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Photoshop plugins
Photoshop plug-ins
Looking to expand your Photoshop chops (short for "Channel ops," of course)? Check out these plugins:
First up is I-US' Plugin Galaxy product, which consists of 20 plugins for Photoshop and over 120 filter effects. The
URL of Plugin Galaxy is http://www.i-us.com/products/plugingalaxy/pg.htm
Visit PlugIn Com HQ -- Plugins, Effects and Tools for Image and Video Editing -- at http://pico.i-us.com/ for more info.
Auto F/X
Photo/Graphic Patterns and Photo/Graphics Edges volumes 1-3 are plug-in collections available from Auto F/X. All the Auto F/X titles we've seen are dual-format CD-ROMs -- both Mac and Windows plug-ins are on the CD. As with most other plug-in collections, these ones work with any program that supports the Photoshop 3.0 plug-in specification. A "lite" version of PhotoGraphic Edges is bundled with CorelDRAW 8.
Photo Graphic Patterns provides a collection of textures, both seamless and non-tiled, plus pre-built lighting effects and controls to adjust displacement, lighting, contrast and other options. Overall, a useful package, but not particularly inspired.
Photo/Graphics Edges is basically a collection of masks, consisting of non-square borders. Volume 1 consists of "traditional" edge effects, such as darkroom styled borders, film strips and so on. Volume 2 contains geometric and abstract edges. Volume 3 contains hand-painted "gorgeously messy" borders. Yes, you could paint your own, but for those without the time or inclination to do so, these are useful collections. We liked volume 3 the best, although each collection has its appeal (and appropriate uses). Just say "no" to boring borders!
Eye Candy
Eye Candy, from Alien Skin Software, is currently our favorite collection of Photoshop plug-ins. An updated version of a product previously known as The Black Box, Eye Candy effects range from the essential (bevels, drop shadows, cut-out effects) to the esoteric (Van Gogh-like swirls, flames, waterdrops, etc.) Eye Candy is available in Windows or Mac versions. Highly recommended. The Windows versions of the Eye Candy plug-ins work well with CorelDraw 8, by the way.
SQUIZZ
Also bundled with CorelDRAW 8, this plugin essentially adds "Kai's Power Goo" like features to Photoshop or Corel PhotoPaint. Squizz can push or pull a photo around the page like taffy. Try this online example of what "GOO" feels like.
Cybermesh
John Knoll, one of the original developers of Photoshop, has released CyberMesh, a plug-in that allows 3D models in industry-standard DXF format to be created from standard grayscale images. The DXF file can then be saved and used in virtually any 3D program. It's a simple plug-in but it works well. The number of polygons in the resulting DXF files can be adjusted, and the model can be rotated directly in the plug-in window.
PictureMan Collection: Rubber
Picture Man Rubber Plug-in v.1.0 is a collection of extensions designed for Windows 95 that plug into Adobe Photoshop™ v.3.05 or later, or any paint application that fully and correctly subscribes to the Adobe Plug-in architecture.
Picture Man Rubber Plug-in v.1.0 works with with Adobe Photoshop™ v.3.05, Corel Photopaint™ v.6.00.118, Micrografx Picture Publisher 6.0 and Fractal Design Painter 4.0.
For further info, contact STOIK Software via e-mail: pot...@stoik.zgrad.su
Kai's Photo Soap
Pros: Inexpensive. Innovative, fun interface and a reasonable array of photo-enhancement tools.
Cons: Some functions seem unnecessarily complicated. Not enough automated image enhancements. Some functions, such as the creation of masks and selections, seem crude when compared to Photoshop.
At US$49, Soap is a no-brainer for the beginning computer user wanting a low-stress entry into the world of photo-editing and image enhancement software. Ideal for users with low-cost scanners, we fully expect to see Soap bundled with an array of products, much as the company's Power Goo product is today. Recommended for casual use, but don't expect it to replace Photoshop.
Extensis Intellihance
Pros: Easiest way to enhance scanned images with automatic sharpening and color correction features. Enhancements are customizable.
Cons: None noted.
Intellihance might be just the ticket for Photoshop (etc.) users who don't have the time or skills required to manually tweak a decent image into a great one. RGB, grayscale and CMYK versions of the plug-in are provided in the full version; a "lite" version (which works only with RGB images) is provided in PhotoTools 1.0, CorelDraw 7.0 (Windows) and CorelDraw 6.0 (Mac). Note that Intellihance Lite is absent from both Phototools 2.0 and CorelDraw 8, although the older plug-in will still function with the new package if you upgrade. Recommended.
Speaking of Photoshop, we recently asked Adobe tech support why Photoshop 4.01 for Windows doesn't allow files to be saved directly to a network drive. Their answer? "Photoshop wasn't intended to work over a network, therefore, this function isn't supported." Bogus!
Another Photoshop 4.0x anomaly: GIF files created with the Windows version's Save as GIF feature can't reliably be read into QuarkXpress or Photoshop 4.0 on a Mac. Workaround: use the GIF89a export option instead.
Also worth checking out:
- Squizz
- PictureMan Collection: Rubber
- Andromeda 3D
- Fototune
- Kai's Power Tools (now at version 6)
- KPT Convolver
Other Graphics Features
- Draw Pardner! -- A graphics app shootout
- CorelDraw 7 Launched
- 3D Graphics Gems
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