Image Tricks — Play with 10.4's Core Image effects

June, 2006

By: Rob Griffiths

The macosxhints Rating:

[Score: 9 out of 10]
Developer: BeLight Software / Product page
Price: Free ($9.95 pro version)

If you have Xcode 2.0 installed, you've got access to a nifty little application called Core Image Fun House (look in /Developer -> Applications -> Graphics Tools). This app lets you apply Tiger's Core Image effects to images, layer upon layer, building up some very interesting images. However, its interface isn't necessarily completely intuitive, and I found it to be somewhat unstable in use.

Enter Image Tricks. This free app is basically a new front end to the Core Image effects, along with a set of mathematical image generators you can use to create a new picture from scratch. Usage is simple — load a picture you wish to modify, choose an effect (a Filter in Image Tricks), and apply it. Layer effects by repeating the process. There are even a number of masks you can apply to make interesting frames around your images. When you're done, you can save your image or copy it to the clipboard.

You can also build images from scratch, using the Generators tab. With a generated image, click Render then Edit, and you can then apply Filters to the created image. I was able to create some interesting effects in this manner. If you buy the Pro version, you can control the settings on some of the more interesting generators.

Not a world-changing application, but a fun one, and a good way to see the power of Core Image effects.

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