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AutoFX PhotoGraphic Edges
Photo Frames, Borders & Edges
Review by Jennifer Apple
(Get special pricing, bundles, and free demos at the AutoFX site.)
November/December AutoFX 30% Discount: AutoFX is offering a solid 30% discount. This discount is across their entire line of products and even includes specials on their super bundle deals and video training. Simply enter in Coupon Code 55525 during check-out at the AutoFX website and the 30% discount will be applied.
A few years ago I was in charge of putting together a monthly film magazine and I was constantly looking for ways to make the pages look more visually appealing. Photo/Graphic Edges came to the rescue! I could select a frame or edge, make a couple of quick tweaks, and suddenly I had a highly stylized photo to drop into the layout.
Now at version 6, Photo/Graphic Edges includes new features and effects, including SmartLayers, Visual Layer Presets, Brush Effects, Unlimited Undo and new creative content. You can install Photo/Graphic Edges as a Photoshop plug-in for versions 4 through CS, or as a stand-alone application. The package costs $179 and comes with the following on 3 CDs:
- 10,000 Edges
- 1,000 Matte Textures
- 175 Frames
- 230 Effect Brushes
- 210 Light Tiles
- Over 300 professional presets for instant solutions
To show the various effects of Photo/Graphic Edges I've used just one single image. This will make it easier to see just how much the mood and feeling of a photo can be changed by incorporating different edges and frames.
History Palette & Pre-sets
Photo/Graphic Edges lets you save configurations as pre-sets so that you can apply them to other photos. There's also a History Palette that shows you what you've recently called up. So if down the line I feel I should have stayed with the "mysterious" film strip after all, I can easily go back and select it using the History Palette.
Intuitive User Interface
Photo/Graphic Edges features a common user interface design so that learning how to use one effect helps you understand how to use the others. The program is built around SmartLayers technology. Everything is dynamic so when you click on a layer all the controls for that layer and effect are automatically loaded up for you to adjust. The layers palette lets you turn on, off, clone, move and add new layers.
Non-destructive Imaging Architecture
PGE 6 uses a non-destructive dynamic imaging architecture, so you can undo, redo and adjust repeatedly and your original image is never changed until you save the file. You can combine effects together, transform and resize images over and over, and the quality never degrades. Photo/Graphic Edges also includes borders, bevels, and photo-realistic picture frames.
Online Help System
Hold your mouse over a control for a few seconds and a floating window appears that contains detailed instructions about the control.
Brush-On Effects
Brush-On Effects allow you to interact with the effects to get exactly the look you are after.
Preview System
An adjustable preview feature has a 1600% marquee zoom capability with built-in panning support.
SmartLayers
SmartLayers enable you to combine different effects together in the same composition. New layer functionality also includes masking layers, photo layers for placing new photos onto layers in PGE 6, color correction layers for adjusting image colors and advanced layer functionality such as cloning, renaming, moving, deleting and adjusting opacity levels for each layer.
Save And Replay Your Settings
Save and Load your effect settings for instant replay. Presets are Resolution Independent. Save them while working on a large file and they apply the same to a smaller file or an even larger file and get the same results.
Memory Dots
Click a memory dot on the interface and PGE 6 remembers your current settings. You can explore with your design ideas and come back to where you were with a single click.
14 Artistic Effects For Photos
Here's a list of the Artistic Effects that are part of the package:
- Acid Edge - Brush on acid etched looks to your images and edges.
- Montage - Combine multiple edges and effects together in a single composition to form a montage effect.
- Ambient Brush - Lifts sections of the image up through patterned edges and shapes.
Photo Border - Add interesting borders around your image using border shapes and 3D depth tools.
- Burned Edge - Burn away parts of your image with this photo-realistic edge burning brush.
- Photo Tabs - Add photo tabs around your images using both traditional or modern styles combined with 3D depth effects.
- Distort Edge - Brush on distortion effects to the edges to customize the look and style of the effect.
- Putty Edges - Use Putty Edges to reshape and adjust the edges to better fit your images and needs.
- Edge Brush - Brush on natural media styled effects using any of the 230 brush effects included with PGE 6.
- Smudged Edge - Gives edges a smudged, softened appearance wherever the brush is applied.
- Edges - Over 10,000 edges that enhance images by giving them shape and dimension.
- Transfer - Simulates the traditional darkroom transferring the inks from an instamatic photo onto thin paper and then brushing on wrinkles.
- Frames - 175 Professionally created frames that can be wrapped around your images to create stunning results.
- Vignette - Soft gradient vignettes can be applied to shapes and thousands of different edge styles to give customized feathered images.
