Draw distorted image on html5's canvas

Question

Is it possible, and if so how, to draw images with its four corners distorted to a non rectangular shape. For example if you were wanting to draw the image as if it had been rotated around in 3d space.

Answer 1

I created a simple 4 point transform based on Thatcher Ulrich's code ( http://tulrich.com/geekstuff/canvas/perspective.html ). This version just extracts the small bit of triangle code and handles the geometry subdivision for proper transformation. Enjoy!

http://jsfiddle.net/mrbendel/6rbtde5t/1/

var controls = [];
var canvas;
var context;
var image;
var triangles = [];
var dirtyTriangles = true;

var rand = function(s,e) {
    return Math.random() * (e-s) + s;
}

// dom ready
$(document).ready(function() {
    image = new Image();
    $(image).load(function() {
        setInterval(draw, 1000 / 60);
    });
    $(image).attr('src', 'http://media.giphy.com/media/NWb6sWXQQTqwg/giphy.gif');

    canvas = document.createElement('canvas');
    $(canvas).attr('width', 500);
    $(canvas).attr('height', 500);
    $('body').append(canvas);

    context = canvas.getContext('2d');

    //
    for (var i = 0; i < 4; ++i) {
        var control = document.createElement('div');
        $(control).addClass('node');
        $('body').append(control);
        controls.push(control);
    }

    $(controls[0]).css('left', rand(25, 225));
    $(controls[0]).css('top', rand(25, 225));

    $(controls[1]).css('left', rand(250, 475));
    $(controls[1]).css('top', rand(25, 225));

    $(controls[2]).css('left', rand(250, 475));
    $(controls[2]).css('top', rand(250, 475));

    $(controls[3]).css('left', rand(25, 225));
    $(controls[3]).css('top', rand(250, 475));

    $('body').mousedown(function(e) {
        if ($(e.target).hasClass('node')) {
            var node = e.target;

            $('body').mousemove(function(e) {
                var x = e.pageX;
                var y = e.pageY;
                $(node).css('left', x);
                $(node).css('top', y);
                dirtyTriangles = true;
            });

            $('body').mouseup(function(e) {
                $('body').off( "mousemove" );
                $('body').off( "mouseup" );
            });
        }
    });
});

var draw = function() {
    context.clearRect(0,0,500,500);

    var render = function(wireframe, image, tri) {

        if (wireframe) {
            context.strokeStyle = "black";
            context.beginPath();
            context.moveTo(tri.p0.x, tri.p0.y);
            context.lineTo(tri.p1.x, tri.p1.y);
            context.lineTo(tri.p2.x, tri.p2.y);
            context.lineTo(tri.p0.x, tri.p0.y);
            context.stroke();
            context.closePath();
        }

        if (image) {
            drawTriangle(context, image,
                         tri.p0.x, tri.p0.y,
                         tri.p1.x, tri.p1.y,
                         tri.p2.x, tri.p2.y,
                         tri.t0.u, tri.t0.v,
                         tri.t1.u, tri.t1.v,
                         tri.t2.u, tri.t2.v);
        }
    }

    if (dirtyTriangles) {
        dirtyTriangles = false;
        calculateGeometry();
    }

    for (triangle of triangles) {
        render(true, image, triangle);
    }
}

var calculateGeometry = function() {
    // clear triangles out
    triangles = [];

    // generate subdivision
    var subs = 7; // vertical subdivisions
    var divs = 7; // horizontal subdivisions

    var p1 = new Point(parseInt($(controls[0]).css('left')) + 6, parseInt($(controls[0]).css('top')) + 6);
    var p2 = new Point(parseInt($(controls[1]).css('left')) + 6, parseInt($(controls[1]).css('top')) + 6);
    var p3 = new Point(parseInt($(controls[2]).css('left')) + 6, parseInt($(controls[2]).css('top')) + 6);
    var p4 = new Point(parseInt($(controls[3]).css('left')) + 6, parseInt($(controls[3]).css('top')) + 6);

    var dx1 = p4.x - p1.x;
    var dy1 = p4.y - p1.y;
    var dx2 = p3.x - p2.x;
    var dy2 = p3.y - p2.y;

