This starts with Rotate Variations.
In particular, the second half.
(Not one of my better discussions. It's a mess that I have yet to clean up.)
Let's do something along the same lines, except with the Zoom Cube:
Start a new document. Mine is 200x200.
Make your Zoom Cube. I do mine by going to the individual channels and laying down a linear gradient. As a matter of preference, I fill the Blue channel with 50% gray.
Start a new Alpha and do something like the following with an Angle gradient:
Pretty spiffy. Just make sure the ends are the same. Both either black or white. Mine ends are white.
If you want, copy it and do the next stop on the copy. Copying before a step is a reflex that I have. Too many hours lost to not copying before operating. :sigh:
Run Image > Adjust > Curves (ctrl + m) like so:
Alright. Time to slap it all together. Use the Curved Alpha as a mask for an Invert Adjustment Layer.
Again, as a matter of preference, I have the Zoom Cube on it's own layer with a 50% gray background beneath it. This is so I can easily add tweaks if I feel the need.
Save it as a PSD to be used as a D-Map. Pick a target and get busy with Displace.
That's about all of the strength I have for right now.
Few more things that I want to touch on to come later.
