The Canvangelist #16

Summer 2004
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Creative Canvas Evangelism for
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This Summer we’ve reached
sixteen candles for The Canvangelist
ezine, sixteen issues since that first onepage Canvas design experiment done back
in November 2001 became issue #1's
cover illustration. As time has passed, The
Canvangelist has continued to be a unique
source of creative inspiration for Canvas
users around the world and a place to turn for
information about the latest in third-party
graphics plug-ins, stand-alones and add-ons.
This issue (a record 42 pages!) is no exception.
In these pages we explore web page design in
the lead article while anticipating the long, hot
summer ahead (much of it to be spent getting
my several personal websites up to date with
the help of the various web design applications
and HTML utilities discussed in this issue).
Then we show some real-world examples of
how Canvas can help you create commercial
graphic design projects, before finally catching
up with the very latest in third-party graphics
applications, a tutorial & more.
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
If you’ve been enjoying the
photography in each issue of The
Canvangelist and want the
original files for your own use,
be sure to check out The
Canvangelist Collection options
on page 3. So much royaltyfree imagery for so little outlay!
3: Canvangelist DVD & CD
WEB DESIGN SPECIAL FEATURE
4-6: Web design with Canvas Nine
7-9: Web design with Freeway Pro
10: dot software Site Studio
11: HTML optimizers and Link Checker
12-14: CANVAS TO THE RESCUE! FEATURE
THIRD-PARTY GRAPHICS ADDITIONS
15-17: Auto FX Creative Xtreme Bundle
18-19: nik Color Efex 2
20-21: LucisArt and Lucis Pro
22: Alien Skin Eye Candy 5
23-24: Digital Film Tools 55mm 4.0
25-26: binuscan PhotoRetouch Pro 3
27-30: Asiva version 2 products
31: PhotoTune Skin Tune
32: Kodak Digital GEM Airbrush
33: PhotoGia actions
34: Freegamma Lobster
35: PhotoWiz Color Washer & Freebies
36-37: GX GraphicXtras plug-ins & add-ons
38: Pixingo PhotoFirst
39: Old Jewel Software Painter’s Picker
40: Expression 3 tutorial
41: TackyShirt OS-X training
42: Letters and Information
Special thanks to the many
developers who shared their
products with the readers of
The Canvangelist! Be sure to
see the special offer on p. 21!
Mike Bedford
[email protected]
Frame effect by Extensis PhotoFrame
Original cover image
before plug-in imaging
effects were applied
COVER PHOTO EFFECTS:
buZZ Simplify
nik Color Efex Polarizer
Andromeda Scatterlight
Digital Film Tools 55mm
Flaming Pear Aetherize
Alien Skin Xenofex Clouds
Actual ocean photo
Aurora 2 simulation
Making The Canvangelist Collection work for you
Get the most out of the Canvas illustrations and stock photos
Learn the tricks of creative Canvas use: When you set out to learn a
new application, or to improve your skills in one you already use, it is very
helpful to examine and dissect advanced examples done by others. The
Canvangelist Collection DVD and CD provides you with many original
Canvas-format illustrations to explore, each with every object separate and
labeled. See how native Canvas and third-party effects contribute to the
final design, then apply these techniques to your own work.
www.canvangelist.com/dvd.html
Soft-focus effect by Andromeda Scatterlight
as applied to water02.jpg from
The Canvangelist Collection DVD
Use the 1000+ royalty-free stock photos in
your creative and commercial graphics projects!
(see page 14 for real-world examples)
Choose from among these three options:
1
You can purchase the full Canvangelist
DVD from the ACD store. Visit the URL
above and click the “Buy it Now!” link.
The DVD is professionally packaged,
filled with Canvas art & 1000+ photos.
2
Don’t need all the stock photos but still
want to examine original Canvas art?
The CD-R option contains ALL of the
Canvas files from the DVD (AND recent
updates) with less of the stock photos.
3
If you already own the DVD, you can
update it with NEWER Canvas art files
and DIFFERENT stock photos, all
produced since the DVD was released.
*See the website for all the details!*
water02.jpg
original
Available on DVD or CD-R
www.canvangelist.com/dvd.html
When I set out to design each
new Canvangelist ezine, I draw
heavily upon The Canvangelist
Collection DVD stock images.
<canvas>
For years I’ve been doing my web
I recreated the entire Canvangelist website
layout
(found at www.canvangelist.com) almost
design in WYSIWYG editors, beginning with
from scratch in both Canvas 9 and Freeway Pro
Adobe PageMill 1.0, working my way up to
3.5.
The default version currently online was
GoLive Cyberstudio and finally Adobe GoLive.
created and maintained with Adobe GoLive
But being a Canvas user, I probably could
versions 5, 6 and CS. You can now also view and
have been doing the bulk of my web designs
examine the alternate Canvas and
right in here in Canvas all
Freeway versions of this
this time!
same site (see the URLs at
Of course, I’ve long used
the end of this article).
Canvas for the creation of my
After considering the
web graphics. After I recently
difference in approaches to
received SoftPress’ Freeway
designing and laying out your
Pro 3.5 for review, I thought
site elements between
it was high time to fire up
Canvas and Freeway, be sure
Canvas 9 and crank out a
to spend some time
website, while at the same
comparing the finished HTML
time seeing how the whole
code
among all three final
By Mike Bedford
design and export process
versions of The Canvangelist
compares to Freeway. Since the new
website and draw your own conclusions about
GoLive CS seems to have sluggish performance
which is the most efficient, functional, etc.
issues (in my experience), I am looking to make
Let’s begin our experiment in WYSIWYG website
a switch. So this opportunity to compare web
creation with our very own Canvas 9.0.4. Hiding
design apps comes at just the right time.
b e h i n d t h e f r i e n d l y C a nva s i n t e r f a c e ( s e e
Here’s a little web design experiment that I
screenshot below) is a surprisingly capable web
performed especially for this sixteenth issue:
design engine, as you’re about to witness.
www.deneba.com
If you already know how to use Canvas, you
already know how to build a website! Begin
by opening a new Publication document,
setting the size to 800x600 pixels (or any
size that is appropriate for both your design
idea and for display on the majority of computer
monitors). Click OK and you’re ready to go!
