Reviewed
by: Mario
Georgiou, July 2007
Published
by: Filter
Forge
Requires: Windows
XP, Windows 2003, Windows 2000, Windows Vista
MSRP: US$99.00
(Basic), $199.00 (Standard), $299.00 (Pro)
I
am a big fan of the work being done by third-party
Photoshop plug-in creators and have a sizeable
collection of plug-ins. When Filter Forge came
to my attention a few weeks back, I dropped a line
to the creators of this interesting and powerful
tool to request a copy for review. What I experienced
with this really cool tool brought a smile to my
face. Filter Forge is exactly what it sounds like—a
tool for producing and applying filters and procedural
textures, and as I discovered, a whole lot more
besides.
Filter
Forge comes in three versions. A $99 Basic edition
provides unlimited access to the filter library
but cannot create filters. The $199 Standard edition
allows photographers and graphic artists create their
own filters, including effects, textures, distortions,
patterns, backgrounds and frames. The $299 Professional
edition was designed with the needs of 3D content
and game creators in mind, providing support and
features useful in architectural visualization, 3D
rendering and design. It includes support for bitmaps
as large as 65,000 x 65,000 pixels, 16 & 32-bit
images, and floating point-based file formats such
as OpenEXR and PFM.
I
was fortunate to be able to review the Pro edition
and was extremely impressed by the performance
and the range of filters available via the online
filter library. Once accessed and downloaded you
can transport your filters with relative ease.
Registered users have access to well over 2,000
filters and textures. Core features and technology
include support for Dual Core CPUs, HDRI Images,
8, 16 & 32-bit image
modes, floating point file formats and a really useful
smart anti-aliasing feature which uses anti-aliasing
only where and when it is needed. |
Custom
filter creation, the most creative part of Filter Forge,
is facilitated via a visual node-based editor which is
both extremely powerful and quite easy to use once you
get your head around the concept. Filters are created by
connecting components in a flow diagram to combine effects
and functions. Available components include Brightness
/ Contrast, Channels, Gradients, Noise, Color Adjustments,
Distortions, Patterns, Curves, Curve Operations, Image
Processing Controls and much more. For Pro users this is
a very powerful and welcome tool. One of the best features
is the ability to share created filters online via the
free filter library. The only omission in this is support
for user-definable formulae—something
for the future I guess.
Animators, designers and texture creators can create seamless and resolution-independent
textures and patterns. Add the capability for creating bump and normal
maps and you have a really useful production tool. The filters are also
resolution independent and capable of so many effects that you'll find
yourself suffering from option paralysis. There is even a randomizer
which shakes things up a bit by allowing you to generate filters on
the fly.
The only drawback for many users will be the cost, but even this consideration
is somewhat irrelevant when you bear in mind that the Pro version is
aimed at pro level users. I'm not sure that the average imageer really
has a need for the advanced capabilities the editor and pro features
will afford. On the other hand, at these prices technical support appears
to be excellent with an extensive online help system and very active
online user forums. The overall tone on the forums, as of this writing,
is one of cooperation which reveals a real sense of community, with
contributors even offering to share credits with other users.
Cons: Price. Learning curve for the filter editor.
Pros: Easy
to use. Powerful, Scalable. Excellent support. Large number of filters.
Highly useful in architectural visualization, 3D rendering
and design and includes support for bitmaps as large as
65,000 x 65,000 pixels, 16 & 32-bit images,
and floating point-based file formats such as OpenEXR and
PFM. I was extremely impressed by the performance and the
range of filters available via the online filter library.
More than just a single effect tool, Filter Forge really
has no equal. It is a library of effects and treatments
that work as both a Photoshop Plug-in and as a standalone
application. I found Filter Forge both powerful and easy
to use. This is one tool any imageer, artist and photographer
should have in their toolbox. Highly recommended.