Summary
This is a great way to quickly produce outstanding photo edges, photo frames, and photo borders. But is it worth $179? Only if you plan on using it repeatedly. So if you don't need this kind of firepower, learning some simple Photoshop tricks will help you in the short term and save you some money. The point of this program is that it removes the time consuming trial-and-error part of designing multiple effects by delivering them to you almost completely ready to go.
(Get special pricing, bundles, and free demos at the AutoFX site.)
Photoshop CS3 Upgrade Options And Bundles From The Adobe Store
Photoshop CS3 Extended is ideal for film, video, and multimedia pros and for graphic and web designers using 3D and motion. Get the full version for US $999, or upgrade for US $349. The standard version of Photoshop CS3 is available for US $649, or as an upgrade for US $199.
Photoshop Extended is also available as part of Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium ($1,799/$440), which combines all-new CS3 versions of Photoshop, Flash Pro, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, InDesign and Acrobat 8 Pro. International options are available at Adobe's UK Store, Europe Store, and Australia Store.
RELATED SOFTWARE:
PhotoFrame Pro 3.0 From onOne Software
Photo Frames, Borders & Edges
Review by Jennifer Apple
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PhotoFrame Pro 3 — Top Photo Frame Plugin
Save yourself an expensive trip to a professional framing shop with PhotoFrame Pro, a brilliant new program from onOne Software. You can easily create realistic framing effects for your digital photo images, right down to including your choice of matting. You're not limited to what you might ordinarily find in real-life, however, as you can also play around with 1000+ design options to create your own unique edging effects
PhotoFrame Pro 3 offers an upgraded batch of new features, making this plug-in even more of a valuable asset for the professional graphic designer or amateur digital photographer alike! The folks at onOne software have compiled what is arguably the most comprehensive collection of border and edge effects available on the plugin market right now. You can treat your digital images to the thousands of new frames offered in PhotoFrame Pro 3, ranging from crisp black and white to brilliant RGB color — from abstract edging effects to realistic frame-and-matte simulations.
Browse Before You Buy
onOne Software truly seem to have the customer's best interests at heart, as you can tell by the fact that they've set it up so that you can download a free, 30 day trial version of PhotoFrame Pro 3 from their main website. As well, just to be sure that you have full knowledge of what this plug-in entails before you hand over your hard-earned dollars, they've also created an online gallery of all new frames included in the Pro 3 version that you can browse through.
New Frame Browser Makes Selecting Photo Frames Simple & Easy
While the idea of having thousands of frames at your fingertips might be a little intimidating, Photo Frame Pro 3 has introduced a new Frame Browser that greatly simplifies the process of selecting a suitable frame for your digital image. This browser allows you to search the frame directory by category and save your favorite frames for easy future use. All frames appear as thumbnail images — and when you come across a frame that you'd like to apply to your image, you simply click on the thumbnail and that's it.
The Frame Preview Grid
To help you even further in terms of frame selection, PhotoFrame Pro 3 offers a new Frame Preview Grid that allows you to get a sense of how a frame will look before you apply it to your digital image. You can even preview several frames at once, with your image remaining constant as the background.
The Random Frame Generator
We all know that sometimes it can be a little tough to get the creative juices flowing. For those instances PhotoFrame Pro 3 has made things easier on us by creating a Random Frame Generator that will automatically add and adjust settings for 3 to 5 random frames. Sometimes you might find that all it takes to spark your creativity is to have one of these randomly generated selections pop up, so make sure to experiment with it. And you'll also find a new Layer Mask Mode to apply a border effect as a layer mask. These are two great additions to this photo frame software.
Customize Your Interface
The PhotoFrame Pro 3 plug-in is incredibly user-friendly, with a new interface that enables you to completely customize your preferred frame settings. No need to spend precious time tweaking options every single time you use it, which will improve the efficiency of your workflow and enable you to easily recreate particular frame settings in the future.
PhotoFrame Pro 3 is also highly compatible with other edge effects plug-in software, letting you import and use frame files from other programs. Given the vast array of frames that PhotoFrame Pro 3 offers, however, it's highly unlikely that you'll even need to take advantage of this option. It easily trumps other similar plugins not only in terms of its variety of framing options, but also in terms of its ease of use.
Free Online Photo Frame Pro Tutorials
At the onOne Software site you can find some free online tutorials that are offered for PhotoFrame Pro 3. Featured in Flash movie format, these tutorials will whisk you through all of the new features. It's almost like PhotoFrame Pro 3 provides you with your very own in-house training, letting you learn at your own pace and in the comfort of your own home or office.
The first tutorial will give you a brief overview of what's new in the Pro 3 version of PhotoFrame and get you up-to-speed quickly so that you can get to work. There's a tutorial that covers the new Frame Palette and Frame Browser features, showing you how to find and apply frames to your digital images even more easily than before. You can take a look at the Layer Mask Mode tutorial to learn how to use this great new feature.
