Do you have a plug-in addiction.. ?

[Carbone]

This was posted on another board I'm on :

http://www.plugsnpixels.com/ezine.html

It's an e-zing about plug-ins. There are reviews and demo pictures. It's not very thick, so it's easy to read on screen (it doesn't require 5 hours to read it!!)

Ray

[bnk1953]

I have found that when I get something new - as in program - there is an addiction - plug-ins, fonts, whatever. But I've learned after filling up hardrives that I many times maybe only use the items once or not at all. Either I forget about them or I don't find an actual place to use them. There is so much cool stuff out there - so little time.

[Wendy]

Ray ...

What a neat idea ... thanks for the link :)

Wendy

[NMarti]

Ray,
Thanks for the link - now I can get a daily fix!:D I have some of those plugins but get so involved in trying to do it myself that I forget I can clicka button and be done. There are still some there I was interested in and the tutorials he has built in the article are nice to see how easy/hard the plug-ins are to use.

[Carbone]

I'm not a huge plug-ins fan myself. I only have a few ones (Mystical Lighting, Deamsuite Gel, KPT Collection).

Plug-ins, the way I see it, can help to overcome a lack of imagination (some have presets to get you started in no time), or to help you learn about the software (those which turn a picture into painting, for example). However, as soon as your knowledge grows, you discover how to achieve the same effect yourself. Most of the times, your own discoveries are more adapted to your images and look better because of that.

There are plugins to speed up the work (i.e. Mystical Lighting is one of those). Though one could probably achieve the same thing manually, it would take hours (and sometimes days) to complete what is done in a few minutes with ML.

But, every once in a while, I look at a Plug-in and think I need it.. but later decide not to buy it, for now.. ;)

Ray

[NMarti]

I know what you mean - I looked at the frames set several times, even asked for it for Christmas at one time, but after spending time here I learned through encouragement from Wendy and others that I could probably do them myself. Well - I haven't achieved that full level yet but Jodi's frames are a far better value and with some adaptation I can get most of the effects I was looking for in that extremely expensive plug-in. I am holding off buying any for now until I learn to use what I have but also to see if I can learn to do it myself.

[mrod]

I've explored plug-ins only a little bit. I sort of agree that they kind of feel like cheating, but the bottom line for me is time. If I can get an effect quickly by clicking a button, I'll probably do it, even though it would be more satisfying and edifying to do it from scratch.

But, at this point in my life, it's all about the time available.

Mike

[mrdonb]

I don't know if I would call it a addiction or cheating.
but I did buy the complete package from www.alienskin.com

Its fun that is really all the maters at this point!
I would have to say if one called it cheating hum sigh me up for all!

[plugsnpixels]

This was posted on another board I'm on :

http://www.plugsnpixels.com/ezine.html

It's an e-zing about plug-ins. There are reviews and demo pictures. It's not very thick, so it's easy to read on screen (it doesn't require 5 hours to read it!!)

Ray

Hi Ray,

Thanks for posting info about my website! Glad you enjoyed it.

I just released issue #4 of the free ezine, so have at it!

The advantage of plug-ins is to help achieve an effect more quickly than by doing it manually, which is important in production environments or for new users to get results quickly, thereby gaining confidence. Many plug-ins duplicate native Photoshop/Elements functionality, while others improve upon or extend those native functions.

Yes, plug-ins can be a substitute your own creativity, or they can open up areas for you to explore further.

Mike

[Carbone]

Mike, I guess you know people around here.. ;)

Hope you'll stick with us!

Ray

[plugsnpixels]

A little birdie told me... ;-)

[GaryK]

Ray

Thanks for the link..looks really cool.

I have to give that Terragen/cover thing a try. I downladed it months ago but could never figure it out. It just looked sooooooo cool. :D :D

[Wendy]

Hi Gary ...

Terragen is really great ... but the time it takes to render the images is agonising. That reminds me since I got the new computer I haven't yet given it another try ......

Wendy

[plugsnpixels]

I believe Terragen was the first terrain-generating app I tried, back in 2003. It was weird at first, but I got the hang of it pretty quickly. Now I can bang out terrains in a few minutes (minus the rendering time, of course!).

Even on an older machine (I have a circa-2000 Mac G4 at home), within an hour or less a 1024x768 render is done. Sky and water hurts the most ;-).

Forget animations though--every frame needs to be rendered!

The more recent versions of Terragen (be sure to grab the latest) offer a form of network rendering (anywhere from 2 internal processors to multiple computers). I haven't tried it though.

[GaryK]

Wendy, Mike

Thanks for the info. I'll have to look at it again..."Look" likely being the key word there. :D

[Carbone]

Gary : You can do wonders in a matter of minutes, no big lessons needed. Drop a line (or two) if you'd like a short primer on Terragen, I'l be glad to help.

Wendy : NO MORE EXCUSES.. !! :D You now have a G5 Dual processors with 2.0Ghz horse power each, rendering will fly!

Ray

[Carbone]

Gary : if you want to see what can be done with absolutely zero knowledge... here are the images last year :

http://homepage.mac.com/carbmac/PhotoAlbum17.html

Ray

[GaryK]

Ray

That's great....I love that stuff.

I guess I have less than zero knowledge :D :D


Oh by the way.. the boy was talking SQL today

[Wendy]

Ray ...

Until Gary mentioned it I had forgotten all about it ... I will try it again:)

Wendy

[Carbone]

Hey, that's great news Gary!! I hope he liked it :)

Ray

[plugsnpixels]

Issue #6 (http://www.plugsnpixels.com/ezine.html) of Plugs 'N Pixels went live tonight! Learn about plug-ins used for converting color images to monochrome.

[Carbone]

Thanks for a fine issue! I especially like Fred Miranda's BW Workflow, sounds quite interesting, in particular the presets and the ability to add film grain.

Ray

[Carbone]

I was going over issue #5 and discovered a super software for turning pictures into paintings, contrary to other offers such as Virtual Painter, this one works for both Mac and Windows.

http://www.benvista.com/main/content/content.php?page=ourproducts&section=photoartist_1

There are many possibilities with this software, but it's all based on painting. You paint the effect or erase it, or combine it with various blending modes (identical in part to PSE). So you can either start by duplicating your image entirely, then selectively apply a watercolour effect followed by a paper drawing in multiply mode in some areas to give more details. You can also erase part of the effect applied, or use the fill with effect command which doesn't involves painting at all.

Here's a quick one I just did (demo mode) :

http://homepage.mac.com/carbmac/captures/PhotoArtist161.jpg

It's bit expensive (49$) but it's worth it. It also supports the tablet in various ways (pressure = size, or opacity or both). It's like Corel Painter cloning functions, only in a limited implementation. However, limited doesn't mean dull or useless, but more practical to people only wanting to turn their pictures into paintings and not into drawing or creating.

You can download a demo and see for yourself :)

Ray

[plugsnpixels]

Issue #7 (http://www.plugsnpixels.com/ezine.html) of Plugs 'N Pixels went live last night! I show how to rescue less than stellar images with plug-ins.

[plugsnpixels]

Issue #9 of Plugs 'N Pixels (http://www.plugsandpixels.com/ezine.html) is ready! You'll notice I've started a new Featured Artists section, so if you do image manipulation with Photoshop plug-ins, please consider contributing your work for publication and worldwide exposure. There is no cost or payment for this service.