|
|
|
|
||||
Get Image Doctor! |
For a long time I have always wondered just how good Alien Skin software actually is. Several years ago a professional in the field showed me several plug-in filters from Alien Skin, but I never really gave it a second thought. Now that I have had a chance to explore Image Doctor, I feel I have been missing something.
If Nik Multimedia Define is the high end image fixer for digital images coming from digital cameras, Alien Skin’s Image Doctor is the equivalent for everyone else, including the non-professional. Plus, you do not need to download special profiles in order to get the most out of the application. Image Doctor is one of those handy plug-ins that performs the function of repairing damaged images through a few easy to use filters. Keeping the interface simple, and to the point, Alien Skin has done an admirable job of making short work of complex projects.
While I know of Alien Skin as being more of a speciality filter company, Image Doctor presents the kind of plug-in that digital editing is all about, fine detail and repairing images that are not up to what they should be. For those that have worked with lossy photographic formats like jpg, after a few manipulations of an image a picture can lose a considerable amount of information. As a result of compression, decompression and assorted ways programs can save files, a jpg can take a beating, and look it as well. What the JPEG repair filter in Image Doctor does is try to minimize the damage. While it cannot return the original to pristine condition, it can at least make the image look substantially more aesthetically pleasing.
Using variables like remove artifacts, blur edges, add grain and randomize grain, just a few sliders can make all of the difference. One of the things I really liked about the way this is done is that the thin, but informative, instruction manual included with the program makes this process even easier. There is precious little to intimidate the new user. Just follow along in the easy to read book, and suddenly you are making the kind of adjustments to an image that the professionals do daily.
While it may take a bit of tweaking to make the effects smooth, Alien Skin makes this so much easier. The same can equally be said of the Smart Fill feature. If you have ever wanted to remove an object from a picture without making it look like a meteorite struck your composition, Image Doctor allows you to make that possible in a very short period of time. Having removed people, dogs and chairs from photos, using Photoshop to do it does require some patience and skill. What Smart Fill does is that it takes the painstaking part out by allowing you to remove effortlessly what you need to take away. I can see where using this filter in tandem with others in Photoshop can make the removal of objects easy. Even on its own, adjusting the handful of sliders in the interface can do wonders. For perfectionists who want absolute control, Image Doctor saves time, and allows you to make fine adjustments faster. For those with more basic needs, this plug-in alone is worth the price of the entire set.
But Image Doctor does not stop with object removal. It also includes spot lifter, which removes small blemishes and similar small stains from faces and photos. Coupled with the Scratch removal tool, and Image Doctor becomes a Swiss army knife of image adjustment. Simple, direct and easy with an informative booklet, this could be the one plug-in almost every photographer may need, and want.
For professionals, tools like Image Doctor can easily help move the process of image correction along without taking up too much time. While most high end photo editing programs have tools like these already built in, using them can be a real nightmare. When it comes to editing on the fly, or needing extra help, a plug-in like Image Doctor can make image repair less of a chore and more of a pleasure.
For newbies to photo editing, or those that are just not that adept at the delicacies of image editing, which is an art form on its own, Image Doctor is a truly effective plug-in for people that know next to nothing about it, or those that simply want to get the job done. Considering how well this plug-in works, Alien Skin has a real winner in this extremely well designed program. Plus, the homey look of the manual is really kind of endearing.
Talk to Kurt in Graphics Unleashed Forums
Lexar Jump Drive and Platinum II SDHC Card · IRISNotes 2 Executive · IOGEAR Spill-Resistant Wired Keyboard and Mouse Combo · Logitech Z623 Computer Speakers · Gateway FX 6860-UR21P: An All-Purpose Desktop PC · Ridiculously Easy Backup From Rebit · The IOGear GPEN300 · A Review of the 5 inch EZReader Pocket Pro From Astak · A Review of the Barnes and Noble Color Nook · A Review of the Dell XPS 8100 · The Kobo eBook Reader, Just About Reading · The Best Ergonomic Mouse? The Smartfish ErgoMotion Laser Mouse · Sage Act 2010 · Microsoft Windows 7 · Adobe Creative Suite CS2 · Adobe Photoshop CS2 · SwissMemory Victorinox rubyRED Swiss Army Knife/Flash Drive · Tapwave Zodiac 2 · Stardock Object Desktop · Acrobat 7 Professional · Maximizer 8 · QuarkXPress 6.5 · McAfee's 2005 Product Line · Logitech io Personal Digital Pen 2 · IRIS Business Card Reader II for Windows/PC · Sandisk Cruzer Titanium Flash Drive · Microsoft Wireless Comfort Keyboard · Maxon Cinema 4D 9 · Jasc Paint Shop Pro 9 · Norton SystemWorks 2005 Premier · Verbatim Store N' Go 2.1 GB Hard Drive · Corel Painter IX · Paint Shop Photo Album 5 · Adobe Video Collection Professional 2.5 · Alien Skin Eye Candy 5: Textures · Techsmith SnagIt 7.0 · Ulead Media Studio Pro 7 · Xara Webstyle 4 · Maxon BodyPaint 3D Release 2 · Eovia Carrara Studio 3 · AV Bros. Puzzle Pro 2 · AutoFX Mystical Tint Tone and Color · Andromeda Screens, Cutline and Etchtone Plug-In Filters · Macromedia Studio MX 2004 · Microsoft FrontPage 2003 · AutoFX AutoEye 2.0 · Adobe Premiere Pro · Adobe Audition · Amapi Designer 7 · Alien Skin Splat! · Alien Skin Eye Candy 4000 · Alien Skin Image Doctor · Canvas 9 · nik Dfine · Xenofex 2 · QuarkXpress 6 · Jasc Paint Shop Pro 8 · Adobe Acrobat 6.0 Professional · Corel Painter 8 · Nik Color Efex Pro · Caligari TrueSpace 6.5 · Macromedia Contribute · Maxon Cinema 4D · Sonic Foundry Sound Forge 6.0 · nik Sharpener Pro · Jasc Paint Shop Photo Album 4 · Xara Menu Maker 1 · Curious Labs Poser 5 · Macromedia Freehand MX · Adobe Illustrator 10 · Ulead Photoimpact 8 · Xara 3D 5 · Xara X · Microsoft Publisher 2002 · Creature House Expression 3 · CorelDRAW 11 Graphics Suite · Procreate Painter 7 · QuarkXpress 5 · Adobe Pagemaker 7 · Adobe Photoshop 7
Copyright © 1995–2013 Unleashed Productions, Inc., All Rights Reserved.
