Threshold and noise (Andrew Plugins Volume 6)

The plugin set consists of 16 plugins and are generally themed color cutouts / threshold and grain.

Each plugin also comes with 77 output / blend modes such as frames and tiling and Solarization and color and pencil sketch edge effects along with 18 effect modes (blur mode, extreme paint mode, smear mode, old sepia mode and others) and 20 selection / layer transparency modes (only valid on a layer)

Installation of Plugins Set

Please place the 8BF files in the plugins folder (or plug-ins folder). Please place the documentation and any ini files (holding presets) in another folder as required. The install process is not an automatic process. I would suggest copying the plugins into a sub folder of the plugins folder such as 'third party plugins'

Photoshop ® CS 2 [c:\program files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS2\plug-ins\...]

Photoshop ® CS [c:\program files\adobe\photoshop CS\plug-ins\...]

Photoshop ® 7 [c:\program files\adobe\photoshop 7\plug-ins\...]

Paint Shop Pro ® 9 [c:\program files\Jasc Software Inc\Paint Shop Pro\Plugins]

Paint Shop Pro ® 8 [c:\program files\Jasc Software Inc\Paint Shop Pro\Plugins]

Canvas 6 [c:\program files\Canvas 6\Canvas Tools\plugins]

Painter IX [c:\program files\Corel\Corel Painter IX\Plugins]

Illustrator CS 2 [c:\program files\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator CS2\plug-ins]

Expression 3.3 [c:\program files\Expression 3\Plugins]

PhotoImpact 8 [c:\program files\Ulead\Ulead PhotoImpact 8\Plugins]

Please consult your application documentation for others

The presets, I would suggest, should go in a common folder with a structure such as c:\...\preset\blur\... for ease of finding the plugin presets.

The documentation, by default, is in a sub folder of the plugins, but this also can be placed, if required, in a common folder for all plugins.

Removal of plugins

Please simply remove the plugins from the plugin path. Either delete the plugins and the associated ini files from the plugins path or drag them from that folder and place in a storage folder for future use.

Serial Numbers

Please store the serial number file, generally of the format ...Serialno.txt and store this for safe keeping, or write down the details of the serial number included. This will be useful for any updates / upgrades or in contacting graphicxtras for a possible replacement CD. Please note, if you have downloaded the plugins from Shareit site, please (please) make a backup of the file set on CD or a floppy disk (s) or DVD as the download file is generally only available for a short time.

Initial Use of plugins

Please access via the filters menu of Photoshop (or your current application). The plugins appear in the AP categories such as AP [Blur] AP [Color] AP [Distort] AP [Edge] , being the basic category / functionality of the plugin

RGB

The plugins were designed for use with RGB images but they work fine in many color modes such as CMYK and grayscale and LAB modes. The plugins were designed for 8 bit color images but the plugins also work fine in 16 bit / per channel mode, though the results can vary (plugins using negatives will not work well). The plugins can be used in selections as well as on separate channels.

Buttons

The plugins come with (generally) consistent buttons along the button of the dialog for various shortcuts to modify the slider and dropdown settings.

'Xtreme' If you wish to experiment with the plugin and don't want to spend hours moving sliders and controls back and forth, simply click the 'Xtreme' button to randomize most of the settings (not all and not the most extreme of settings). Extreme can result in a wide range of experimental effects or just a blank or single color screen. The xtreme button is a good start point for trying out the plugin(s).

'Color' button randomizes only the color sliders in the bottom center of the dialog, the small red green and blue sliders. The sliders are added post effect / pre output to the image. If you want to create a red output, move the red slider to the right. To create an orange color output, move the blue and green to the left and the red to the right

'Blend' The blend (or output) button randomizes the blend dropdown. The blend dropdown includes 77 output / blend options (at present) and modifies the image accordingly. Some of the blend modes are tiling or mirror options and these work in 99% of plugins, but some of the plugins output the pixels in weird and wonderful ways and the seams of the tiles fail in these. Most of the blend mode options are color based, tweaking the final output by setting the tone or saturation or lightness or red channel and others. Each version of the plugin sets include new output options.

The plugins also come with other buttons but these are labeled relating to the plugin such as a gradient button (randomizes the gradient settings) or pattern (randomizes the pattern settings) or tweak (randomizes only a small number of value settings) or jitter (jitters left or right the current values). Most of the buttons appear on the bottom row but some also appear along the 'row' above (too many buttons..)

'Open Preset' - open a preset file. The preset file is in the same format for all plugins, so it is recommended when saving plugins, save them with the name of the plugin so you can select the required settings. In most cases, it won't matter if you select the incorrect ini file for the plugin, the settings will be set as required but in some cases, this might result in a very extreme image. Once opened and selected, the plugin ini file information will set the sliders for the required effect. The effect might vary from image to image (if the image is a lot bigger or the image is a lot darker etc, the general effect might vary)

'Save preset' - Saves all the current settings. If you are using a plugin called Noise_RandomTimes, I would suggest saving the preset (ini) file to a folder marked 'noise' and then to a file marked 'randomtimes' or 'noise_randomtimes' and ended with the effect type, say 'golden glow' 'warped' 'blue 1' etc

'Reset' - Reset to factory default

'Advanced' - All the dialogs have this button but many will appear to do nothing (the functionality has not been added but will be in the next release). The advanced settings are generally additional sliders that offer various features such as mixing or applying different effect modes such as blurs or randomization.

Note: some of the settings mentioned below will only appear if you click the 'advanced' button.

