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Plugin Newsletter - February 2003 - A



Contents
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EDITORIAL

COLORWASHER 1.0 - OUR NEW COLOR CORRECTION PLUGIN

LATEST POLL RESULTS: Your Favorite Digital Photo Camera...
THE DISCUSSION FORUMS

FREE PLUGINS AND TOOLS
GRAPHICS NEWS from www.Graphics.com

PRODUCTS FROM THE PLUGIN SITE
ABOUT THE PLUGIN SITE

 


Dear Reader,

Since mid 2000 the Plugin Newsletter has been published every month, before that time it was sent out biweekly. Now I decided to return to a biweekly cycle again. This will bring you fresher news and less outdated information. The issues will also become shorter and more up to the point. I hope you will like this decision.

January has been a very busy month for me, because I worked on our latest plugin product. It is called ColorWasher and lets you correct and enhance photos with impressive efficiency and ease. I had 15 enthusiastic beta testers who contributed so many ideas and inspirations that without them ColorWasher wouldn't have become what it is now. (By the way, if you want to see the photos of me and the beta testers, then run ColorWasher, move the mouse over the preview and press the B key :-). I also tested two d
ozens of correction plugins during the ColorWasher development and could not find a single one that matched ColorWasher as far as color correction is concerned. I hope you will like ColorWasher and consider it as an indispensable tool for photo correction, too.

Last, but not least, five copies of HyperTyle will be raffled among members of www.graphics.com at the end of February 2003. To take part in these sweepstakes, just sign up at http://www.graphics.com/sweeps.php


Sincerely,
Harald Heim

www.thepluginsite.com

 

COLORWASHER 1.0 - OUR NEW COLOR CORRECTION PLUGIN
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We started a new plugin series called PhotoWiz. It will consist of plugins for professional correcting and editing photos. With these plugins we try to set a new standard for photo correction tools as far as effectiveness and usability is concerned. With the help of these plugins beginners will be capable of achieving effects that only experts were able to produce in the past.

The first plugin in this series, which we just released, is called ColorWasher. ColorWasher is a plugin for correcting the colors, the contrast and the exposure of photos. ColorWasher's revolutionary algorithms help you to turn even the worst photo into a delightful visual experience.

It features a wide range of automatic, semi-automatic and manual tools for correcting, enhancing and restoring photos. ColorWasher is very easy to use as it offers interactive explanations for each feature, incorporates a Quick & Easy Mode and contains detailed step-by-step instructions in the manual. ColorWasher lets you do professional photo corrections within seconds and also offers a Cloak mode for processing dozens of images very quickly.

ColorWasher can be applied on digital photos as well as scanned photos. It even achieves great results on old and faded photos. But you can also use ColorWasher to enhance web graphics, drawings, cartoons, paintings or screen shots. Moreover, if you want to create artistic and stylish color effects, ColorWasher lets you correct your photos and colorize them in a single step.

Visit the PhotoWiz page for more information, viewing correction examples and downloading a demo version at

http://thepluginsite.com/products/photowiz/

 


LATEST POLL RESULTS: Your Favorite Digital Photo Camera
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More than 500 people have voted so far for their favorite digital camera model. Here are the results:

1. Nikon Coolpix 14%
2. Sony DSC 11%
3. Sony Mavica 9%
4. Canon PowerShot 8.5%

5. Other 8%
6. Olympus C-xxxx Zoom 5.5%
7. Olympus C-xxx Ultra Zoom 5%
8. FujiFilm FinePix 4.8%
Minolta Dimage7 4.8%
9. Nikon D 4%
10. Kodak DC 3.7%

In summing up all votes, Sony is at the top, followed immediately by Nikon. If you only look at the camera types the Nikon Coolpix seems to be the most frequently used and preferred camera series. Canon, Olympus, Fuji, Minolta and Kodak are in the middle field.

The poll is still running, so you can still vote at
http://thepluginsite.com/

 

THE DISCUSSION FORUMS
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Here are the latest interesting posts from the The Plugin Site Discussion Forum:

Kingtut wrote "I'm looking for Crackle effect plugins, Any suggestion beside the expensive one by Auto-fx - please help"
http://www.thepluginsite.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=307

YodaMan asked "What are the best Photoshop 7 'how-to' books? I'm new to the program and want to learn how to use it fully."
http://www.thepluginsite.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=257

modsquad asked "... Are there any other programs (plug-ins) on the market that will take a low res file and enlarge it (up to 500%+) without creating a smooth and smudgy mess? ..."
http://www.thepluginsite.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=257

