VFX Atlas
M 147 / 18306 Space & Opticsalgorithm output

Crystal Ball Refraction

space & optics

Typeface · Kalnia

Atlas demonstration: the free source photo and the computed Crystal Ball Refraction. A cityscape featuring yellow trams and street tracks is captured with architectural depth. The central circular distortion flawlessly inverts the street scene and curves the vertical buildings into the orb's periphery.
Atlas demonstration: the free source photo and the computed Crystal Ball Refraction. A cityscape featuring yellow trams and street tracks is captured with architectural depth. The central circular distortion flawlessly inverts the street scene and curves the vertical buildings into the orb's periphery.Image: Yaoqi LAI yaoqiqiqilai · CC0 (via Wikimedia Commons), processed for the AtlasView source ↗

Prompt

Apply Crystal Ball Refraction to a prominent circular region, bending and stretching the underlying photograph as though seen through a clear glass sphere. Add curved edge compression, subtle rim highlights, and delicate reflections while leaving the surrounding image undistorted. Retain natural colors. Preserve the original subject and composition.

Paste it into LetzAI with your own image to apply the effect ↗

Identify

A circular region bends and stretches the photo, making it look as though viewed through a glass sphere.

Principle

A spherical refraction1 model remaps pixels inside a circle, sampling the source image at displaced coordinates. Displacement varies with distance from the center and the chosen refractive index2.

Try it out

Vary the sphere’s size and watch how straight lines curve near its edge.

Classification

Calculated image processing result.

Further examples · 9 images

Crystal Ball Refraction, applied to “Horses my friends (Unsplash)”
02 Crystal Ball Refraction, applied to “Horses my friends (Unsplash)”A pair of horses stand in a vast, sunlit field near a winding river. Within the glass-like region, the animals appear upside down with their shapes bulging toward the edges of the circle.Mahkeo mahkeo (photo); processed for the Atlas · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Crystal Ball Refraction, applied to “Ali Inay 2014-10-28 (Unsplash)”
03 Crystal Ball Refraction, applied to “Ali Inay 2014-10-28 (Unsplash)”The scene depicts a person standing amidst a misty forest of tall, thin trees. The spherical transformation creates a miniature world where the forest floor and canopy swap places behind a curved lens.Ali Inay inayali (photo); processed for the Atlas · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Crystal Ball Refraction, applied to “Mahogany teakwood scented candle (cropped)”
04 Crystal Ball Refraction, applied to “Mahogany teakwood scented candle (cropped)”A close-up shot focuses on a mahogany scented candle with a white decorative label. The refraction effect magnifies and flips the typography, creating a realistic sense of looking through solid glass.Priscilla Du Preez artographybyp (photo); processed for the Atlas · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Crystal Ball Refraction, applied to “Motorbike dirt road (Unsplash)”
05 Crystal Ball Refraction, applied to “Motorbike dirt road (Unsplash)”A motorcyclist is seen navigating a dirt path under an overcast sky. This image demonstrates a perfect inversion where the rider and the ground are pulled into a spherical curvature.Marcos Moraes marcoscgs (photo); processed for the Atlas · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Crystal Ball Refraction, applied to “Library, Charlotte”
06 Crystal Ball Refraction, applied to “Library, Charlotte”A woman browses through a library aisle filled with rows of books. The orb captures her profile and the bookshelves, warping the linear perspective of the library into a concentrated, inverted circle.Clay Banks claybanks1989 (photo); processed for the Atlas · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Crystal Ball Refraction, applied to “Ann Arbor, United States (Unsplash esOC8MkpLPA)”
07 Crystal Ball Refraction, applied to “Ann Arbor, United States (Unsplash esOC8MkpLPA)”A stately building facade with ornate architectural details is captured at night. The structure is warped into a perfect sphere, bending the straight lines of the windows into dramatic, circular arcs.Jackson Jost jacksonjost (photo); processed for the Atlas · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Crystal Ball Refraction, applied to “Arctic Fox, Iceland 2 (Unsplash)”
08 Crystal Ball Refraction, applied to “Arctic Fox, Iceland 2 (Unsplash)”A white arctic fox stands amidst a snowy, blue-toned landscape. The scene is completely inverted and magnified within a central orb, creating a striking contrast against the blurred background.Jonatan Pie https://unsplash.com/@r3dmax (photo); processed for the Atlas · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Crystal Ball Refraction, applied to “Paper plane (Unsplash)”
09 Crystal Ball Refraction, applied to “Paper plane (Unsplash)”A hand holds a delicate paper airplane over a dense urban skyline. The city below is pulled into a spherical perspective, distorting the buildings into a curved, miniature world.Andrey Larin engine9 (photo); processed for the Atlas · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Sources