If your site is going to have multiple pages, simply add
more pages using Layout>Pages>Insert. In the
Document Layout palette, give each page a name
according to the content you expect to place on them.
To lay out your Canvas website design,
drag your already prepared Canvas image
elements (as I have done here) onto the
layout area, or simply create your new
Canvas design work from scratch (placing
images, drawing vector shapes and
inputting text). Either way, Canvas can
convert the layout into a web page or site.
Continue your design work on as many
pages as necessary. In the case of The
Canvangelist website, there are a total of
five separate pages. When you are done,
you can begin the task of hyperlinking the
elements to other pages or external pages.
Each of your
Canvas web
pages will
have a name,
making site
navigation
and linking
very easy.
Canvas 9's new and improved Link Manager is
the place to go to stitch your site together. In
the example shown below, I have highlighted a
bit of text that I wish to be a hyperlink to the
“ezine” page on the finished website.
After highlighting the text, I clicked on “The
ezine” page in the list in the Link Manager, then
clicked the linking chain button at the top of the
palette. That’s pretty much all there is to it!
You can also specify how the link’s attributes
will display, in terms of color, underline, etc.
When you’re ready to
save your Canvas
layout as a website,
choose File>Save
As>HTML. Canvas will
ask how you want to
handle the site. I chose to
save it in a new folder, with
the images in a subfolder, as
an HTML 4, centered table layout.
Be sure to never render text for the
best appearance and performance!
The screenshot below shows how
the site files will look inside their
new folder. All that remains is to
upload your Canvas website to your
web server, after which you can
share it with the entire world!
Save your layout as a Canvas website!
Exporting web images from Canvas
Saving images at this setting
will bring up the Export
Preview dialog box (below)
Just like Adobe Photoshop, Corel PhotoPAINT,
Macromedia Fireworks and other imaging applications,
Canvas can export images specifically prepared and
optimized for use on websites. Prior to creating my
HTML layout in GoLive over the years, I would prepare
my graphics in Canvas by using the camera tool to
select part of a graphic and render at 72ppi (as shown
above). I then chose Image>Export>GIF/JPEG, which
brings up the dialog seen at right. After deciding
whether a GIF or JPEG better represented the artwork,
I clicked Export and saved the image with a name.
Of course Canvas can do all of this work for you
internally if you use it to generate your web page
images and graphics, rather than using a third-party
WYSIWYG app for the layout of prepared elements.
•Here are the alternate websites for you to compare:
www.canvangelist.com/canvas
www.canvangelist.com/freeway
<freeway>
We just presented an overview of
how Canvas, a graphics application that
already handles integrated vector
drawing, bitmap editing, presentation and
page layout tasks also delves into the
arena of website design–and does quite a
good job of it! Now let’s
When I first launched Freeway, I
decided to just dive right in, dragging my
existing made-in-Canvas web image
renders into the layout (Freeway supports
drag-and-drop of several kinds of image
file formats directly from the Finder, web
browsers, iPhoto and
shift gears and spend some
other applications). To the
www.softpress.com
time with a Mac application
degree that I have
already known to Canvas
experimented thus far, all
users to some degree:
of the functions I am used
Softpress’ Freeway Pro 3.5.
to doing in GoLive are
Freeway is designed for
doable in Freeway, usually
those already familiar with
right away, and sometimes
desktop publishing who wish
more clear after checking
to also design for the web.
the excellent quick start
By Mike Bedford
The Freeway approach to
guide (or the larger fully
web design is one that offers freedom along
illustrated manual) for additional guidance.
with powerful, industry-standard options.
A difference I noticed between Canvas and
The screenshot below shows how familiar
Freeway is that each Freeway page in a site
the Freeway interface appears, even upon
can be customized for vertical length, while
first glance. As a result, you can get to work
the Canvas pages follow the document setup.
designing your site pretty much immediately.
Now let's consider the workings of Freeway.
In Freeway, you open a new document and
progress through the dialog options,
choosing to begin either with one of the
several customized existing templates, or to
set your own site specifications (see at left).
Freeway then automatically organizes your
site files into a "New Site" folder which contains the New
Site Freeway document, a Site Folder and Media folder.
As I hinted earlier, Freeway Pro can import TIFF, PNG,
PICT, Photoshop, JPEG and GIF images, which can then
be lightly edited by moving, scaling, cropping or rotating.
Get going very quickly by using
Freeway's ready-made templates
Each of your
Freeway web
pages will
have a name,
making site
navigation
and linking
very easy.
As we did in Canvas, we can hyperlink text or
images in Freeway by using the Edit Hyperlink
option (accessed for each link by choosing
Edit>Hyperlinks). This is not as convenient as a
floating palette, but it otherwise works just like
Canvas' Link Manager (see screenshot at left).
You can link to internal or external web pages.
A second option for creating links is to activate
the object and click on the link area in the status
line at the bottom of the page to invoke the popup page list (illustrated above). Choose the link
destination, and you're done.
If you have a graphics container already
prepared in Freeway, you can drag-and-drop a
URL from a web browser onto it to designate a
link. Freeway also supports the creation of image
map hotspots in three different shape types.
