words, the second method would be like using a photocopy machine normally, asking for 360 copies of the original you put into the copy machine; while the first (current) method you’re using is like copying the original and then each time putting the copy into the machine to make the next copy, which as we know would makes each generation look progressively worse.

1 reply

Conrad_C
Community Expert
Conrad_CCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
October 3, 2025

It’s difficult to know if this will solve the problem without seeing the image you’re working with, so if you’re able to post the picture that would help. In the absence of that, if it’s necessary to copy for every rotation, we might assume that the reason it degrades is because of generational loss from each rotation being copied from the previous rotation.

 

If that’s the case, one way to try and solve it would be to make each rotation start from the original, not from the previous rotation.

 

In other words, if this is what you’re doing now…

1. Layer A copied to become Layer B and rotated 1 degree

2. Layer B copied to become layer C and rotated 1 degree

3. Layer C copied to become layer D and rotated 1 degree

 

…try this instead:

1. Layer A copied to become layer B and rotated 1 degree

2. Layer A copied to become layer C and rotated 2 degrees

3. Layer A copied to become layer D and rotated 3 degrees

 

The second method would always be copying from the un-rotated original so that every copy is only one generation from the original, limiting quality loss.

 

In other words, the second method would be like using a photocopy machine normally, asking for 360 copies of the original you put into the copy machine; while the first (current) method you’re using is like copying the original and then each time putting the copy into the machine to make the next copy, which as we know would makes each generation look progressively worse.

F
fotographicationAuthor
Participant
October 4, 2025

Hi Conrad,


you hit the very point! (And described it very clear!)

 

I did think along the same line but my problem is, I just cannot automate this (because I aon't do this manually!). With a copy of the current layer (which is a copy of a copy ...) plus a rotation of one degree it's simple. But with a copy of the original layer plus an _increasing_ rotation I'm in the middle of nowhere... what I'd need for this would be an API (and an object reference) where I could dock any script or short program to. Haven't found that, so far. (But did not need it so badly, either)

 

I fond something, though, which did not really apply to my problem but had an answer that keppt nagging in my thoughts. So I tried to do this wit the original layer as a smart object. This guy said something like the original pic was still in the background within this object - if I understood that correctly (I'm no English native).
And yes, this worked out ... well ... better.
I have got some animation, now, which I can give away to the participants.

 

Oh, and this is the reason I would not post the picture... it's a group photo of people standing around the camera (on the floor pointing straight up with a fisheye lens) and looking into the lens. A bit like a 'reverse' Little Planet. 

 

Anyway, thanks a lot (really)!  I do appreciate your help!

 

Cheers

Thilo

Conrad_C
Community Expert
Conrad_CCommunity Expert
Community Expert
October 4, 2025

I did think about suggesting to make the original a Smart Object, because then it wouldn’t degrade with each rotation. However, I was concerned that 360 copies of a Smart Object might cause the file size to be very large. If it all worked out OK that way, then that’s good!

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