HELP! Free distort tool not working on images

[HMD708]

The jpg image is rasterized and in its own layer. I can rotate it, shear it, transform it... But the perspective warp will NOT apply! What am I missing?

Using current Adobe Illustrator 2020

[Monika Gause · Accepted solution]

Draw a rectangle the same porportions as the image. Distort it and then apply it as an envelope on the image.

[johnj84390463]

Great and concise answer, but just to note that this only works on an embedded image, and not on a linked one (the latter being the default way of bringing raster images into Illustrator).

From: https://community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator/envelope-distort-on-jpeg-not-working/td-p/10131985

[J2kLarsonite]

well that's a waste of time.  why can't the tool JUST WORK?

[sg98570967]

if you OBJECT>ENVELOPE DISTORT>MAKE WITH MESH and then set it to 1 row and 1 column, you'll be able to use the perspective distort and free distort in the free transform tool

[J2kLarsonite]

Wow, it's almost like Adobe should "just make it work".  That's a lot of >>>>>>>>>>>

[Monika Gause]

Wow, it's almost like Adobe should "just make it work".  That's a lot of >>>>>>>>>>>

By @J2kLarsonite

Illustrator is not a pixel editor. Use Photoshop

[vivacious_world3538]

Agreed! If you are going to have a 'Free Transform Tool' that does nothing, but rather need to find this forum (thank goodness I found this) which outlines some alternate steps, I'm just wondering why a free transform tool exists in the first place? I felt like a fool trying to transform my image and it probably wasted over an hour doing what looked like common sense. The interface appeared to be giving me handles on the corners, letting me move things, yet the image never changed.  There's also an Effect -> Distort & Transform --> Free Distort which is equally pointless.

[Monika Gause]

Free transform is a necessary tool for isometric drawing.

[J2kLarsonite]

So when is the Free Transform Tool for everything else going to come out?

[Monika Gause]

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@J2kLarsonite  schrieb:

So when is the Free Transform Tool for everything else going to come out?

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Use an envelope.

[Anna_Lander]

The Free Transform tool changes shapes, not images. If you want to distort images, it's better to do so  in a program like Photoshop.