Hal Hinderliter

My Christmas Gift of Alien Skin
December 24, 2007

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Question: What’d you get for Christmas?

Answer: Snap Art filters from Alien Skin! There’s just no better way to while away the hours than messing around in Adobe Photoshop, and the folks at Alien Skin have provided quirky, easy-to-use special effect filters since the days of OS 9…   

Like Renoir Redux
As the name implies, Snap Art is a unique set of filters intended to turn photos into artist efforts with only a few clicks. Some of the effects are nominally similar to filters already available in Photoshop, but each filter comes with tastefully adjusted presets that make it simple to dive right in and get started.

Just as important is the way that Alien Skin categorizes these effects; rather than combining artsy effects willy-nilly like the folks at Adobe have always done, the Snap Art filters are logically grouped in accordance with the art movements they intend to emulate. As illustrated below at left, the Comics filter brings to mind Warhol or Lichtenstein with plenty of Pop Art pizzazz. The image at right demonstrates the Impasto filter’s ability to simulate thickly painted surfaces while highlighting our collective memory of van Gogh.

Make a Fast Impression(ism) 
Pointillism, watercolor and other classic illustration styles round out the Snap Art collection, each accompanied by a slew of presets that are bound to get your creative juices flowing. Despite the simplicity of choosing a preconfigured selection, the real beauty of Alien Skin’s tools lies in their ability to spark experimentation.

Make a copy of your target image layer, then filter the copy before applying blending modes or contrast adjustments. Create a high-contrast line conversion using the Pen & Ink filter, then use it as a Texture Channel within Photoshop’s standard Lighting Effects filter. Stack up multiple layer copies, then apply variations of Alien Skin’s Color Pencil filter to each layer and play with the blending, fade and opacity options.

Artsy Looks Save the Day
How does all this impact prepress, you ask? The answer is simple! Nearly every technician has handled projects with unremarkable or even technically deficient images; Snap Art provides a fast and efficient way for print providers to suggest an alternate artistic vision. Low-resolution or blurry images take on a whole new life when converted to oil paintings or pastels; spot color graphics can provide dramatic impact as pencil sketches or stylized line conversions.

In the end, these tools offer a new form of value-add for shops bold enough to try them. Perfect for an industry known for advocating a close partnership between designer and printer, a few snappy ideas can really open up the lines of communication!

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Posted by Hal Hinderliter on December 24, 2007 | Comments (0)