Image - Geometric Transformation

humbert

Firstly I'm really not sure if this is the correct forum. I'd imagine that many people here have a lot of experience with graphics tools but it's hardly an artistic question.

I've an image created in photoshp (attached) which is of a circular form and I'd like to transform a circular strip of that image into a linear strip. My inclination is to investigate what is possible using paths but nothing is immediately obvious.

I wonder if anyone has an idea how to either transform that or create a similar effect but in a linear form?

5uspect

I guess you could use a noise gradient?
http://livedocs.adobe.com/en_US/Photoshop//10.0/help.html?content=WSfd1234e1c4b69f30ea53e41001031ab64-77dc.html
There is a swatch of them you can load in the gradient tool.

humbert

Thanks. I've gotten something passable using the wind effect under stylize and a bit of motion blur. Good to know about that noise gradient though; hadn't seen it before.