A guest wrote "I think it's very unfair that ulead makes us buy an ugraded version to the one we bought, I erased photoimpact #6 so i can install the update to 8 heck for $10 more i could have bought the full version 8 on another website now it's holding up my clients because i cant seem to find any version for download or reinstall 6 and good luck with a getting a response from ulead this isn't fair to there customers!! "
http://www.thepluginsite.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=306

You can reply to these postings or read the replies by using the URLs above. You can also post your own requests or messages at

http://www.thepluginsite.com/forum/

 

FREE PLUGINS AND TOOLS
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Richard Roseman offer a few new plugins (for Windows) on his site. "Grid Generator" creates custom b/w grids and "Grain Generator" produces varying types of grain on your image. There is also a commercial plugin available from him called "Advanced Color Corrector" which has tons of controls packed on a small interface.

http://www.richardrosenman.com/photoshop.htm


NewTek offers two free texture collections with 50 textures each. All textures are in JPEG format at a resolution of 1600x1200 pixel. The texture categories are: Metal, Nature, Sky, Stone and Wood.

http://www.newtek.com/freestuff/


IconForge 4.92 (for Windows) which was sold commercially before can now be downloaded freely from the PCPlus web site. Icon Forge is a fully-featured icon editor. It can create static as well as animated icons and cursors and offers a few effects like Brightness, Contrast, Blur and Sharpen. Icon Forge offers several tools, e.g. a freehand, shapes and text tool.

http://www.pcplus.co.uk/downloads/default.asp?pagetypeid=2&articleid=5840&subsectionid=362


Another freebie on the PCPlus web site is trueSpace 1.0 (for Windows) . It is a 3D rendering package from Caligari which was originally sold for more than $700. trueSpace lets you model, render and animate 3D graphics. It contains many professional features, interactive painting, hierarchy, direct manipulation and a True 3D Interface. You can create anything from flying 3D text, titles and logos to realistic ray-traced animations that explain complex mechanisms in trueSpace.

http://www.pcplus.co.uk/downloads/default.asp?pagetypeid=2&articleid=5548&subsectionid=362


The full version of Amapi 3D v4.15 (Win/Mac) , an interactive 3D modeler, is available. Amapi makes the creation and editing of complex geometric surfaces easier by offering a wide selection of advanced tools such as NURBS, polygonal curves and Gordon surfaces. Thanks to its customizable interface, it not only meets the demands of professional designers, but is easy enough for beginners to use.

http://amapi.idevgames.com/

 


GRAPHICS NEWS from Graphics.com
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Adobe announced the 2003 Design Achievement Awards
This is a competition for student designers, digital film-makers, illustrators and digital artists from Britain, the US and Canada. Entries for the contest will be accepted from April 1 through May 15, 2003. The categories are: Web Design, Time-based Media, Print, Illustration, Photography, Experimental Design, Print Media and Digital Media. Prizes include $5000, a trip and various Adobe products.
http://www.adobe.com/education/students/adaa.html

Alien Skin Software Announces Xenofex 2
Completely rewritten and including five new filters, the latest version of this plugin "simulates spectacular natural phenomena, produces striking distortions, and instantly transforms photos". Can't wait for the demo.
http://www.graphics.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1442

PathStyler 1.21 -- High-Quality Beveled Edges in Photoshop
The developer claims this to be the first plugin that makes use of Photoshop's work paths to create bevels, with the result being bevels that are sharper and more accurate. Windows users can see for themselves by downloading the trial version.
http://www.graphics.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1428

Pictographics inCamera Digital Camera and Scanner ICC Profiling Plugin
This plugin comes with a user guide that explains how to successfully create and use ICC input profiles in Photoshop. So if this topic was always a mystery to you, check it out.
http://www.graphics.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1455

Extensis Announces Mask Pro 3 for Creating Flawless, Real-Life Masks
The latest version of this Photoshop masking tool we're told uses "advanced color matching and decontamination technology" to create high-quality masks. The Mac version is available now, with Windows to follow in mid-year (why the long delay, Extensis?).
http://www.graphics.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1402

Adobe Photoshop 7.0.x AltiVecCore Update Plug-in
If you're running Photoshop 7 on a G4-equipped OS X system, snag this free update from the Adobe site, which we're told will help it run more reliably.
http://www.graphics.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1454

Extensis Ships Portfolio 6.1 for Mac OS X
If you're an OS X user struggling to keep track of all your digital assets, then you really need something like Portfolio. This is a free update for users of version 6.0.
http://www.graphics.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1453


For daily graphics news updates, visit
http://www.Graphics.com



 

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