Snap Art by Alien Skin

HomeReviewsForumsNews 201520132012200920082007200620052004
RSS FeedsFOV Factor TableSensor Sizes | Definitions: A-DE-HI-LM-PQ-UV-Z | Sitemap
Articles • Archived Websites (Pre-DigitalDingus): D100 LoungeE-10 Club | Contact

Snap Art
by Alien Skin
Introduction
December 26, 2006
Snap Art IntroductionColor PencilComicsImpastoOil PaintPastel
Pen and InkPencil SketchPointillismStylizeWatercolorSnap Art Conclusion



Snap Art
Host Requirements: Adobe PS CS or later, Adobe PS Elements 4 or later, or Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo XI or later
System Requirements For Mac G4 or G5 processor, 512MB RAM, MAC OS X 10.3.9 or later
System Requirements For Windows: 2 GHz Pentium 4 processor, 512MB RAM, Windows XP or later
MSRP: $149.95 ($99.95 when ordered direct and being the owner of another Alien Skin product) | Click For Best Price
The last time DigitalDingus came across Alien Skin software, was this last August working with Exposure. I enjoyed using it immensely and so I wanted to see what other new and exciting products they had. Well, they have a few. In this review, we're taking a look at Snap Art, which takes your images to another level altogether--and probably another dimension, considering the vast amount of possibilities Alien Skin is famous for with their plug-ins. Snap Art is unlike any other painting plug-in for Photoshop, because it meticulously recreates a more realistic representation of real-world art styles. Snap Art is a special plug-in for those graphics editors and photographers who want more realism to their images, while retaining the individuality of the effect itself.

Ten Extremely Comprehensive Filters To Choose From

Since this is the introduction page, I'll keep it brief, but the ten filters included in Snap Art, are very comprehensive, meaning you have several settings within each filter which will make your image unique, as well as create the realistic effect you want. The filters are:

  • Color Pencil
  • Pen and Ink
  • Comics
  • Pencil Sketch
  • Impasto
  • Pointillism
  • Oil Paint
  • Stylize
  • Pastel
  • Watercolor
  • Snap Art Features

    Some of the major key features are listed below.

    • Realistic natural media effect create uniquely styled artwork
    • Canvas, paper, and other media textures further enhance realism
    • Lighting controls simulate the direction, intensity, and color of a light source
    • Hundreds of one-click settings offer instant results
    • Detailed controls allow unlimited customization
    • Superior edge detection preserves detail from the original image
    Does Photoshop Have Similar Filters?

    It is true, Photoshop does have filters located in the Sketch and Artistic filter menus, but several of those filters have not been designed for the kind of realism Alien Skin is famous for. Many of Adobe's filters are of high quality, but in my opinion, they lack realism in the artistic paint area. And when you think about it, Photoshop is not really a comprehensive program who's sole design is to make top-notch filters. Photoshop works best with 3rd party creators who spend a lot more time dealing with a specific aspect of imaging which Photoshop can take advantage of.

    There's More Than One Way To Successfully Filter Your Image

    There are three major options for you when creating elaborate filtered images:

    • Spend an enormous amount of time learning your favorite image editor
    • Purchase specialized tutorials which increase your learning in a shorter amount of time
    • Purchase specialized filter plug-ins for your image editor
    In this review we're taking the last option, however, you can certainly obtain efficient results by choosing the other two options. The first option, is probably the hardest because few of us have the time to sacrifice hours a day on an image editor and getting little accomplished. The second option is another alternative which will produce results much more quickly than the first option. Purchasing tutorials by professionals who have spent thousands of hours on an image editor is a great way to get ahead of the learning curve for producing high quality results (DigitalDingus currently provides a few reviews of such tutorials and is currently working on five new titles by Software Cinema who do an excellent job in teaching users new skills). The third option is the quickest option because you do not necessarily need vast knowledge of how your image editor works; all you need to know is how your filter plug-in works, and much of the special processing is already done for you.

    Complex Settings Saved Easily

    What I really like about Alien Skin's software, is they allow complex steps within their plug-ins to be saved as one unique setting. In addition, unlimited settings can be saved and named for later retrieval.


    HomeReviewsForumsNews 201520132012200920082007200620052004
    RSS FeedsFOV Factor TableSensor Sizes | Definitions: A-DE-HI-LM-PQ-UV-Z | Sitemap
    Articles • Archived Websites (Pre-DigitalDingus): D100 LoungeE-10 Club | Contact