    var imgW = image.naturalWidth;
    var imgH = image.naturalHeight;

    for (var sub = 0; sub < subs; ++sub) {
        var curRow = sub / subs;
        var nextRow = (sub + 1) / subs;

        var curRowX1 = p1.x + dx1 * curRow;
        var curRowY1 = p1.y + dy1 * curRow;

        var curRowX2 = p2.x + dx2 * curRow;
        var curRowY2 = p2.y + dy2 * curRow;

        var nextRowX1 = p1.x + dx1 * nextRow;
        var nextRowY1 = p1.y + dy1 * nextRow;

        var nextRowX2 = p2.x + dx2 * nextRow;
        var nextRowY2 = p2.y + dy2 * nextRow;

        for (var div = 0; div < divs; ++div) {
            var curCol = div / divs;
            var nextCol = (div + 1) / divs;

            var dCurX = curRowX2 - curRowX1;
            var dCurY = curRowY2 - curRowY1;
            var dNextX = nextRowX2 - nextRowX1;
            var dNextY = nextRowY2 - nextRowY1;

            var p1x = curRowX1 + dCurX * curCol;
            var p1y = curRowY1 + dCurY * curCol;

            var p2x = curRowX1 + (curRowX2 - curRowX1) * nextCol;
            var p2y = curRowY1 + (curRowY2 - curRowY1) * nextCol;

            var p3x = nextRowX1 + dNextX * nextCol;
            var p3y = nextRowY1 + dNextY * nextCol;

            var p4x = nextRowX1 + dNextX * curCol;
            var p4y = nextRowY1 + dNextY * curCol;

            var u1 = curCol * imgW;
            var u2 = nextCol * imgW;
            var v1 = curRow * imgH;
            var v2 = nextRow * imgH;

            var triangle1 = new Triangle(
                new Point(p1x, p1y),
                new Point(p3x, p3y),
                new Point(p4x, p4y),
                new TextCoord(u1, v1),
                new TextCoord(u2, v2),
                new TextCoord(u1, v2)
            );

            var triangle2 = new Triangle(
                new Point(p1x, p1y),
                new Point(p2x, p2y),
                new Point(p3x, p3y),
                new TextCoord(u1, v1),
                new TextCoord(u2, v1),
                new TextCoord(u2, v2)
            );

            triangles.push(triangle1);
            triangles.push(triangle2);
        }
    }
}

// from http://tulrich.com/geekstuff/canvas/jsgl.js
var drawTriangle = function(ctx, im, x0, y0, x1, y1, x2, y2,
    sx0, sy0, sx1, sy1, sx2, sy2) {
    ctx.save();

    // Clip the output to the on-screen triangle boundaries.
    ctx.beginPath();
    ctx.moveTo(x0, y0);
    ctx.lineTo(x1, y1);
    ctx.lineTo(x2, y2);
    ctx.closePath();
    //ctx.stroke();//xxxxxxx for wireframe
    ctx.clip();

    /*
    ctx.transform(m11, m12, m21, m22, dx, dy) sets the context transform matrix.

    The context matrix is:

    [ m11 m21 dx ]
    [ m12 m22 dy ]
    [  0   0   1 ]

    Coords are column vectors with a 1 in the z coord, so the transform is:
    x_out = m11 * x + m21 * y + dx;
    y_out = m12 * x + m22 * y + dy;

    From Maxima, these are the transform values that map the source
    coords to the dest coords:

    sy0 (x2 - x1) - sy1 x2 + sy2 x1 + (sy1 - sy2) x0
    [m11 = - -----------------------------------------------------,
    sx0 (sy2 - sy1) - sx1 sy2 + sx2 sy1 + (sx1 - sx2) sy0

    sy1 y2 + sy0 (y1 - y2) - sy2 y1 + (sy2 - sy1) y0
    m12 = -----------------------------------------------------,
    sx0 (sy2 - sy1) - sx1 sy2 + sx2 sy1 + (sx1 - sx2) sy0

    sx0 (x2 - x1) - sx1 x2 + sx2 x1 + (sx1 - sx2) x0
    m21 = -----------------------------------------------------,
    sx0 (sy2 - sy1) - sx1 sy2 + sx2 sy1 + (sx1 - sx2) sy0

