The Bottom Line
- Generates high-quality photo-realistic textures with many customizable options.
- Simple, straightforward user interface with a large, resizable preview window.
- Includes a printed User Guide, PDF Manual, filter-specific help, and mouseover hints.
- Not compatible with older systems and host applications.
Description
- Ten plug-in effects filters for generating seamless textures in Photoshop and other software.
- Improved Effects: Animal Fur, Marble, Swirl, Texture Noise, Weave, Wood.
- New Effects: Brick Wall, Diamond Plate, Reptile Skin, Stone Wall.
- All effects offer many customization options, improved controls, and a seamless tiling option.
- Includes over 200 texture presets and an improved preset management system for saving settings.
- Some effects can pull color information from an existing image or blend with the original.
- Features unlimited undo/redo, resizable preview, effect on/off toggle, and 16-bit color support.
- Ships on a cross-platform CD for Macintosh or Windows, and includes a printed user manual.
- Requires Mac OS X or Windows 2000/XP and a compatible host application.
Guide Review - Eye Candy 5: Textures
As usual, Alien Skin does not disappoint with the quality of effects and the variety of customization options. The user interface is always improving, and in this version the most notable change is seen in the new settings tab of each filter, where users can apply hundreds of preset settings--or save, manage, and share their own custom settings. The filters themselves have been improved also. "Textures" includes four filters which are brand new to the Eye Candy line, and the remaining six filters offer more controls for achieving a variety of effects. Also, every filter now has the option to generate a seamless tile.
The downside to these improvements is that Eye Candy 5's system requirements have been raised. Macintosh users will need to be running Mac OS X 10.2.6 or higher and at least Photoshop 7, Photoshop Elements 2, or Fireworks MX 2004. Windows users will need to be running Windows 2000 or XP and at least Photoshop 7, Photoshop Elements 2, Fireworks MX 2004, or Paint Shop Pro 8.
See examples of all ten filters in Eye Candy 5: Textures.
