The Animal in You

Create a movie of you morphing into an animal!

• Search for an image of your animal. It should be a close up of the animal with just the animal's head. Use the links below to find animal images. Save this image to a folder on your h:/ drive.
  

• Take a picture of yourself in the same pose as the animal. This is very important for the morph to look right.
  See the examples below:

• Open SmartMorph.
  

• Open the two images File > Open image or click the open image button.
  

• Make the faces are about the same size, Click Image > Resize.
  

• Now the two pictures should be cropped so that corresponding features are positioned in the same place if possible.
  Select Image > Accommodate images or click the Accommodate images button.
  

• Use the Move image tool in the Accommodate images window to move one of the pictures so that the eyes are in the same place. This image can also be resized here by clicking on the percentage value at the top and changing the value.
  

• Now use the Select crop area tool to draw a rectangle around the part of the picture you want to morph and click OK.
  

• Save the cropped images with a different name.
  

• Next task is to mark corresponding features.
  First mark the image corners: Edit > Add corner points.

• Then use the Add/move points tool to set markers on features in the pictures like e.g. eyes and nose. When you click in one image to set a marker point, a point is inserted in the other image in the same place. Use the mouse to move this point to the corresponding feature. When a point is selected in one image, the corresponding point is highlighted in the other image.  The more the points, the smoother the transition will be. Marker points can be removed by pressing Delete.

• Click the Grid button to show the morphing grid. Be aware that only areas covered by the grid will be included in the final result. If there are gaps in the grid, try moving and/or removing points near the missing area until the gap is closed.

• To show the result, click Run or Test .
  
  
• To save as an animation click Animation > Save as video. Go to your h:/ drive, enter a name in the Save As box and click Save.
  

• Choose Cinepak Codec of Radius, check Make loop, and click OK.

Click here to go to the Flash movie activity.