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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.)
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. Try the demo (link below) and you'll see how very powerful and addictive this program can be!
Get special pricing, bundles, and free demos at the AutoFX site.
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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.
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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.
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For a free sample chapter see our How To Sharpen An Image In Photoshop tutorial.
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