Treat pixels like water with a Liquify filter.
Distort an image.
The Liquify filter is sometimes called the “bloat tool” because it can make an object look like it’s filled with water, melting, or viewed through a wide-angle lens. Holding down the mouse button intensifies the effect, further distorting the image.
Make clothes fit better.
Sometimes a subject will have an errant fold of clothing. Smooth out those pixels and give your subject a sleeker profile. It’s a go-to tool for anyone doing fashion or wedding photography.
Change face shape and expressions.
Using the Face-Aware Liquify options, you can select features such as eyes, mouths, noses, or ears and enlarge them or space them apart. Bend straight mouths into subtle grins, or move eyes ever so subtly.
Smooth and correct hair.
People in photos might have tufts of hair that aren’t quite behaving. As with clothing, the Liquify filter provides a quick way to wrangle those pixels and get their coiffure in line.
Other Liquify distortion tools.
Forward Warp tool.
Push pixels out of the way as you drag this tool, like running a finger through a pool of liquid.
Bloat tool.
Move pixels away from the center of the brush area, like a bubble emerging from water. Hold down the mouse button to intensify the effect.
Pucker tool.
Push pixels toward the center of the brush area, like water getting sucked into a drain. Hold down the mouse button to intensify the effect.
Twirl Clockwise tool.
Create swirls and eddies of pixels, like tiny whirlpools or forkfuls of spaghetti. Twirls are clockwise by default, with counterclockwise an alternative option.
Push Left tool.
Push pixels left (or right, if you’re using the alternative option) like a miniature bulldozer moving piles of earth.
Reconstruct tool.
This tool reverses distortions you’ve added, calming the waters and restoring the original image beneath your changes.
Control what you liquify with a Freeze Mask tool.
The Thaw Mask tool lets you erase sections of the Freeze Mask. Make fine adjustments to the sections of an image you want to liquify and the sections you want to stay solid.
Learn more about the Liquify filter with these tutorials.
Dive deeper into the Liquify filter.
Explore more details on how to use the Liquify filter to distort and alter an image, how to use the various Liquify subtools and keyboard shortcuts, and how to apply Liquify as a smart filter.
Adjust and exaggerate facial features.
Discover the Liquify filter’s uses as a face tool, and how to change expressions in both subtle and overt ways.