MacReview
Eye Candy 5: Impact
Review by Mark Starlin
Impact is the final collection in the three part Eye Candy 5 series, following Textures and Nature. It includes seven improved filters from the previous Eye Candy 4000 collection plus three brand new filters. As the name implies, Impact is a collection of filters designed to add impact to your images. Most are “traditional” effects such as bevels, shadows, lighting, metal, and glass effects. There is nothing Earth shaking here, just quick and easy ways to produce some commonly used effects.
The Interface
All the Eye Candy filters have easy to use interfaces with a large preview area and tabbed control sections. They come with loads of presets to get you started, and you can save your own presets and share them with others. Several of the effects allow you save the rendered effect to a new layer in Photoshop, leaving the original image unaltered. Mouse-over text help give you guidance for each control if needed. A Show Original button allows you to toggle between the filtered and unfiltered image.
You can select any color for the background preview, or make it transparent. This is useful many cases, but doesn’t help much if your image has a photographic background. You’ll have to render the effect to see if you get the desired results. This is where saving the effects to a new layer comes in handy. You can try as many variations of the effect as you like (saving each to a new layer) without affecting the original image.
The Filters
A great interface doesn’t mean much without useful filters. Let’s take look at each one individually.
Backlight
One of the three new filters, Backlight does just what its name implies, simulating a light source behind an image. Its effect can vary from rays of light to fog-like mist. It is good at creating light shining through cut out letters effects.
Bevel
More than just simple bevels, Bevel allows you to add surface textures to create pitted, craggy and bumpy bevels. This makes creating stone a snap. It also gives you control over the bevel profile and curve smoothness. A handy tool for creating buttons, fames, or text effects with “impact.”
Brushed Metal
Another new effect, Brushed Metal is an easy way to create the Mac brushed metal interface look. You have three choices of brush patterns — circular, linear, or hand brushed.
Chrome
Chrome uses a number of reflection maps to create shiny surfaces. You can also import your own images to use as reflection maps. Bevel controls add extra versatility.
Extrude
Extrude, the third new filter, simulates 3D shapes. Remember pushing Play-dough through a plastic shape as kid? You can extrude in any direction or to a vanishing point.
Glass
The glass filter uses reflection maps, simulated visual refraction and distortion beneath surfaces, and built-in drop shadows to create impressive glass effects.
Gradient Glow
From simple glows to truly ugly rainbow effects, I found Gradient Glow to be one of the least interesting effects. The presets are mainly gaudy and, in my opinion, of very little use.
Motion Trail
Motion trail is an easy way to add motion effects to an image. By adding semi-transparent streaks along a flexible path, cool movement effects are a click away.
Perspective Shadow
More than just drop shadows, Perspective Shadow provides cast shadows and 3D perspective shadows for far more realistic shadow effects. One of the highlights of the collection.
Super Star
Basically a shape generator, not an “effect”, Super Star seems out of place here. If you need to create stars, gears, etc., Super Star will do it, but I don’t understand why it is included here.
Final Thoughts
Eye Candy 5: Impact is another solid collection of filters from Alien Skin. Most of these are meat and potatoes effects that are used often, and often overused. Still, Impact provides easy to use and powerful versions of these effects for those who know when to use them. Like any collection, there a few clunkers and a few standouts. The Perspective Shadow, Glass, and Bevel filters alone are worth the price of admission, so you can easily consider the rest a bonus.
Publisher
Version
5.0
Type
Commercial
Street Price
$99, upgrade $49
Requires
500 MHz PowerPC G3 processor; 256 MB RAM; Mac OS X 10.2.6 or later; Macintosh Hosts: Adobe Photoshop 7 or later; Adobe Photoshop Elements 2 or later; Macromedia Fireworks MX 2004 or later
Rating: 8.42
- Intended Function: 9
- Ease Of Use: 9
- User Interface: 9
- Documentation: 10
- Features: 7
- Uniqueness: 6
- Value: 9