A more detailed look at Freeway’s tools
and palettes reveals a bit more about its
capabilities. At far left we see the Toolbox,
which along with the Inspector palettes
make up the magic of Freeway web
design. Tools for creating
containers into which to
place text and graphical
material include an HTML
and graphic box creation
tools, a table tool, a
Freeway Actions tool, map
area sketch tools, graphic
rotation, skew and mirror
tools, text box linking and
unlinking tools, checkbox,
radio and form button tools
and form text input tools.
W h e n yo u cl i ck o n a n o bje ct i n
Freeway (as with Canvas 9), the edit
options available for that object are
reflected in the various Inspector
palletes. At top left we see the
Inspector for the overall web page (in
this case, my Canvangelist Index
page). At center left is the Inspector
for images. You have full control over
the eventual GIF, JPEG and PNG export
attributes for each individual image.
At right is the Inspector for Text,
which appears when text is highlighted
in the layout area. The settings are
familiar to anyone who does word
processing! There is an option to
render text in GIF format (for times
when you want to use a non-web
standard font styling).
In the future we’ll
Freeway’s Link Map
explore more of
(shown at left)
Freeway’s options,
allows you to click
such as the add-on
on any page, in this
FAST packs which
case the DVD page,
extend Freeway’s
and see how the
vast capabilities.
rest of the website is
linked to and from it.
To see any page in
Page view mode,
double-click it.
Below, an ironic
Freeway banner ad!
www.dotsw.com
In the WYSIWYG option window, click
to place an image and to input and
format text. For an image gallery, you
create a new page, then navigate to a >
If you are looking for a quick,
nearly automatic yet very cool
solution to website design, take
a look at Site
Studio for OS-X.
Here's how it
works: Click on
the Site option
on the left of
Site
Studio’s
simple interface
and pick from
the
provided
themes.
Click
the "+" button
to add a page,
after which you
can choose the
page’s
layout
type (WYSIWYG,
HTML, weblog,
image gallery,
hyperlink
or
external file).
It’s easy so far!
list of images, next
adding and choosing
formatting options. At
any point you can
preview your layout in
your default web
browser
(bottom).
This is a great way to
get a website up and
running quickly! More
advanced designs are
possible with a little
effort. It's very easy to
change the order of
the pages by dragging
them up or down;
changing site themes
is just as fast (just
click and pick another,
preview, and watch as it
immediately applies to
your whole site). Site
Studio’s developer plans
to provide many more
themes in the future.
Site Studio provides a
built-in ftp client to
complete the design
experience. Upload to
an ftp account or to an
iDisk with one click, or
even publish your site
directly to a local folder
and upload it later at
your convenience.
Our friend Harald Heim of The
Plugin Site is not only known for his
image enhancing and creative effects
plug-ins (see page 35). He’s also
developed a capable website
optimization tool for Windows called
HTML Shrinker Pro. I fired it up and
dragged my Canvangelist site folder
into the window at lower left. Next I
clicked the “Shrink All” button, and a
few seconds later, I saved 25k, with
savings displayed in the main window.
HTML Shrinker Pro also allows you to
revert back to your original site should
there be any HTML display problems.
www.thepluginsite.com
www.intellisw.com
I was feeling satisfied with one of my
personal websites until I ran it through dot
software’s Link Checker (from the same
developer as Site Studio, page 10). Oh my!
At the time I took the screenshot at right, it
had found 3249 broken links–and it wasn’t
nearly finished. Link Checker can open
multiple connections when checking your
site for speedy results. If you have multiple
websites to manage, you can store custom
settings for each. Once the report is in,
Link Checker makes it clear exactly
what needs to be done and helps you
make the necessary repairs.
Site Turbo from Intelli Innovations removes all of
the unnecessary data from your site folder such as
bloated HTML, scripts and oversized images to
optimize your website files. Simply drag your site folder
onto Site Turbo’s window. My Canvangelist site folder,
created in Adobe GoLive, was reduced by 3% (about
126k). Obviously, a smaller
site will download faster
and cost you less in annual
bandwidth fees. Site Turbo
even includes additional
automatic optimizers and
tools, such as the ability to
encode e-mail addresses to
hide them from evil spam
harvesters while leaving the “mailto:” code fully
functional. Your original site copy is left untouched.
www.dotsw.com
When clients contact me about doing
design work, the first thing I do is dial
911-CANVAS! With its precision vector
and capable bitmap capability, Canvas
is my toolset of choice for these tasks.
Shown here is an example of a
job I did for Jetsoft Development
Company. They needed to
redesign the existing DVD artwork
for their Viewing Booth Pro
application, but lacked the original
artist’s hi-res art. Interpolating the
available cover photo upward was
not a good solution, so I used
Canvas to completely recreate the
viewing booth out of vectors for a
sharp, clean, scalable look. Then I
added a portrait I treated with
Kodak's new Digital GEM Airbrush
(see page 32). The gradient
background bars and title text
were also created in Canvas, then
rendered into a hi-res CMYK file to
later add text layers in Photoshop.
www.scanhelp.com
Exploded view
of Canvas
vectors
To the rescue!
Viewing Booth Pro is used for editing images in
PDF documents and other PDF editing tasks.
Guide photo >
www.scanhelp.com
Another part of the JetSoft project involved
creating fresh cover art for their upcoming Art
Scan 5 Professional scanning application. I
proposed an idea involving an open scanner,
which I shot digitally as a guide and traced in
Canvas using the Auto Curve and Polygon
tools. The client provided a screenshot as the
basis for the background and requested a
bouquet of flowers in the preview window. I
didn’t have such a photo on hand, so I tried my luck with
Expression 3 (see tutorial on page 40) and it worked very well!
