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General discussion

Face Alteration

Sep 22, 2005 10:48PM PDT

Hi, I'm looking for a program where I can alter the appearance of a face. For example i would like to take a picture of somebody and make them look 10 years older or make them seem as if they gained 10 pounds. Does anyone know of a program that could do these kind of things??

Discussion is locked

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Well.......Yes!
Sep 24, 2005 9:23AM PDT

About 10 years ago, in the days of Windows 95, there was a very popular program called:

Kai's Power Goo
by MetaTools, Inc

It was a fun program that let you bulge, shrink, stretch, tug parts of a photo. You could make small changes or drastic changes to photos.

Here is a look:

http://www.algonet.se/~dip/goo_1p.html

But.....it seems Power Goo and MetaTools have ridden into the sunset.

You may be able to find a copy, if you do a search of the internet.

I saw one on eBay....That ad said that Goo will not work on XP but it works on my XP.

It is copy protected and you have to have the original CD to run the program.

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More Morph
Sep 24, 2005 3:03PM PDT

Joe, Found morpheussoftware.com and blackbeltsystems.com
blackbeltsystems.com for windows costs a whopping $19.95.
Not a typo.

-Kevin

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Higher end alternatives
Sep 29, 2005 11:30PM PDT

Of course, most people when they talk about graphics programs mention PS, PSP or Gimp. All of which I expect have morphing tools.
I know PSP has things like 'smudge', tone changing, fisheye correction, scratch removal. However, no specific 'ageing' tool.
The first two have free 30 day trials and the latter is open sourced.
http://www.worth1000.com/tutorial.asp is a very good source for advanced PS effects, which includes ageing and weight gain.

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Possible help for ya....
Sep 25, 2005 2:01AM PDT
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Site Down
Sep 25, 2005 1:46PM PDT

Not able to view the site.

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Bad Link and a Caution!
Sep 26, 2005 5:03AM PDT

You have to remove all of those periods at the end of html in the link.

Word of caution:

This is an on-line Java program that requires the latest version of Java.

That version of Java is huge.

Running the on-line Java program may put your computer at risk.

Caution....

...
..
.

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Thanks, Joe, for the caution
Sep 26, 2005 8:21AM PDT

I had a problem with the link. I have no idea what the problem is. Not able to sign up either.
Why the caution? Java?
Joe, I am on a Mac OS.

-Kevin

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Face Transformer Link Again
Sep 27, 2005 12:23PM PDT
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Thanks for the link and no thanks for the caution
Sep 29, 2005 11:31PM PDT

Thanks for the link. If anyone still has trouble, try what I did:

http://www.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~morph/

which also works just fine.

The Caution? Wow! You mean you don't have a Java Runtime Engine on your Windows PC? You mean that Sun wasted all those years and all that money fighting Microsoft to stop putting out its own Java Virtual Machine? Oh well, have to suggest there are still some Luddites amongst us.

If you haven't got the latest JRE on your machine, I suggest you go to the Sun site (www.sun.com would you believe) and get it (if you need it on more than one PC or want to hold the download file on CD or wherever to avoid a download if you reinstall Windows, there is a full download version as well as the web install version).

Go get it - this Caution was a "fear, alarm and despondency" post Shocked(

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Your welcome but
Sep 30, 2005 4:23AM PDT

my question was to snapshot who issued the caution....
thanks you for all your words, but indeed if that is the caution I have the latest JRE........

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RE. Face Alteration
Sep 29, 2005 11:41PM PDT

First, the TOP OF THE LINE PROGRAM for this is Adobe Photoshop. Yes, it costs a bundle ( over $500 to start but upgrades are much cheaper), BUT if you want the best, this is it! Next Is the much cheaper Adobe Photoshot Elements. (Usually around $90 - $150 depending upon how much you need and operating system). This is ALMOST a full photoshop program but limited in some ways. Good for beginners and those who only use a photo altering or enhancing program occasionally. I operate the PS v. CS which is the top of the line (I haven't changed to CS2 yet - latest version) because I am a retired professional photographer and do a lot of retouching, restoration and enhancing of photos. I usually recommend to beginners that the best (in my opinion) program which won't set you back a bundle is Photoshop Elements in the lattest version. Then get one of Scott Kelby's books on how to use it doing alerations and restoration using Photoshop Elements 3 or 4 - He is the president of Nat. Assn. of Photoshop Pros.

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photoshop
Sep 29, 2005 11:58PM PDT

Photoshop does all the alterations you want. I'm not a professional. I took a one semester class at my local junior college. I bought PS as a student for a much cheaper price at journeyed.com. I altered a photo for a retirement album. I stretched the face a little, softened the facial lines, whitened the teeth, added blush to her cheeks, softened the color of her lipstick, got rid of undereye bags, etc. It made her look 15 years younger. The employee knew I had taken the picture a couple of weeks before with my inexpensive <a style='text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 3px double;' href="http://www.serverlogic3.com/lm/rtl3.asp?si=22&k=digital%20camera" onmouseover="window.status='digital camera'; return true;" onmouseout="window.status=''; return true;">digital camera</a>. She said, ''Wow, I didn't know I looked that good.'' I just smiled. I have easily removed people from photos, too. I had bought several books before taking the class. The class laid the foundation. Then the books made sense. I also joined the Photoshop association and went to one of their seminars.

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What "quality" of alteration are you looking for?
Sep 30, 2005 12:09AM PDT

Are you looking for something casual/fanciful? Or something along the lines of what a Forensic Anthropologist would use to create a ?correct? physiological modification? Like the software that law enforcement uses to simulate what missing children look like after a few years.

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Easiest way
Sep 30, 2005 3:06AM PDT

The easiest way to make someone gain or lose weight in a digital photo is to simply stretch the picture: wider to gain and taller to get thin. Most graphics programs can do this, just don't go overboard into the unrealistic. To look younger depends on the age. If it is an older person with wrinkles or age spots, a blur filter or smudge to applied to the specific areas will work wonders.

Personally, I do a lot of more difficult editing, like repairing damaged photos, adding color to B&W or restoring color to faded polaroids, removing X-partners, or putting people together (someone wasn't there for the family picture, kids wouldn't co-operate to get a good pic together, etc.) So I'm a Photoshop person! I have stretched a picure of a designer Barbie Doll to more human proportions & added the face of my daughter. I had to add noise & blur to take the plastic sheen off the skin and make it look more real.

The best tool is practic, and remember to save with a different filename, so if you mess up, you can always go back to the original. Good luck.

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Freeware Photoplus 6 and PhotoFiltre
Sep 30, 2005 5:45AM PDT

Fast and easy; I use PhotoFiltre freeware. I also have a site tutorial written for putting a head on a different body using serif PhotoPlus 6 freeware. You can use adobe plugins listed on the page (freeware).
Put your buddies head on a fat body with ease and it's free. Also shows you how to stretch photos to distort images.


http://headsuppage.topcities.com

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Face Alteration Software
Sep 30, 2005 10:05PM PDT
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Face Alteration
Oct 1, 2005 4:02AM PDT

If you want to change the appearance of someone's face, there is a program designed specifically for just such a thing: FaceFilter Studio.