FYI-Insights Splat!

Splat! is from  Alienskin - visit them for a trial download.

Splat! is a very versatile and feature-rich image effects and enhancement program that can add a whole lotta pizzazz to your images.

What is Splat! ?

Splat! is a powerful new plug-in filter set for Photoshop®, Fireworks®, Paint Shop Pro®, and other image editors. Splat! gives digital artists frames, textures, edges, borders, mosaics and more in one user-friendly package. Like prior Alien Skin Software filter sets, Eye Candy and Xenofex, the Splat! filters adapt to irregular selections (with the exception of the Frame filter), work exceptionally well in print compositions, and share the same easy-to-use Alien Skin Software user interface. Unlike Eye Candy and Xenofex, however, the Splat! filters are content-powered special effects engines. The Frame, Resurface, Fill Stamp, Border Stamp, and Patchwork filters use a variety of source images, held in content files, to make their effects. Since adding new content files yields a fresh variety of effects, content-powered effects expand infinitely.   You can create borders, edges, frames, patchworks and surface textures; literally thousands of different combinations and a mind-bogglingly huge library of image effects digital appliqués  is included on the CD.  Working with Splat I discovered there are a lot of textures and effects that look very realistic. 

Take for example the Reptile resurface texture: 

Who's Splat! For?

The Splat! audience includes both professional and novice users, as well as everyone in-between.  Photographers will appreciate the one-click mattes and frames, as well as the unique mosaics created by Patchwork. Designers can create thematic backgrounds for posters and Web pages, or accent their works with leaves, buttons, coins, food, flowers, and more. Beginners can easily decorate invitations and greeting cards. Anyone using type can render text, titles, and headlines in stone, torn paper, rose petals, and mosaics, or use the border nibbling effects of Edges. Are you old-school? Splat! will crank out realistic ASCII-text renditions of photos in seconds.

 Take a look here to see the user interface.

The Types of Effects You Can Do

Frames Frame adds realistic mattes and frames to any photo or rectangular selection.  Provided are over 100 frames for users to browse through using a thumbnail preview, which they scale to fit and then apply.  Frame includes traditional wood frames, Dover and geometric borders, and novelty frames such as grommets and pushpins.

Frame Files The infinitely extensible Frame filter uses Frame Files to create frames, mattes, and borders in a composition or selection. Users of Photoshop 5 or later can download new Frame Files from the Alien Skin Software Web site. Users with Photoshop 6 and later can also create and save original Frame Files. Please see the Splat! instruction guide for more information. Frame Files (*.RFR) are similar to  Stamp Files. They contain scalable tiles and corners that users apply to any rectangular selection.  Frame Files are organized as themes such as wooden frames and Art Nouveau borders.

Resurface Resurface adds any of over 100 high-resolution surface textures to any object, selection, or composition. Resurface is an easy way to work in natural media; with a few clicks artists can apply textures such as paper, metal, stone, wood, and leather. Other surfaces include several variations of brick, carpet, concrete, dirt, fur, and more. Designers can distort images to simulate most surfaces. Surface Files Surface files are seamlessly tiling grayscale JPEG (*.JPG) files. Since Resurface can use any seamlessly tileable JPEG file as a texture, it has infinite possibilities as a texture application engine. Users can create their own bump maps or use other available bump maps by converting them to grayscale JPEGs.  Users can also download new textures from the Alien Skin Software Web site or grab one of the thousands available on the Internet for free.

