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Get Xenofex 2! |
There are certain filters and plug-ins that are fun. While their practicality may be debatable, when it comes to altering visual images, the more options one has all the better. For professionals who need a large arsenal of tools with which to work, one can never have too many plug-ins. Xenofex 2 is one of those plug-ins that is definitely easy to work with, fun, and actually offers some amazingly powerful filters.
With these plug-ins, you get 14 filters that include the following: Burnt Edges, Classic Mosaic, Constellation, Cracks, Crumple, Electricity, Flag, Lightning, Little Fluffy Clouds, Puzzle, Rip Open, Shatter, Stain and Television. The interface for Xenofex 2 is by and large similar to others from Alien Skin and is indeed very easy to work with without demanding too much from the user. Billed as being faster and easier to use than before, there is little here to really argue with, or really feel bogged down by in any way. Using filters has never been this easy, or this simple. Plus, the enclosed user manual is excellent, but may not get a great deal of use due to the simplicity of Xenofex 2.
Having fourteen filter options, picking ones that may be more frequently used than others is a real challenge. One that I found interesting, and perhaps useful on certain projects, is the Puzzle Filter. Puzzle creates a jigsaw effect over the entire surface of an image. With this filter you can knock out sections, invert connected nubs and replace knocked out pieces with transparency. Naturally, this plug-in filter allows you to alter the number of pieces, distance and other variables. Offering this many options, using sliders and buttons, you can have control over how the puzzle effect is implemented and the look of your image after making a filter alteration.
Shattered is another exciting filter that makes an image looks as if it has exploded. Think of an image glued to a piece of glass that was then broken into shards. This description really gets at the heart of this filter that breaks up an image into a mosaic of sorts.
While on the subject of mosaics, Xenofex includes a mosaic filter that has to be one of the easiest I have ever seen. While there are applications that have this filter already installed, this plug-in makes short work of turning images into small tessera. This is filter set saves time, and makes the process truly simple.
Crumpled is an effect that may not look as if it will get a great deal of use, but once used, it is one that adds yet another layer of control over an image that can be used in some very specific products. For designers and Web site creators, this effect can be illuminating and open to possibilities. Again, superficially this may not seem like a filter that will get a great deal of use, but in reality, I can see this plug-in working well with specific design projects.
Xenofex in short is fun. How essential it is to you depends mainly on your usage of images. If all you need to do is keep a diary of family moments, then this filter set may not be for you. However, if you are the creative type, a graphic designer or Web site creator looking for new ways to alter existing images, Xenofex 2 should be given serious consideration as a creative tool.
Unlike some plug-ins that are designed to enhance, correct, fix or fine tune an image, Xenofex is concerned with dramatic alterations of images that are geared toward creative uses. So if you are seeking a filter set that will fix flawed images, this is not the option for you. But, if you want to alter images in a creative manner, Xenofex 2 is an excellent choice for those times when you need a creative filter set that takes the needs of designers and artists into consideration. I do suggest that before purchase, look at the range of effects and weigh how important those alterations are to you. Naturally, there will be filters that will get more use than others, but overall there is enough content here that creative types, professionals and serious shutter bugs will find more than enough here to make image alterations a much easier.
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