As well, the Frame Preview Grid will show you how to use the Grid to find the perfect frame in no time. This tutorial also shows you how to add depth to your frame by using a drop shadow from within PhotoFrame Pro 3. The last tutorial will take you through a visual tour of all the frames and mattes available, while letting you in on some tips and tricks that will help you optimize your framing experience.
Summary
You might think that framing and matting don't translate well into the digital realm, simply because you lose the hands-on accuracy of the traditional, real-world methods. However, you have no worries with Photo Frames – it provides you with a built-in frame browser that helps you find just the right frame border for your image, as well as a frame preview grid that lets you preview the effects of multiple frames simultaneously, using your image as the background.
Watch your digital image workflow become streamlined, as you work with the time-saving features included in onOne. You can save your favorite frames for easy access in the future. Additionally, you can personalize your user interface so that your custom frame settings are saved for easy use. Pop over to the website, where you can download a free, 30 day trial edition of Photo Frame – you'll quickly see for yourself that it's as good as we've told you!
EXCLUSIVE 10% DISCOUNT
Enter discount coupon code PSSPPT06 during the checkout process for an instant 10% discount exclusively for PhotoshopSupport.com visitors. PhotoFrame Pro 3 is available from onOne Software.
Exclusive Special Offer - Fluid Mask 2.0 - $189
Fluid Mask 2.0 is based on breakthrough segmentation technology inspired by the way the eye, optic nerve and brain perform visual processing. When an image is loaded, Fluid Mask's segmentation engine analyses the distribution of colors, finding the natural groups within the image. Together with information calculated about edges, gradients and textures, a model is constructed which divides the images into objects.
Vertus Software is offering Fluid Mask at the special 'friends and partner' discounted rate of just $189 - PLUS free upgrades for the next 6 months.
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Total Training for Adobe Photoshop
Learn Adobe Photoshop with 21 hours of interactive Adobe Photoshop tutorials. This is training for real-world situations and includes additional tips and techniques used by the pros.
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SiteGrinder 2 - Photoshop Plugin
There often seems to be a strict division of labor within the world of web design and development. Creative professionals tend to stick to the Photoshop domain, while those well-versed in scripting are left to the task of implementing their work. Indeed, the two realms are quite different from each other, to which any of us even vaguely familiar with either can easily attest.
Essentially, Photoshop is a no-holds-barred design studio, offering the artist a seemingly endless array of creative options. On the other hand, HTML, CSS, Java and the like follow strict rules of engagement, requiring the developer to take any number of esoteric concerns into consideration in order to ensure that designs are properly displayed on the web.
Turn Photoshop Into A Complete Web Design Tool
SiteGrinder 2 seeks to bridge this gap between design and development. Basically, this program turns Photoshop into an easy-to-use and fully functional web design tool. With SiteGrinder 2, designers will now have the freedom to totally let their creativity loose and then, without skipping a beat, transfer their designs to the web. Bringing esthetic concerns together with more practical considerations, this program is an amazingly powerful tool that would make a fantastic addition to any web designer's bag of tricks.
Generate Your Web Pages Directly From Photoshop
By generating web pages directly from Photoshop, you'll be able to spend much more time on the creative end of the spectrum, since you'll know right off the bat how well particular designs will translate to the web. No more going back to the Photoshop drawing board after getting a phone call from your development team, telling you that what you had envisioned doesn't have a chance of being displayed on the web. You can immediately visually and interactively test your designs, which permits you to then make changes to either esthetics or functions while it's still relatively early on in the design process.
Pricing and Availability
Mac OS X and Windows versions of the SiteGrinder unlockable demo are available now via download. SiteGrinder 2 can be ordered from Media Lab's online store.
Photoshop Book - Photoshop CS2: Essential Skills - By Mark Galer And Philip Andrews
An inspirational and user-friendly guide to creative image editing, Photoshop CS2: Essential Skills provides direction for photographers and designers alike who have ventured into the realm of the 'digital darkroom.' The book offers a progressive curriculum to guide you through Photoshop with a series of clear, step-by-step projects designed to place knowledge into a practical context.
Whether you simply want to retouch an image, create a glamour makeover or create a highly sophisticated montage - this book will give you the essential skills to complete the work to a professional standard.
The accompanying CD-ROM and website, www.photoshopessentialskills.com, offer additional teaching and learning materials which form a library of indispensable supporting resources including:
• All of the images used in the text
• Over four hours of QuickTime movie tutorials to support the practical projects
• A range of presets (including layer styles, curves, shapes and gradients)
• Camera RAW files
• Free extra chapters in e-book form.
For a free sample chapter see our How To Sharpen An Image In Photoshop tutorial.
Photoshop CS2: Essential Skills (Amazon.com - save 34%)
