Melting Image Effect

Melting image effect: a photo or video drips and runs down the frame like hot wax, then slowly sets again. Pick how hard it melts and how fast the drips fall.

How does the melt work?

It builds up over time. A melting front starts at the top of the frame and creeps downward, faster in some columns than in others, and below it the picture flows down. Bright areas run faster than dark ones, like warm wax, and moving drips sway a little from side to side.

The original picture seeps back through as it goes, so the melt reaches a balance instead of burying the picture in smears. A still photo becomes a short clip in which the melt grows and settles.

The settings

Amount is how hard it melts, and it opens at 0.5. Speed is how fast everything moves, from 0.1 to 5. Seed gives a different set of drips. Slow drip uses Amount 0.25 and Speed 0.5, for a few long runs. Meltdown sets both to the top, 1 and 2, so the whole picture slides down within seconds.

Higher Amounts also make the picture set more slowly, so it stays melted longer. For a picture that drips and then holds, use a medium Amount and let the clip run for a few seconds before you save.

Can you save a melting picture as a still?

Yes, but because the melt grows over time, the frame you save depends on when you save it. Let it play until it looks right, then pause and save the PNG. For the whole melt, save a GIF, WebM or MP4, which records it from the start.

It works on video too, where the moving footage keeps feeding fresh picture into the drips. If you'd rather have the whole picture wave than run down, the Ripple Effect or Liquify Image tools are the place to look.