PhotoPlus X2 User Guide - Serif

Mesh warping
Manipulating Images 63
To rotate the region about the fixed point, drag from just outside a
corner. To constrain rotation in 15-degree steps, press the Shift key
after you've begun rotation, and hold it down until after you release
the mouse button. You can change the location of the fixed point (see
below).
To reposition the fixed point, move the cursor to the exact centre
until a small target appears, then drag. The fixed point can be moved
anywhere—even outside the deformation region.
The Mesh Warp Tool works like the Deform Tool outfitted with complex
curves. It lets you define a flexible grid of points and lines that you can drag to
distort an image, or part of an image (or layer). You can edit the mesh to vary its
curvature, and even custom-design a mesh to match a particular image's geometry.
The Mesh Warp Tool works on Background and standard layers, but not on
text layers or shape layers.
When you first select the tool, a simple
rectangular mesh appears over the image,
with nine nodes: one at each corner, one at
the centre, and one at the midpoint of each
edge. Straight lines connect adjacent
nodes. A Context toolbar also appears to
support the Mesh Warp Tool.
The straight line segments are actually
bendable curves. When you alter the
contours of the mesh and distort the initial
rectangular grid, the underlying image
deforms accordingly. To change the mesh,
you simply move nodes, node attractor
handles, or connecting lines; add or
subtract nodes as needed; and/or edit
nodes to change line curvature.