Exploded view
of Canvas
vectors
The secret to creating
realism with Canvas
vectors is using the
appropriate gradients.
Canvas ships with a fine
selection, but you should
also check out the 2 CDs
full of amazing Add-Ons at
www.canvaswizards.com
For this next client's new brochure promoting Clear View
screen doors, I created the photographic backgrounds by
blending my Canvangelist stock photos into two different
base images. I then added client-provided stock photos,
scans and logo art. The client provided a digital photo of
the model posing in the screen door product, but due to
parallax problems and barrel distortion in the image (at
right), the screen door couldn't be made square to our
satisfaction. The background was distracting as well. So I
simply created a new vector-based door frame and screen
fill in Canvas! The results were again rendered and saved
as hi-res CMYKs to add text layers in Photoshop (bottom).
www.CHIproducts.com
For the background images I dug into The
Canvangelist Collection stock photos. I used
Canvas 9’s directional transparency tool to
blend one into the other before rendering.
www.autofx.com
I thought it was a great deal when Canvas 5 came as a free upgrade with the
purchase of Canvas 3.5 several years ago. More recently, several major plug-in
developers got together to offer a bundle of their products for an incredible price
(but alas, that deal has ended). But wait! Auto FX Software has another great deal
that will last for the rest of this year: The Creative Xtreme Bundle!
The Bundle brings together an interesting assortment of full, useful creative titles:
Auto FX DreamSuite Series One, Auto FX Gel Series, Corel Knockout 2, Corel Bryce
5 and Corel's KPT Collection. If you can't get creative with this set of software, well,
then you can't get creative... Let's look at each of these titles individually.
I was personally the most excited about exploring this aspect of the Bundle, since I beta tested KPT Effects
for Corel a couple of years back (and displayed some examples of those filters in issue #6 of The
Canvangelist). What makes the KPT Collection so special is that the older classic KPT plug-ins from KPT 5
and 6 have been updated for newer operating systems, then integrated seamlessly with those from the KPT
Effects release. The result is this single large collection of mind-blowing creative power (a total of 24
separate effects). It’s a wonderful boon to creativity to have all of these options in one single menu!
Kai Krauss and friends were years ahead of their time with the slick, full-screen, 3D, drop-shadowed
floating interface design, and this Collection looks and feels right up to date. (If you want to know where
Kai is these days and read his philosophies, see his interesting "book" at www.byteburg.de/betabook).
www.autofx.com
Speaking of classic creative effects, Auto FX's own Dreamsuite Series One was a milestone in the industry,
having won over 30 top industry awards for excellence. As with the KPT Collection, Dreamsuite transports
you into its own beautiful full-screen, customizable creative environment, where you can apply any of 18
different visual effects to your image (or even combine various effects in one image).
The examples above only scratch (or ripple!) the surface of what can be done by applying 35mm slide
frames, chisles, creases, bevels, liquid metal, photo borders, depth and tone (and several more beautiful
effects) to your photos or artwork. Be sure to check out the rest of the Auto FX software line!
Have you ever painted images with
translucent, glossy, neon-colored
toothpaste before? You can now!
It's a strange concept, but as the illustration above right shows, it's a whole new dimension in
photographic creativity. Using the Gel Painter, Crystal Painter, Gel Mixer and Liquid Crystal paradigms,
you can paint on top of existing images or create original artwork in a manner unmatched in
traditional art (unless you count glassblowing, but this is much easier!). The Gel Series does not do
boring 2D! Gel effects of any color can be applied over type, graphics and photos using a paint brush
or airbrush. You then add directional lighting and shading effects as desired to increase realism.
www.autofx.com
Since Corel just sold the popular Bryce to another company (http://bryce.daz3d.com/), this Bundle is now
one of only two places where you can purchase this classic and wildly popular 3D landscape application.
But here, combined with these several other creative titles, it is obviously your best overall deal.
Bryce is a great place to start for those just entering the world of 3D (like myself). In fact, the sample
illustration above took me only minutes to make using easy to identify object-generating tools and
ambiance presets. After putting the basic elements in place, you can fully customize the appearance of your
scene using the Sky Lab, add trees with the Tree Lab, introduce and control lighting effects and much more.
For serious terrain-generating work, network rendering using multiple computers is now supported.
Bryce has been given a new lease on life and appears to have a future, so discover what it’s all about.
In issue #10 we demonstrated Corel's KnockOut 2 plug-in, which uses three defined areas to extract simple
or complicated subjects from their surroundings: Foreground, background and transition. KnockOut can
handle tasks you would not want to attempt with the Wand tool, such as isolating smoke, fire, glass or hair
by use of tools such as a new Polygonal Line tool, Pushpins, Tweezers and Syringe. KnockOut also protects
you from mistakes with its automatic error-correction feature. Your isolated subject is then placed on a new
background to create composite images often not possible or practical in the camera. In the example above,
I started with a photo of a playground boat stranded on hot, dry sand. By making inside and outside
selections in KnockOut, I was able to free the boat and release it to the ocean, where it is much happier.
When you watch TV you use a remote
control to change channels and adjust the
picture, so why not take the same
approach with your digital photo effects
as well? nik Color Efex Pro 2 offers a
new Selective palette (shown at left)
to quickly choose and apply the
75 filters in this advanced
filter set.
The preview window has
been enlarged, and you
can compare the original
with the filtered version.
More nik Efex on next page
www.nikmultimedia.com
nik Color Efex Pro 2 adds more than
30 new filter effects to an already
outstanding collection. The Selective
palette lets you paint, erase, completely
fill or clear any of the available filters.
