Twist
Rotate the outline about a point, hardest at the centre.
Twist rotates every point around a centre by an angle that fades to nothing at the radius. The middle spins the full amount, the rim does not move, and everything between smears into a spiral.
Because it is a vertex deformer, the result is a real path — it stays crisp at any zoom and exports as vectors, which the equivalent pixel effect cannot do.
When to reach for it#
- Spiral and vortex graphics built from a simple starting shape.
- Whipping a burst of lines into a swirl.
- A transition where a logo unwinds — keyframe Angle from 720 to 0.
How it works#
The rotation at distance r from the centre is Angle × (1 − r / Radius) raised to the power of Falloff. At the centre that is the full angle; at the radius it is zero, which is why there is no seam at the boundary.
Radius at 0 means "reach the whole layer" — it uses half the layer diagonal. That is deliberate: a Twist you have just added should visibly do something before you find the Radius slider.
Parameters#
Degrees of rotation at the centre. Past about 360 the outline usually crosses itself, which is either a nice knot or a mess depending on the shape.
How far the twist reaches, as a percentage of the layer's shorter side. 0 means the whole layer. Small values with a big angle give a tight curl in the middle and leave the outside alone.
Where the twist pivots, in percent of the layer box. Move it off centre and one side of the shape wraps much further than the other.
Shapes the fade from centre to rim. 1 is linear. Above 1 concentrates the twist near the centre and leaves the outer part almost straight; below 1 spreads it evenly and reads more like a whole-shape rotation.
Things that catch people out#
The outline is resampled before twisting, but a shape made of very few long segments will still look coarse at extreme angles. Add Round Corners or Zig-Zag before Twist if you need more detail to work with.
See also#
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