    sx1 y2 + sx0 (y1 - y2) - sx2 y1 + (sx2 - sx1) y0
    m22 = - -----------------------------------------------------,
    sx0 (sy2 - sy1) - sx1 sy2 + sx2 sy1 + (sx1 - sx2) sy0

    sx0 (sy2 x1 - sy1 x2) + sy0 (sx1 x2 - sx2 x1) + (sx2 sy1 - sx1 sy2) x0
    dx = ----------------------------------------------------------------------,
    sx0 (sy2 - sy1) - sx1 sy2 + sx2 sy1 + (sx1 - sx2) sy0

    sx0 (sy2 y1 - sy1 y2) + sy0 (sx1 y2 - sx2 y1) + (sx2 sy1 - sx1 sy2) y0
    dy = ----------------------------------------------------------------------]
    sx0 (sy2 - sy1) - sx1 sy2 + sx2 sy1 + (sx1 - sx2) sy0
  */

    // TODO: eliminate common subexpressions.
    var denom = sx0 * (sy2 - sy1) - sx1 * sy2 + sx2 * sy1 + (sx1 - sx2) * sy0;
    if (denom == 0) {
        return;
    }
    var m11 = -(sy0 * (x2 - x1) - sy1 * x2 + sy2 * x1 + (sy1 - sy2) * x0) / denom;
    var m12 = (sy1 * y2 + sy0 * (y1 - y2) - sy2 * y1 + (sy2 - sy1) * y0) / denom;
    var m21 = (sx0 * (x2 - x1) - sx1 * x2 + sx2 * x1 + (sx1 - sx2) * x0) / denom;
    var m22 = -(sx1 * y2 + sx0 * (y1 - y2) - sx2 * y1 + (sx2 - sx1) * y0) / denom;
    var dx = (sx0 * (sy2 * x1 - sy1 * x2) + sy0 * (sx1 * x2 - sx2 * x1) + (sx2 * sy1 - sx1 * sy2) * x0) / denom;
    var dy = (sx0 * (sy2 * y1 - sy1 * y2) + sy0 * (sx1 * y2 - sx2 * y1) + (sx2 * sy1 - sx1 * sy2) * y0) / denom;

    ctx.transform(m11, m12, m21, m22, dx, dy);

    // Draw the whole image.  Transform and clip will map it onto the
    // correct output triangle.
    //
    // TODO: figure out if drawImage goes faster if we specify the rectangle that
    // bounds the source coords.
    ctx.drawImage(im, 0, 0);
    ctx.restore();
};

// point class

var Point = function(x,y) {
    this.x = x?x:0;
    this.y = y?y:0;
}

var p = Point.prototype;

p.length = function(point) {
    point = point?point:new Point();
    var xs =0, ys =0;
    xs = point.x - this.x;
    xs = xs * xs;

    ys = point.y - this.y;
    ys = ys * ys;
    return Math.sqrt( xs + ys );
}

var TextCoord = function(u,v) {
    this.u = u?u:0;
    this.v = v?v:0;
}

var Triangle = function(p0, p1, p2, t0, t1, t2) {
    this.p0 = p0;
    this.p1 = p1;
    this.p2 = p2;

    this.t0 = t0;
    this.t1 = t1;
    this.t2 = t2;
}

Answer 2

The easiest way is to apply a transformation to the canvas before drawing the image.

http://www.whatwg.org/specs/web-apps/current-work/multipage/the-canvas-element.html#transformations

With skewing transformations you can make it look like it was drawn in perspective

Here's a very simple example:

ctx.setTransform (1, -0.2, 0, 1, 0, 0);
ctx.drawImage(blah);

Answer 3

Check out this tutorial, it uses optical illusion to simulate perspective. http://www.subshell.com/en/subshell/blog/image-manipulation-html5-canvas102.html

Answer 4

You could try function transferPoint (xI, yI, source, destination) explicated here .

Source and destination are the four points of source and destination rectangles. The code works for (SVG) path coordinates (curve and line), but with some modification should work also with pixels.

Answer 5

A number of commenters above have asked about hiding the triangles - do this and they'll disappear (for info: @erbridge, @Constantin Groß):

All credit for the following still goes to @AndyPoes, since this was all his suggestion - I'm just adding the completed version he suggested.