You'll notice the preview window has
grown larger; you can compare beforeand-after effects side by side, and turn
the effects preview on and off. A
histogram panel is available to help you
protect shadow and highlight details.
Every filter in the set utilizes nik's True
Light color processing technology to
preserve the relationship among color,
contrast and image detail and prevent
tonal clipping. Users of different skill
levels can choose from either Basic or
Advanced interfaces. Color Efex 2 is
available in cross-platform Standard,
Select and Pro editions.
Old Photo Color plus Vignette
Original
Black-and-white Dynamic Contrast
Sunshine
Gradient Orange
www.nikmultimedia.com
The secret is out! Rumor has it that some digital artists
are so successful selling artwork they have created with
LucisArt that they won’t tell anyone how they did it! As a
result, you may not heard of it until now. But the secret is
safe no longer, and now you too can generate incredibly
beautiful visual effects. LucisArt 2 (and its big brother Lucis
Pro 5 for PC; see next page) work their magic by means of
Differential Hysteresis Processing, where contrast in the
image is shifted and enhanced, resulting in the revealing of
small image details and the deliberate creation of image
artifacts. The results are like Pixie Stix for the eyes!
Original
If you’re one of Canvas’ more technically-oriented users, you
may rather be interested in applying Lucis technology to
scientific and forensic imaging applications, for which it was
originally developed (see http://www.imagecontent.com/lucis
whitepaper.html for related white papers).
.
More Lucis effects
and special discount
offer on next page
Choose from 8 separate effect styles
1
Lucis Pro 5
www.lucisart.com
2
3
Originally developed for the scientific and medical imaging
communities, the standalone Lucis Pro 5.0 for Windows
allows separate processing of each RGB channel for
incredible access to image content. This is essential for
applications like Fluorescence Microscopy. LucisArt is based
on this same Differential Hysteresis Processing technology.
$
Canvangelist
Special
Discount!
Effects by Barbara Williams, ICT, LLC
Order any Lucis application from
their website using “canvangelist”
as the coupon code and receive a
15% discount off your order!
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
6
6
alienskin.com
Create any texture you can
possibly need without
leaving your desk!
TEXTURE NOISE
SWIRL
MARBLE
ANIMAL FUR
DIAMOND PLATE
WOOD
BRICK
You couldn’t ask for more
control over each parameter...
Eye Candy 5: Textures packs
10 separate editable textures
into one new package, the
first of three separate
upgrades to be included in
the EC 5 series (watch for
Nature and Impact to be
released next year).
Textures is designed to
create 16-bit seamless tiles
such as you'd incorporate
into 3D work, or you can
create a single full-frame
background, complete with
depth and shading. EC 5
includes 200 presets to
get your work started.
WEAVE
Lions and tigers
and bears and
leopards and
lizards--oh my!
STONE WALL
The aliens have landed! And
they've returned with a great
upgrade to the very popular
Eye Candy series of plugins.
Original
This plug-in update from Digital Film Tools really could be
called “110mm” due to the great new additions made to an already
full suite of effects. 55mm 4.0 is the digital version of classic camera
filters, specialized lenses, natural lighting and photographic effects
that get photographers so excited–all rolled into a digital darkroom.
The menu grab below
shows the complete
55mm Lens Distortion
set of choices awaiting
you within 55mm. The
three examples on this
Original
page highlight some of
the new effects. At right is Lens
Distortion, a very easy way to put
a new twist on your subject.
Below, 55mm is simulating the
four Rosco lines of colored gels
(used in front of movie studio
lights), with a list of presets those
in the movie industry will admire.
www.digitalfilmtools.com
Digital Film Tools is
engineered by Digital
FilmWorks, a visual
effects studio based in
LA. The 55mm suite
collects years’ worth of
research toward the
creation of proprietary
in-house software into a
package of plug-ins for you
to enjoy with your projects.
Original
Sunset/
Twilight
www.digitalfilmtools.com
Ultra
Contrast
Infrared
Fast Blur
Background:
Sunset/Twilight,
Selective Focus
If you need to add a little FREE speed to your
photos, Digital Film Tools is offering the Fast Blur
filter (shown above) as a non-serialized option
within their 55mm and Composite Suite titles.
All you need to do is go download it!
www.digitalfilmtools.com/html/freeplug.html
Background: bThermal-IR
PRP 3 is good for the environment!
Look what it did for the water...
www.binuscan.com
Resample images
This marks the third
new version of binuscan's
PhotoRetouch Pro that we
have looked at, and we visit
it again with good reason:
This professional imaging
application is aimed at the
prepress and pro photo
markets, and it has what it
takes to deliver well in those demanding arenas.
Multiple image enhancements and corrections can be
applied in a single step, improving workflow and quality.
PhotoRetouch Pro 3 offers you everything from classic
retouching tools to exclusive image enhancement
technologies, including the application of ICC profiles
and conversion of color spaces. Or you can just
create interesting image-based artwork with it!
Take a look at the accompanying
screenshots and menu grabs and
you'll begin to get an idea of the
power inside this application.
The interactive dialogs
in Photo Retouch Pro
3 offer all the image
editing power you’ll
need for high-end
image retouching
as well as more
artistic endeavors.
Color Management
Gamma/Curves
Dynamic Amplifier
bThermal-IR
Auto Process RECO
Let's talk about what's
new in PhotoRetouch
Pro version 3. It's a long
list, but improvement
falls into the Color
Management, Ergonomics
and Retouching categories.
New Color Management
functions include:
Loading, saving,
importing and exporting
ColorSync preferences,
media soft-proofing, oneclick image profiling, profile
conversion and extracting.