Edges Edges adds versatile, decorative edge effects to any graphic. Users can ornament invitations and greeting cards with a variety of edges such as halftone patterns, torn paper, and pixelated edges.  These effects look great applied to text because they adapt to any selection shape

	Fill Stamp Fill Stamp fills any selection with familiar objects. Users can accent any composition by choosing from over 100 stamp libraries including leaves, buttons, coins, food, and flowers, then scaling the objects, and applying. Creating thematic backgrounds for print and Web has never been easier. Stamp Files Stamp Files are based on the Paint Shop Pro picture tube (*.TUB) format. A stamp file is a grid of cells; each cell contains a themed image, such as a rose petal, photographed at different angles. Fill Stamp uses Stamp Files as image sources to paint a selection with a chosen theme.  Like the other content-powered filters, Fill Stamp is endlessly expandable. Users of Photoshop 5 or later can download new Stamp Files from the Alien Skin Software Web site. Users of Photoshop 6 and later can also create and save original Stamp Files. For more information on creating Stamp Files with Photoshop 6 and later, please refer to the Splat!

Border Stamp Border Stamp applies the power of Fill Stamp to borders. Users can create themed borders from everyday objects such as pebbles, rose petals, seashells, candy, and more. Border Stamp works with any shape or selection.  Again, Border Stamp is infinitely expandable. Users can check with Alien Skin Software regularly for new stamp files to download or they can search the Web for Paint Shop Pro picture tubes. For more information on creating Stamp Files with Photoshop 6 and later, refer to the Splat! instruction manual. Border Stamp uses the same content files (Stamp Files) as Fill Stamp to make its effects.

Patchwork Patchwork recreates any selection, shape, or image as a mosaic. Users choose from Patchwork tile libraries including ceramic tiles, cross-stitch, light pegs, and ASCII art. Users simply browse the libraries and then scale the tiles to fit.  Patchwork Files Patchwork Files (*.PTL) are libraries of image tiles that Patchwork matches to variations in color and contrast in a selection to create a mosaic. Users can’t make or save their own Patchwork files, but they can check the Alien Skin Software Web site regularly for Patchwork content.

Key features of Splat! include:

• Splat! is built on the easy-to-use Alien Skin Software user interface (UI) that premiered in Eye Candy 4000 (see my FYI on Eye Candy 4000). The UI design incorporates industry-standard image editor controls and shortcuts; users get exactly what they expect from the Splat! interface. Following are some of the highlights of the Splat!
   

• Huge preview with visible underlying layers—This fully resizable preview allows users to examine an effect with all layers in the image visible.
   

• Unlimited Undo/Redo—You can undo as many mess-ups as you want!
   

• Photoshop-style keyboard shortcuts—Wherever possible, we have implemented keyboard shortcuts identical to those used in Photoshop to streamline the production process.
   

• Menus accessible from the Filter Window—Users can switch easily from one Splat! filter to another inside the preview.
   

• Handy mouseover help text describes the function of each filter control—Provides quick insight into the meaning of each filter control.
   

• Seamless tiling (in the Fill Stamp filter)—Making textured backgrounds for Web pages, games, or multimedia presentations is extremely easy.
   

• Filters work as “Live Effects” in Fireworks 3 and later—When a filter such as Edges is applied to text, the edge effect will automatically update if the user makes a change to the original text. In addition, effects can be modified even after the filter has been applied.
   

• Real-world absolute parameter units (Photoshop users)—A great time-saver for graphic designers who regularly move from print to the Web, or who create proofs at screen resolution before going to print.

My Impressions of Splat!

My impressions of the program is you're going to love working with all the included effects, and enjoy making your own.  Being able to save custom settings and create and import other images for use in Splat! means it will never become obsolete, and you'll never run out of source materials.   I was most impressed by the realism of all of the effects, and being able to change many of the effects parameters - texture size, shadow direction, shadow and light intensities, how much or how sparse the image effects is duplicated, etc. will give you the results you're looking for.  The best part is, the effects are extremely well done, and the interface is very easy to navigate and use.

Splat! gives you many of the most sought after image effects.  Torn paper, wood frames, realistic surfaces, patchwork, LED-like lights and more are included.

If you're looking for a fresh approach to applying effects such as borders, torn edges, surface textures and more realistic effects, then be sure to give Splat! a tryout-workout from Alienskin with a trial download of the program.