Change this line:

render(true, image, triangle);

To this:

render(false, image, triangle);

...the black triangles will have gone, but you'll see gaps between the triangles, so now do this:

Change this:

var triangle1 = new Triangle(
            new Point(p1x, p1y),
            new Point(p3x, p3y),
            new Point(p4x, p4y),
            new TextCoord(u1, v1),
            new TextCoord(u2, v2),
            new TextCoord(u1, v2)
        );

        var triangle2 = new Triangle(
            new Point(p1x, p1y),
            new Point(p2x, p2y),
            new Point(p3x, p3y),
            new TextCoord(u1, v1),
            new TextCoord(u2, v1),
            new TextCoord(u2, v2)
        );

To this instead:

            var triangle1 = new Triangle(
            new Point(p1x-1, p1y),
            new Point(p3x+2, p3y+1),
            new Point(p4x-1, p4y+1),
            new TextCoord(u1, v1),
            new TextCoord(u2, v2),
            new TextCoord(u1, v2)
        );

        var triangle2 = new Triangle(
            new Point(p1x-2, p1y),
            new Point(p2x+1, p2y),
            new Point(p3x+1, p3y+1),
            new TextCoord(u1, v1),
            new TextCoord(u2, v1),
            new TextCoord(u2, v2)
        );

....and the gaps will be closed.

New fiddle = fiddler off the roof

Full code is here:

var controls = [];
var canvas;
var context;
var image;
var triangles = [];
var dirtyTriangles = false;

var rand = function(s,e) {
    return Math.random() * (e-s) + s;
}

// dom ready
$(document).ready(function() {
image = new Image();
$(image).load(function() {
    setInterval(draw, 1000 / 60);
});
$(image).attr('src', 'https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1500964757637-c85e8a162699?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&q=80&fm=jpg');

canvas = document.createElement('canvas');
$(canvas).attr('width', 500);
$(canvas).attr('height', 500);
$('body').append(canvas);

context = canvas.getContext('2d');

//
for (var i = 0; i < 4; ++i) {
    var control = document.createElement('div');
    $(control).addClass('node');
    $('body').append(control);
    controls.push(control);
}

$(controls[0]).css('left', rand(25, 225));
$(controls[0]).css('top', rand(25, 225));

$(controls[1]).css('left', rand(250, 475));
$(controls[1]).css('top', rand(25, 225));

$(controls[2]).css('left', rand(250, 475));
$(controls[2]).css('top', rand(250, 475));

$(controls[3]).css('left', rand(25, 225));
$(controls[3]).css('top', rand(250, 475));

$('body').mousedown(function(e) {
    if ($(e.target).hasClass('node')) {
        var node = e.target;

        $('body').mousemove(function(e) {
            var x = e.pageX;
            var y = e.pageY;
            $(node).css('left', x);
            $(node).css('top', y);
            dirtyTriangles = true;
        });

        $('body').mouseup(function(e) {
            $('body').off( "mousemove" );
            $('body').off( "mouseup" );
        });
    }
});
});

var draw = function() {
context.clearRect(0,0,500,500);

var render = function(wireframe, image, tri) {
    
    if (wireframe) {
        context.strokeStyle = "black";
        context.beginPath();
        context.moveTo(tri.p0.x, tri.p0.y);
        context.lineTo(tri.p1.x, tri.p1.y);
        context.lineTo(tri.p2.x, tri.p2.y);
        context.lineTo(tri.p0.x, tri.p0.y);
        context.stroke();
        context.closePath();
    }

    if (image) {
        drawTriangle(context, image,
                     tri.p0.x, tri.p0.y,
                     tri.p1.x, tri.p1.y,
                     tri.p2.x, tri.p2.y,
                     tri.t0.u, tri.t0.v,
                     tri.t1.u, tri.t1.v,
                     tri.t2.u, tri.t2.v);
    }
}

if (dirtyTriangles) {
    dirtyTriangles = false;
    calculateGeometry();
}

for (triangle of triangles) {
    render(true, image, triangle);
}
}

var calculateGeometry = function() {
// clear triangles out
triangles = [];