Ergonomic functions include: Every
tool and process has customizable
keyboard shortcuts, revertable
complete History, printing quality
suitability indication. Retouching
functions include: Pasting with
custom opacity, unerasing with the
Eraser tool using the Control key,
editing open clipping paths using
the Escape key, several new filters,
a backlight enhancer, gray
neutralizer and selectable
saturation. Not to mention
the ability to paint on
image corrections
without the need to
make selections first!
PhotoRetouch Pro
has always been
known for its
standard tools
which offer
simplicity
and genius
not seen
elsewhere.
Original
The Shapiro Consulting Group of Austin, Texas has updated their
entire range of Asiva plug-ins to the 2.0 designation. Let's take a look
at each one and see what they can do for your image editing needs.
Asiva Sharpen+Soften is more than just a general sharpening and
blurring effects plug-in! Using the Hue, Saturation and Value Maps
on the right of the interface, you can achieve full control over each
of these parameters, applying treatment to separate aspects of the
image. This is important since sharpening and softening needs are
usually uneven across an image, and global Unsharp masking, for
instance, is not always appropriate due to its heavy-handedness.
You begin by choosing a color space in which to work (such as
HSV, where you can edit the Value channel independently), and
which of the HSV checkbox options will be enabled for editing. In
my example, I chose to blur selective colors in the vines image while
leaving the rest untouched. The result is an artistic interpretation of
an otherwise merely “nice” photograph.
The precision editing capabilities of Sharpen+Soften are also very
useful for retouching portraits, where you would want to soften the
skin tones but leave normal detail in the eyes, lips and other edges.
www.asiva.com/index.php
Original
Asiva Shift+Gain can be used in two overall ways: First, the
Shift operation is useful for making color corrections, such as
skillfully removing a specific color cast in parts of the image, or
causing a radical tonal shift for creative purposes. My example
shows the latter, as it is more effective in this particular image.
I began creating the otherworldly effect below by sampling a
long, thin rectangle that included the entire tonal range of the
blue sky color. My goal was to shift this gradient range into a set
of completely different hues. I then made adjustments to the HSV
sliders until I was satisfied with the new color. Using the Preview
options (selecting Overlay Color to fill in the selection to be
affected), I was able to confirm that only the sky pixels were being
affected, as opposed to the plants or hills.
Asiva Shift operations can also be used for filling in saturation
that is lacking in tonally brittle digitally captured images.
Second, the Gain aspect of Shift+Gain gives you control over the
intensity of the pixels in specific tonal ranges, the result being
smoother transitions among all values. You can target highlights
for the gain operation while leaving shadow areas untouched,
thus bringing extremely contrasty lighting under control.
Original
Asiva Correct+Apply Color is an advertiser's dream in that it
enables a designer to completely change the color of a product
without the need to reshoot the original image repeatedly. Or, as
shown, you can change the hue of a color-range selected portion
of a standard image of any subject.
Start by drawing a rectangle that encompasses the highlights,
midtones and shadows of the color area you wish to change. The
HSV dialogs reflect the tonal range of your choice, and can be
further tweaked as necessary.
Choose a new color for your subject by clicking on the Target
Color box and picking from the color picker. I changed my flower
from pink to blue, reduced the blend amount, and thus retained
the detail of the original. Make further adjustments to the
Saturation and Luminance Value sliders as necessary to remove
any of the original color that is still showing. Protect yourself as
you work (and also give yourself many options) by clicking the
Save button to store any potentially useful settings as a baseline
to return to and load later.
When editing portraits, you have the option of loading a desired
flesh tone color in place of the existing skin color by using the
same procedure as above, and by using the Blend Amount slider
for fine tuning the mix of original and altered skin color.
So far we've seen how Asiva plug-ins can be used to isolate
and treat the specific tonal values found within an image right
within their own interfaces. Asiva Selection is concerned with
using Hue, Saturation and Luminance curves to make highly
targeted selections that can be displayed and further edited in the
host application (as opposed to the plug-in).
My example was chosen for its large area of blue sky color,
resulting in a simple display of the selected pixels in the preview
(see the active selection in the original photo at right). As with the
rest of the Asiva series, Selection offers separate HSV adjustment
panes so you can fine-tune the area you are selecting, even to the
degree of expanding the selection using the Amount slider, as well
as controlling the abrupt or gradual transition of the selection with
the Falloff slider.
As you work you can store your settings as Snapshots by Controlclicking and recall them by clicking on one of the Snapshot
Settings buttons. View the current range of selected pixels with a
color fill by choosing the Overlay Color option (in this case, red).
Asiva technology is used extensively by the broadcast industry, by
high-end digital photographers, graphic artists and visual
information specialists in government, the military and medicine.
www.asiva.com/index.php
www.phototune.com
Skin color is one of the first things you notice is wrong in an image:
It’s usually too red, too pink or too green. The new Skin Tune plug-in
from PhotoTune not only addresses this problem with technical
agility and cultural sensitivity, it earns an advanced technical degree
in the process! An incredible amount of research went into making
Skin Tune the ultimate plug-in tool for flesh color correction.
After opening your dynamic
range and brightnessadjusted portrait, you are
instructed to click on a midrange skin tone sample that
avoids bright highlights and
dark shadows.
From the contextual menu,
select the general ethnicity of
the person in the portrait.
Skin Tune will present you
wish a flesh color palette
based on your selection
(within which you can
adjust the skin color as
necessary by choosing an
alternate sample). The
preview image changes
based on your selection.
www.asf.com
Tell your model she can eat
as much chocolate as she
wants, because Kodak’s
brand new digital AIR
plugin is the best thing
for portraits since
makeup itself!
