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Geobop
Known Participant
February 4, 2021
Answered

How to make a complex spiral

  • February 4, 2021
  • 2 replies
  • 3680 views

I can make simple spirals using Filter > Distort > Twirl.

 

But how do I make a complex spiral like this one? The rays initially spiral clockwise, then change direction towards the end of the picture. In addition, the center of the spiral - the vortex - disappears, hidden by the rays.

 

Is that something you can do with Photoshop ir Illustrator's default settings? Or do you need a plugin? Or is it something you have to do manually?

 

Thank you.

Correct answer davescm

For those kind of complex twisting shapes I tend to turn to 3D software.

Just for demo, I started with a simple radial made in Photoshop by making triangle shapes and repeat transforming the rotation around the centre.

I then imported it into Blender 3D as a plane. I subdivided so that the plan was made of many faces. Then I just twisted the mesh by selecting a small face in the middle and moved and rotated it, using proportional editing so that nearby faces twisted on a scaled basis. 

 

Rendered it looks like this. You can twist/untwist however you choose.

 

 

 

 

 

Dave

2 replies

davescm
Community Expert
davescmCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
February 4, 2021

For those kind of complex twisting shapes I tend to turn to 3D software.

Just for demo, I started with a simple radial made in Photoshop by making triangle shapes and repeat transforming the rotation around the centre.

I then imported it into Blender 3D as a plane. I subdivided so that the plan was made of many faces. Then I just twisted the mesh by selecting a small face in the middle and moved and rotated it, using proportional editing so that nearby faces twisted on a scaled basis. 

 

Rendered it looks like this. You can twist/untwist however you choose.

 

 

 

 

 

Dave

    G
    GeobopAuthor
    Known Participant
    February 5, 2021

    Wow, thanks for the tip. I'm going to give that a try.

     

    Trevor.Dennis
    Community Expert
    Trevor.DennisCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    February 4, 2021

    Wow that is quite complex!  I don't think I could do that.  If anyone is going to be able to help it is our Dave

    About davescm - Adobe Support Community

     

    I tried Free Transform > Warp > Twist, then cropped to move the centre towards the bottom right corner and FT'd >warp > Twisted again, but mine is UGLY!!!

    Maybe some sort of weather event modeling software that runs on a Super Crey (Dave is currently building his own Crey, but COVID — and the US military — are slowing the process)

      G
      GeobopAuthor
      Known Participant
      February 4, 2021

      That's a nice try. 😉

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