// generate subdivision
var subs = 7; // vertical subdivisions
var divs = 7; // horizontal subdivisions

var p1 = new Point(parseInt($(controls[0]).css('left')) + 6, parseInt($(controls[0]).css('top')) + 6);
var p2 = new Point(parseInt($(controls[1]).css('left')) + 6, parseInt($(controls[1]).css('top')) + 6);
var p3 = new Point(parseInt($(controls[2]).css('left')) + 6, parseInt($(controls[2]).css('top')) + 6);
var p4 = new Point(parseInt($(controls[3]).css('left')) + 6, parseInt($(controls[3]).css('top')) + 6);

var dx1 = p4.x - p1.x;
var dy1 = p4.y - p1.y;
var dx2 = p3.x - p2.x;
var dy2 = p3.y - p2.y;

var imgW = image.naturalWidth;
var imgH = image.naturalHeight;

for (var sub = 0; sub < subs; ++sub) {
    var curRow = sub / subs;
    var nextRow = (sub + 1) / subs;

    var curRowX1 = p1.x + dx1 * curRow;
    var curRowY1 = p1.y + dy1 * curRow;
    
    var curRowX2 = p2.x + dx2 * curRow;
    var curRowY2 = p2.y + dy2 * curRow;

    var nextRowX1 = p1.x + dx1 * nextRow;
    var nextRowY1 = p1.y + dy1 * nextRow;
    
    var nextRowX2 = p2.x + dx2 * nextRow;
    var nextRowY2 = p2.y + dy2 * nextRow;

    for (var div = 0; div < divs; ++div) {
        var curCol = div / divs;
        var nextCol = (div + 1) / divs;

        var dCurX = curRowX2 - curRowX1;
        var dCurY = curRowY2 - curRowY1;
        var dNextX = nextRowX2 - nextRowX1;
        var dNextY = nextRowY2 - nextRowY1;

        var p1x = curRowX1 + dCurX * curCol;
        var p1y = curRowY1 + dCurY * curCol;

        var p2x = curRowX1 + (curRowX2 - curRowX1) * nextCol;
        var p2y = curRowY1 + (curRowY2 - curRowY1) * nextCol;

        var p3x = nextRowX1 + dNextX * nextCol;
        var p3y = nextRowY1 + dNextY * nextCol;

        var p4x = nextRowX1 + dNextX * curCol;
        var p4y = nextRowY1 + dNextY * curCol;

        var u1 = curCol * imgW;
        var u2 = nextCol * imgW;
        var v1 = curRow * imgH;
        var v2 = nextRow * imgH;

        var triangle1 = new Triangle(
            new Point(p1x-1, p1y),
            new Point(p3x+2, p3y+1),
            new Point(p4x-1, p4y+1),
            new TextCoord(u1, v1),
            new TextCoord(u2, v2),
            new TextCoord(u1, v2)
        );

        var triangle2 = new Triangle(
            new Point(p1x-2, p1y),
            new Point(p2x+1, p2y),
            new Point(p3x+1, p3y+1),
            new TextCoord(u1, v1),
            new TextCoord(u2, v1),
            new TextCoord(u2, v2)
        );

        triangles.push(triangle1);
        triangles.push(triangle2);
    }
}
}

// from http://tulrich.com/geekstuff/canvas/jsgl.js
var drawTriangle = function(ctx, im, x0, y0, x1, y1, x2, y2,
sx0, sy0, sx1, sy1, sx2, sy2) {
ctx.save();

// Clip the output to the on-screen triangle boundaries.
ctx.beginPath();
ctx.moveTo(x0, y0);
ctx.lineTo(x1, y1);
ctx.lineTo(x2, y2);
ctx.closePath();
//ctx.stroke();//xxxxxxx for wireframe
ctx.clip();

/*
ctx.transform(m11, m12, m21, m22, dx, dy) sets the context transform matrix.

