Beginner Photopea Tutorial

Rotating Images in Photopea

Beginner Tutorial #3

Overview

Rotating images is a must learn skill for anyone wanting to edit digital images. The simple definition for image rotation is changing the angle of the image. While rotating images sounds easy enough, there is more to rotating images than just that simple definition. The various types of rotations available to us allow for different types of effects. This tutorial will list and explain the various options available when rotating images in Photopea including:

Beginner Skill Level
  1. Basic Rotate
  2. Flip Horizontally
  3. Rotating Images 90 degrees Clockwise
  4. Rotating Images 90 degrees Counterclockwise
Intermediate Skill Level
  1. Flip Vertically
  2. Rotate 180 degrees
Advanced Skill Level

We will define these here but more advanced tutorials will explain how to use them.

  1. Distort
  2. Perspective
  3. Scale
  4. Skew
  5. Warp

Rotating Images in Photopea

We use the transform controls option as part of the move tool to easily rotate images in Photopea. We get to these controls by clicking on the move tool. If the move tool is not already selected, this will change the tool options above the canvas area. Selecting the Transform Control above the canvas area will display the 8 squares around the image. Clicking one time on any of these squares will activate the various rotation options and allow us to right click on the image to see these options. There is an issue for the advanced skill level options and we will explain how to get around that issue in the advanced skill level explanations below.

There is a ninth square in the middle. That square is called the anchor and used for the center option so Photopea knows where the center of the rotation is located. Wherever this center square is moved, the desired effects will center around that square.

Basic Image Rotation

This is the easiest and most common type of image rotation. This allows for easily rotating images clockwise or counterclockwise.

Basic 2D Rotation Instructions
  1. If not already checked, select the Transform Controls checkbox above the canvas area. This will show 8 squares around the image.
  2. Positioning the cursor to just outside of any of the corner squares will change the cursor to a curved arrow. If you do not see the curved arrow, simply click on one of the corners 1 time and now move your cursor just outside any of the corner squares.
  3. Once the curved arrow is shown, hold down the left mouse button and move your cursor to rotate the image. We can freely rotate the image to our desired angle or we can hold down the shift key while moving the cursor to rotate the image 15 degree increments in either direction.
  4. After the desired rotation is completed, let off the left mouse button and then click the checkmark now shown above the canvas area.

After we have clicked on any of the squares to activate the rotation options, we can right click the image to view a menu that provides us the following options.

Basic Skill Level

Flip Horizontally

This option allows us to change the image composition drastically by completely and instantly flipping the image to reverse its current composition into its mirror image. This drastically changes the viewer's perspective and focal point of the image. Be very aware of images with words in them as this option reverses the words as well so the words will be spelled backwards.

Rotating Images 90 degrees Clockwise

This option instantly rotates the image 90 degrees clockwise. This option is extremely useful for rotating images that have been provided to us sideways.

Rotating Images 90 degrees Counterclockwise

This option instantly rotates the image 90 degrees counterclockwise. Just like the clockwise option, this option is used when desiring rotate images that are sideways.

Intermediate Skill Level

Flip Vertically

As a beginner in photo editing, rotating an image to flip vertically may appear unwise. The vertical flip image rotation is very useful for mirror image displays such as water or surface reflections. These types of image creations require an intermediate skill level of understanding of image editing and the image editing software being used to create the effect.

Rotate 180 degrees

The rotate image 180 degrees is different from flipping the image vertically. This image rotation option is used when we receive an image that is upside down and we wish to easily rotate it to be more appealing.

Advanced Skill Level

While right clicking on the image, brings up the menu for all the items discussed below, the options use the move tool and transform controls option. So when clicking on the option, the software does not appear to do anything because the user is already at the place where they need to be in order to perform the effect. An alternative method for seeing all options except for distort is to click on Edit on the menu bar and then highlight the transform option to see the same list if clicking on them does nothing. For the distort option, use the filter menu.

Photopea context menu for rotating images.
Icy shoreline after rotating images 90 degrees.

Distort

The distort option allows for several types of distortions for extreme image manipulation effects. There are ten different types of distortion effects that can be selected from the filter menu. Displace, Kaleidoscope, Pinch, Polar Coordinates, Ripple, Shear, Spherize, Twirl, Wave and ZigZag.

Perspective

The perspective tool can be used two different ways. The more advanced method and first method is to use the filter and vanishing point option to change the perspective of the image. Method 2 and the easier method is to use the transform controls option on the move tool and hold the control key down while dragging the corner boxes.

Scale

The scale option in Photopea can be confusing since it brings you back to the move tool Scaling an image refers to using the transform controls option within the move tool.

  1. Click on one of the corner squares and hold the mouse button down.
  2. Move the cursor to increase or decrease the size of the image.

Skew

Similar to the Scale option, the Skew option only works with the transform controls option in the move tool. Instead of clicking the corner squares, hold down the control key and use the top middle square to rotate the image around to skew the image.

Warp

The warp tool allows for rotating the inside of the image. This tool is extremely versatile and can be used for creating various effects like water or anything that requires the inside of the image be rotated and moved around.

3D Rotation or Free Transform

This is an extremely advanced effect and is beyond the scope of this tutorial. We will discuss this in the advanced tutorial section.

About the author

Tutorial author Wayne Leiser smiling and looking away from the camera

Wayne Leiser has created free and accessible photo editing tutorials. Drawing on over 25 years of design and IT experience, his lessons begin with the universal basics, progressing through beginner, intermediate, and advanced skill levels using Photopea, a free online Photoshop clone. His goal is to provide users with practical skills for financial independence, with a focus on making money online through the SoloBoss profit sharing video platform.