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What's in...
__ If you've read many of the Photoshop books, and newsletters you've probably
been as confused over channels and masks as I have been. Like me, you've probably
labored over Craig Swanson's 16-steps to "bevels" or struggled over Deke
McClelland's tedious, meandering 70 or so pages on channels.
__ Most people discover that following a recipe for building channel masks doesn't
necessarily mean you're learning it. Perhaps you're even among those of us who actually
work for a living, and don't really have time to climb the mount of ethereal Photoshop
enlightenment. We've got work to do -- learning Photoshop is no easy task and the
intricacies of the program can be frustrating -- to say the least.
Black Box is not just recommended... it's essential!
__ The Black Box can save you literally hundreds of
hours and steps in the creation of various popular techniques. (Not to mention white
hairs!) It lets you undertake thousands upon thousands of operations built around
ten different families of visual techniques. Some, admittedly are simple, others
wildly complicated.
Motion Trail: objects slur across the background;
HSB Noise: introduction of various configurations of image degradation,
or "noise";
Glass: a layer of refracting glass over the selection;
Glow: a layer of semi-transparant neon glow around the outside of
the selection;
Inner/Outer Bevels: makes the selection raised away from the background;
Swirl: smearing the image through various random "pools";
and
Cutout: where the selection becomes a hole in the surface of the
illustration. (our header for this article uses the cut-out technique.)
__ Needless to say, there are hundreds of dozens of
variations you can add to all of these techniques. All of these special effects are
available with a click, eliminating the time-consuming, trial-and-error process.
The samples shown here only scratch the surface -- and they were all created within
moments and a few clicks.
__ The Black Box worked flawlessly on all the systems
we tested it on. It is quick, even on 030 machines, and it does not require a math
chip. So it can be used by Performa, LC and even PC/Windows users. It also works
with any program that supports the Photoshop Plug-in interface. If you can use Photoshop,
you can use Black Box... or let me say: if you use the popular painting programs
you NEED Black Box.
The Black Box 2.0 -- DT&G FIVE STAR RATING
Price: $119 (list).
Alien Skin Software, Raleigh, NC -- 919-832-4124 --
www.alienskin.com/
Don't miss our interview
with Alien Skin
Photoshop Tips & Tricks . . | . . The
Design & Publishing Center
Thank you for visiting the Photoshop
Wing in The Design & Publishing Center , at http://www.graphic-design.com/Photoshop/
Contact The Design Center design team for web page critique, makeover clinics,
or website design, production and hosting. Copyright 1996, The Design & Publishing
Center, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Photoshop is a registered trademark for Adobe Systems,
Inc. Mountain View, CA. BlackBox is a registered trademark for AlienSkin Software
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