Kodak's new Digital GEM
Airbrush Pro is the latest
addition to their family of image
enhancing plug-ins. Its main purpose is to quickly
and efficiently provide portrait-quality airbrushing
repair by smoothing imperfections in the surface
of the image. You retain complete control over the
level of application of the repair, with access to
control sliders and a high contrast close-up mask
view of the changes made during the correction.
The young model shown here had minor skin
blemishes not fully covered by her makeup, but it
was no problem at all for Digital GEM Airbrush to
rectify. Most importantly, the repair work is done
immediately, without the need for painstaking and
time consuming Stamp tool and airbrush work.
Extreme and unflattering highlights and shadows
are brought under control, and any wrinkles are
removed without the need for Botox treatments!
See this final portrait used commercially on p.12.
Interestingly, while beta testing this
plug-in I tried applying it to a
hand-colored historical scenic photo
postcard that had uneven coloring,
tones and blotching. Digital GEM
Airbrush smoothed out the image
and made it look almost new while
retaining detail in the subject matter.
As you would expect for a new
plug-in, Digital GEM Airbrush
supports correction of 16-bit as
well as 8-bit images.
You'll notice PhotoGia
Photoshop actions
handle a wide range
of photographic
subjects and
situations, including
landscapes, family
and individual
portraits, weddings,
sports, backlight,
skies, color correction
and color stylization.
For professional photographers,
speed is just as important as quality.
That's why the new PhotoGia
actions are so attractive when it
comes time to correct and enhance
images quickly. The examples on
this page show how PhotoGia–with
one click–can color correct and
brighten dull, uncorrected RGB
images right out of the camera. The
photographer simply chooses an
appropriate PhotoGia action from
either of two lists–one where the
actions prompt the user for input
and interaction, or a continuously
running set of the very same actions
that do not require intervention.
www.photogia.com
Some people
consider lobster
a delicacy. You'll
soon learn to
consider it a
unique imaging
philosophy-Divide and
Conquer.
Lobster is a Photoshop droplet from Down Under that operates via
a floating window, onto which you drag your spotted and flattened
images (up to 48 bits, depending on Photoshop version). The image is
then duplicated and split into layers such as you've never seen before:
The original layer, a Luminosity layer and a Chromaticity set (the layers
are shown at left)!
Before you begin, the folks at Freegamma highly recommend you
adjust your RGB working space to "Ekta Space PS 5, J. Holmes"
(instructions are provided) for best results, and to properly prep your
New Channel setup. As Lobster does its work, it is not doing a simple
Grayscale or LAB Channel conversion of your file, but rather providing
separate Luminosity and Chromaticity layers within which you can do
specific and appropriate corrective operations. This is important because
in a normal RGB workflow, adjusting tonality usually adversely affects
color balance. No longer. The Luminosity layer is also where you want
to do any sharpening.
The Chromaticity layer sets represents the hue and saturation of the
image separated into red, green and blue layers. Here you can make
your hue and saturation changes (using Adjustment layers if desired)
without affecting luminosity. For serious image retouchers, it's an image
enhancement dream come true.
www.freegamma.com
Feed your
images to the
Lobster one
at a time
The Plugin Site is now offering
the newly revised version 2 of
Harald Heim’s very popular
ColorWasher plug-in for Windows.
Shown at right, ColorWasher
works by the user selecting a
neutral portion of the image from
which the plug-in calculates color
correction. For best results, a
second sampling area may be
made. Improvements were made
to the Highlight and
Shadow adjustment
sliders to enable more
extreme adjustments
while avoiding saturation
changes. Compare your
adjustments with the
original in a side by side
view or as a test strip.
www.thepluginsite.com
Original
Photo Freebies
are FREE!
17 Volumes of visual madness!
Here’s something interesting: A set of
Photoshop-compatible plug-ins developed in
Canvas! Graphicxtras have just released a
major update of all their Windows-based
plugins, a full 16 volumes packed with color
effects, hundreds of presets and many new
features. A new 17th volume is also available.
The examples on this page are all derived
from the Lake Tahoe photo shown below. I’ve
turned Summer into Winter and normal into
abnormal, all from within Canvas 9!
For a full list of effects, see graphicxtras.com.
Original photo
If you have a pet, you need pet food.
If you use Photoshop, you need Photoshop food!
Photoshop is known
for its expandable
architecture. Aside
from the world of
plug-ins, you can also
explore the use of
Styles, Gradients and
Shapes in your work.
Besides offering a
large collection of
plug-ins, Graphicxtras
also supplies the
power Photoshop
user with an endless
supply of add-ons, as
shown in part here.
In the screenshot
above are but two
examples of the
hundreds of GX Styles
for use on text. This
treasure trove of Styles
can be loaded and
appended at will;
applying them is as
easy as clicking on a
new Style icon.
At right is a sampling
of the huge Gradients
presets collection.
Surely you’ll find what
you need in here!
The fun really starts when you
add GX Shapes into the mix! In
the example at left, I filled two
of the Shapes with GX Styles.
Be sure to visit
www.graphicxtras.com for
more information on all their
Styles, Gradients and Shapes.
www.pixingo.com
The digital imaging
workflow was supposed
to make our lives easier
than shooting and
processing film. Has this
happened for you? For
many professionals it
still hasn't. So Pixingo
developed this all-in-one
digital imaging solution.
It’s all about more efficient photography!
As months of research done by Pixingo
revealed, the average studio photographer is
jumping from one imaging application to the next,
dealing with difficult color management and spending
more time at the computer than shooting photos--an average
of 3-5 days for every day spent shooting! Every photographer
interviewed had accidentally lost their images by unintended
deletion. If you are a victim of modern technology, read on...