The context matrix is:

[ m11 m21 dx ]
[ m12 m22 dy ]
[  0   0   1 ]

Coords are column vectors with a 1 in the z coord, so the transform is:
x_out = m11 * x + m21 * y + dx;
y_out = m12 * x + m22 * y + dy;

From Maxima, these are the transform values that map the source
coords to the dest coords:

sy0 (x2 - x1) - sy1 x2 + sy2 x1 + (sy1 - sy2) x0
[m11 = - -----------------------------------------------------,
sx0 (sy2 - sy1) - sx1 sy2 + sx2 sy1 + (sx1 - sx2) sy0

sy1 y2 + sy0 (y1 - y2) - sy2 y1 + (sy2 - sy1) y0
m12 = -----------------------------------------------------,
sx0 (sy2 - sy1) - sx1 sy2 + sx2 sy1 + (sx1 - sx2) sy0

sx0 (x2 - x1) - sx1 x2 + sx2 x1 + (sx1 - sx2) x0
m21 = -----------------------------------------------------,
sx0 (sy2 - sy1) - sx1 sy2 + sx2 sy1 + (sx1 - sx2) sy0

sx1 y2 + sx0 (y1 - y2) - sx2 y1 + (sx2 - sx1) y0
m22 = - -----------------------------------------------------,
sx0 (sy2 - sy1) - sx1 sy2 + sx2 sy1 + (sx1 - sx2) sy0

sx0 (sy2 x1 - sy1 x2) + sy0 (sx1 x2 - sx2 x1) + (sx2 sy1 - sx1 sy2) x0
dx = ----------------------------------------------------------------------,
sx0 (sy2 - sy1) - sx1 sy2 + sx2 sy1 + (sx1 - sx2) sy0

sx0 (sy2 y1 - sy1 y2) + sy0 (sx1 y2 - sx2 y1) + (sx2 sy1 - sx1 sy2) y0
dy = ----------------------------------------------------------------------]
sx0 (sy2 - sy1) - sx1 sy2 + sx2 sy1 + (sx1 - sx2) sy0
  */

// TODO: eliminate common subexpressions.
var denom = sx0 * (sy2 - sy1) - sx1 * sy2 + sx2 * sy1 + (sx1 - sx2) * sy0;
if (denom == 0) {
    return;
}
var m11 = -(sy0 * (x2 - x1) - sy1 * x2 + sy2 * x1 + (sy1 - sy2) * x0) / denom;
var m12 = (sy1 * y2 + sy0 * (y1 - y2) - sy2 * y1 + (sy2 - sy1) * y0) / denom;
var m21 = (sx0 * (x2 - x1) - sx1 * x2 + sx2 * x1 + (sx1 - sx2) * x0) / denom;
var m22 = -(sx1 * y2 + sx0 * (y1 - y2) - sx2 * y1 + (sx2 - sx1) * y0) / denom;
var dx = (sx0 * (sy2 * x1 - sy1 * x2) + sy0 * (sx1 * x2 - sx2 * x1) + (sx2 * sy1 - sx1 * sy2) * x0) / denom;
var dy = (sx0 * (sy2 * y1 - sy1 * y2) + sy0 * (sx1 * y2 - sx2 * y1) + (sx2 * sy1 - sx1 * sy2) * y0) / denom;

ctx.transform(m11, m12, m21, m22, dx, dy);

// Draw the whole image.  Transform and clip will map it onto the
// correct output triangle.
//
// TODO: figure out if drawImage goes faster if we specify the rectangle that
// bounds the source coords.
ctx.drawImage(im, 0, 0);
ctx.restore();
};

// point class

var Point = function(x,y) {
this.x = x?x:0;
this.y = y?y:0;
}

var p = Point.prototype;

p.length = function(point) {
    point = point?point:new Point();
    var xs =0, ys =0;
    xs = point.x - this.x;
    xs = xs * xs;

    ys = point.y - this.y;
    ys = ys * ys;
    return Math.sqrt( xs + ys );
}

var TextCoord = function(u,v) {
this.u = u?u:0;
this.v = v?v:0;
}

var Triangle = function(p0, p1, p2, t0, t1, t2) {
this.p0 = p0;
this.p1 = p1;
this.p2 = p2;

this.t0 = t0;
this.t1 = t1;
this.t2 = t2;
}

Answer 6

@Steve , I noticed that the image is invisible on first render in your updated Fiddle. It appears as soon as you start interacting with the corners however. See below

Image is invisible on first render until you interact with the corners