Digital Photographer's Software Guide - Bertemes - Net

178
The Digital Photographer's Software Guide
Snap Art
Vendor: Alien Skin
Purpose: 10 Photoshop filters for stylizing photos, simulating pencil sketching, pen and ink, oils,
and the like
Description
Snap Art is an art simulation package that lets you stylize your photos, turning them
into images that simulate pen and ink sketches, or watercolor or oil paintings. It uses
edge detection to separate objects from their backgrounds, and then it reinforces these
outlines to create the pencil, pen and ink, or even comic book styles of drawing. With
all these processes to carry out, Snap Art can run quite slowly. A faster version is promised
for the future.
Comments
Could Georges-Pierre Seurat have created “Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La
Grande Jatte” by taking a photograph and clicking Pointillism in Alien Skin’s Snap Art?
Probably not, but this software actually captures the surface texture of Seurat’s style quite
well. It is even better with the comic book style of Roy Lichtenstein, and it packs a mean
“Impasto” with swirls that would intrigue Van Gogh (or drive him to cut off the other ear).
Reviewers have been largely unanimous in considering that Snap Art is great fun to use,
does a good job of mimicking traditional art styles, and is reasonably good value. It is
well worth a test drive.
Version: Snap Art 1.0 (2008)
Plugs into: Windows—Photoshop CS or later; Photoshop Elements 3 or later; Fireworks MX
2004 or later; Corel Paint Shop Pro XI or later; Mac—Photoshop CS2 9.0.2 or later; Photoshop
Elements 4.0.1 or later; Fireworks CS3
OS: Windows XP and Vista; Mac OS X 10.4.0 or later
RAM: 512MB
Supported file formats: As host
Price level: Approx. $150
Address: Alien Skin, 1111 Haynes Street, Suite 113, Raleigh, NC 27604, United States
www.alienskin.com
TwistingPixels Plug-ins & Filters
Vendor: TwistingPixels
Purpose: Produces photo manipulation and art effects, with on-screen drawing and painting