Based on their research, Pixingo developed a six-step taskoriented photographic workflow especially for professional
photographers. As illustrated above and at right, the process
of organizing your photo work and tracking its progress in
PhotoFirst begins with the creation of a PhotoSession
document. A PhotoSession can be dedicated to specific
photographers, clients/jobs, custom groups or specific types of
export deliverables. The exact amount of billable time your and
your employees have thus far dedicated to a job in progress can
be tracked in detail–a perfect solution for creative right-brainers!
Working with PhotoFirst in logical order, in the Info task step you next enter
business, client and job information, along with keywords and categories. This
information is later used to tag your finished photos upon export. In the third
(Organize) task you import your photos and arrange them into groups using a
digital light table. Fourth, you Compare selected photos against each other,
marking them for rejection or acceptance for the following Enhancement step.
Enhancement involves applying Effects Curves and color temperature
adjustments and cropping the images in preparation for Export (the sixth and
final step). Export is automated to efficiently perform the expected image
delivery tasks such as website JPEGs, HTML
catalogs burned to CD, hi-res TIFFs for
publication and traditional printed proof
pages. Your studio’s copyright and contact
information are also tagged onto the
customer’s deliverables to encourage
repeat sales and future referrals.
You've most likely used the
Color Picker in the Mac operating
system. Now it's time to move
up to the Painter's Picker.
The Painter's Picker
interactive color wheel
remains hidden until
you access the Color
Picker panel, to which
it is added as a
welcome and most
useful extension.
Beyond simply
enabling you to pick a
random color (as you
would with the
Crayons or other
Color Picker options),
Painter's Picker is an
artist's dream for
comparing color
choices against each
other to see which
hue combo works
together best.
Example app: TextEdit >
Version 2 offers a palette of Web-safe
colors so you can be sure your color
choices display properly in any web
browser. As you work, you can now
create and save custom color lists from
the Actions menu. Seven new color
schemes were added to this version (see
screenshot at left for the complete list),
as also the ability to enter mathematical
expressions into the text fields (even the
left-brainers are covered!).
www.oldjewelsoftware.com
Contributing artist Sara Froehlich brings us up to speed with the new (and FREE!) Expression 3.
One of Expression 3's new features is Effect Lines. Not only can they be used to create a scratchboard look,
they are also a great way to add subtle shading. The fish illustration on this page was done almost entirely
with Effect Lines. The body, fin and tail lines are entirely done with layers of Effect Lines. Solid
off-white filled shapes were put behind each piece since the lines are somewhat see-through.
The Effect lines have end variations to make them blend together and provide the shading.
For more info about Expression, go to:
www.microsoft.com/products/expression/
Line spacing
Stroke width
Edge variation sliders
Effect Lines button
Add path template
The original lines:
draw two lines,
spaced apart
Select both lines and
click the Effect Lines
button in the Effect
Lines panel.
The Line Spacing and
Stroke Width meters
adjust the stroke
spacing.
Draw a wavy path;
select all. Click the
Add path button to
conform the group.
Use the Edge Variation
Sliders vary the end
points of the effect
lines (stroke=3 pts.).
These first 3 variations on the tail design were stacked & accented to create the fourth example; the fifth adds additional lines.
For more Expression tips, tutorials and classes, visit http://northlite.50megs.com/expr and www.eclecticacademy.com
Apple’s OS-X operating system is still new enough
that not all Mac users are familiar with its operation.
Coming to their aid in a fun and educational way is Tacky
Shirt Technical Training on DVD. Disc 1, The Basics, covers all
OS-X operations from internal system behavior to printing to
recommended reading and web resources–with the presenters
having a blast the entire 4 hours! See www.tackyshirt.com for a sample video.
Making use of Snapz Pro’s advanced screenshot capabilities and Apple’s Final Cut Pro, Tacky
Shirt DVD training features hilarious live presenters interacting with the operating system.
Canvas 8 makes
the background!
“I rarely ever bust out laughing while watching a
training movie, let alone every minute or two. The
fun, info-packed dialog combined with excellent
screen effects makes for a terrific learning
experience. Compliments to the creators!”
Lynn Grillo (Application Specialist, Adobe Systems)
www.deneba.com/community/profiles/lynn/default.html
All photos, illustrations and text
by Mike Bedford except:
Screen door model photo
and brochure inset photos (page 14);
Motorcycle model photo (page 21);
Camera lens (page 24) by Jim Wynne;
Fish art (page 40) by Sara Froehlich;
Model ship artwork (page 42);
Product logos/banners
<Issue #15 feedback>
No question, Mike, you are a lunatic! But what an amazingly fruitful one!
You do amazing things both technically and artistically. Look forward to this new marvel.
Cheers, Geoff Heard, MarketNOW
I enjoy each issue you put out; they are beautiful, well laid out masterpieces. / Jason Hogrefe, macXware
BTW Mike: Great trip in the "way back machine" with this issue. I just gotta plug Flaming Pear's plugins.
Neat gadgets for the price. Friendly folks too. Even the freebies are fun and sometimes useful. / LaMarzARt
Your graphical ability is incredible. / Clarence Klopfstein, Jetsoft Development Company
Thanks a lot for your continued interest in and support of our products.
Josh Haftel, Product Manager, nik multimedia, Inc.
The new Canvangelist...is the best one ever. / Robert Gomez, ACD Systems of America
Thank you for the coverage! / Amy Rascanin, Red Giant Software
Ship from Art Parts new 3D collection
www.ronandjoe.com
Application screenshots made with:
www.ambrosiasw.com