How to Morph a Screensaver

There are lots of screensavers that come standard on most computers. They are usually limited to spinning graphics and line designs; however, it is easy to morph a screensaver to make it your own. There are also ways to create a morphing screensaver using your own pictures.

Things You'll Need

• Photoshop or other design program

Instructions

Morphing a Standard Screensaver in Windows

1. From the Start menu, choose "Control Panel."

2. Click on "Appearance and Themes," then select "Choose a Screensaver" from under the "Pick a Task" list. This will open a dialogue box called "Display Properties."

3. Click the "Screensavers" tab on the "Display Properties" window. On this screen, there is a drop-down box to choose your screensaver. Choose a standard screensaver from this menu. As an example, select 3D Flower Box.

4. Click on the Settings box next to 3D Flower Box. This will open a new dialogue box called "3D Flower box Settings."

5. This box has several options for morphing the screensaver to your own design. You can choose the color (whether you want checkerboard, a color on each side, or one solid color for the whole design), the shape (cube, tetrahedron, pyramid, cylinder or spring) and how it moves (spins or morphs from one shape to another). You can also choose the object's size and complexity.

6. There are lots of screensaver designs to choose from and lots of elements that will morph them into your own unique design. Fun choices include: 3D Text where you can create your own text and decide what color and texture it is and how it moves; Beziers where you can decide how many loops are spinning, how wide they are and how fast they move; and Google Photos Screensaver, which pulls from a photo file that you designate. Then you decide how each photo transitions and how quickly the photos appear.

Creating Your Own Morphing Screensaver

1. Using the "Google Photos Screensaver" selection in the "Display Properties" window, you can create your own unique screensaver that appears to morph.

2. Choose a photo that you want to morph and open it in a graphics software, like Photoshop. The size of the photo should match your screen resolution size. You can find out what size your screen is by choosing "Control Panel > Appearance and Themes > Change the Screen Resolution." If it is not the right size, re-size the image to match and save it as Image-1 in a new file called "Sample Morph Screensaver" under My Pictures.

3. Change the picture by manipulating a portion of the picture. For example, if it is a picture of people, you could cut their heads out and paste them to a new layer, then increase the size of the heads a bit. Then, re-save the picture as Image-2.

4. Using Image-2 as a base, manipulate the photo a bit more, then save it as Image-3. Repeat these steps until the final photo is what you want to morph into. This is similar to the old comic flip book method of design. Each image is slightly different. There are several design elements you can employ to morph the picture: size, color or special tools like the smudge tool or the eraser.

5. Click "Control Panel" from the Start Menu to make your new photo montage a screensaver. In the new dialogue box, click "Appearance and Themes," then "Choose a screensaver."

6. Choose "Google Photos Screensaver" from the Screensaver pull-down menu. Then click "Settings" to the right of the menu.

7. Click "Specific Folders on My Computer" from the "Display Photos from" section on the new "Google Photos Screensaver" dialogue box. That is the only selection that should be marked; all other circles should be empty. To de-select them, click until the center of the circle is opaque.

8. Click the "Configure" button to the right of "Specific Folders on My Computer" to choose your photo montage.

9. Click "Disable All" on the "Folder Settings" dialogue box. Find your "Sample Screensaver" folder and click in the box next to it to use those pictures. This should place a check mark in the box. The "Sample Screensaver" file should be the only one with a check mark.

10. Click "OK" to return to the "Google Photos Screensaver" dialogue box.

11. Choose "Cross Fade" from the "Visual Effects" pull-down menu and choose the speed of transition.

12. Click "OK" to return to the "Display Properties" dialogue box. Click "Preview" to sample your new morphing screensaver.

Tips & Warnings

• If you do not have a graphics program or background, there are photo morphing software programs available for purchase. Try FantaMorph or FaceMorpher.

• Be careful when selecting the size and complexity of your screensaver. Choosing too large or complex a design may affect how smoothly the screensaver runs.

References

• Windows XP: Set up your screen saver