'100%' etc: Set preview to 100% (slow in some cases..) or 25% (quicker but less accurate)

Backgrounds for the plugin dialog.

The plugin will be displayed with a silver background by default. However, if you want to change the background, please copy the 'Andrewsplugins_background.bmp' file to the PATH folder

The PATH folder is not the real name of the folder, generally the PATH folder is 'c:\windows' but it can be 'c:\winnt' etc or a number of other possible settings. Please check your control panel for the current path setting in the system properties (advanced tab and environmental variables). Please consult your windows documentation for any updates to this. If it is just the c:\windows (and in XP it is), then just copy the Andrews plugin file into that folder. It is a bitmap file and can be any image. A number of variants have been supplied as well _1 _2 _3 and so on, please feel free to use these instead. You can also create your own by using the bitmap file as a template

Dropdowns or Combos

All the plugins come with a number of dropdown or combo controls (lists of functions). All the plugins come with a blend dropdown and this lists 77 blend modes. Some of the plugins come with an effect dropdown (and corresponding mode or strength setting) as well as additional dropdowns to modify the effect. If the dropdown is in the top corner of the plugin, it is a general control dropdown. Dropdowns further down generally offer variants of the effect

You can run through the dropdowns by selecting the dropdown control and using the up and down arrows on the keyboard or just display a large number of dropdown items and select the required entry

Blend dropdown / output dropdown: Controls the final output of the effect. If set to the first entry, the effect is as is without any modification (other than the color sliders). If the dropdown is set to inverse, the output effect is applied in inverse, and so on. Most of the blend options blend the effect and a color channel or effect such as tweaking the red channel or applying a solarisation or posterization to the effect. The dropdown is found next to the red / green / blue slider/trackbars at the bottom of the dialog

Some of the blend options include a border effect or frame so you get the original and the effect but only in the border.

Some of the blending or output options are tiling or mirror options and should work in 99% of cases but some of the plugins modify the pixels and source in many different ways and the complexity of the distortion doesn't allow for any tiling of the output. The tiling options include tiling from different corners (as a tiling of the left corner in some cases might lead to a blank screen or an uninteresting image)

Some of the blend options include edge or sketch like effects such as 'dark edge'

Effect Dropdown - (via Advanced) The dialogs have an effects dropdown and this changes the mode of the plugin. The basic mode (or first item) in the dropdown applies the effect as is.. a randomization or edge plugin. If you set the dropdown to tone or shift etc then the effect is used as a source for tone settings or blurs or shifting of pixels etc. The strength of the application being set by the mode slider (generally beneath the dropdown). Each effect mode uses the mode strength in different ways, so shift extreme, it is best to have a 0 or close to 0 setting but the blur or tone etc might have no effect if less than 100.

Layers Dropdown/transparency - (via Advanced) All the dialogs have a layer dropdown (click the advanced button to see it). The layer dropdown is only used if you are working on a layer or if you are working in CMYK mode. If you are in CMYK, the dropdown modifies the black element of the image. If on a layer, you can modify the layer transparency. The options include setting the transparency to the average of all the channels, use none, invert the mask, etc. Once you have applied the effect and you can then manipulate the layer via layer styles etc as normal or apply transformations or apply additional effects or add to the layer / subtract from the layer

Preview screen

The preview screen generally starts with a fairly small image (depends on the size of the original image). You can increase the zoom by clicking the zoom slider (+ and -). Hold the shift down as you click to set instantly to 100%. If you set the preview to 25% or 12%, the end result might or might not match the preview, the 100% setting is the best match but also the slowest. Some of the plugins can be very very slow at 100% setting though this depends on the size of the original file. Use the mouse to select the position in the preview by dragging the preview position.

If you right-click the preview, any sliders marked with [R] will be modified based on the position and the size of the dialog. This is more an experimental option and useful way of trying out a wide range of varying effects by right clicks to the preview screen. Some of the dropdown options work in the same way if indicated by a [R]. Some of the [R] options are based on the current color at that point or the position from the top left of the dialog.

Presets

Changed in this version to a saved ini file and opened ini file.

As mentioned above, save the current settings to a reasonably detailed named preset ini file name and use the open command to recall the settings.

Foreground and background colors

Some of the plugins (not all) use the foreground and background color settings in the current color palette to limit the color range of the effect. This is generally the case for the gradient plugins but a number of the output dropdown options take advantage of these colors to modify the output. These are indicated by FG and BG. Using different color settings can totally change the image. You can change the FG and BG in the color palette and then reapply the plugin. Some applications do not supply the BG and FG color information to the plugin and the plugin will fail in these instances or just fill the screen with black or white only

Plugins in the plugins set

"Blur - Thread"

Unusual blurring thread plug-in. Blur plug-in effect, the strength of the blur is set by the thread setting. The effect is best used (perhaps) in conjunction with the color sliders for colorful shimmery blurred images.

"Paint - Lined"

Sketchy rain / drawn line plug-in. Draws thin lines at an angle (though this is the default, the direction of the line can be modified using the factor slider (x) and factor slider (y) settings). The length of line is set by the length slider. The relative number of 'rain' lines is set by the quantity slider setting. The background color is set by the color sliders. The lines can also be inverted, bound to a certain color (depending on the foreground and background color settings). The plugin works well on its own but additional effects can be created by redoing the plugin effect with different blending and length of line.

"Paint - ShudderLines"

Blurry paint fragments plug-in. Blurry fragmented lines are generated, the relative number being set by the quantity slider. The size (or width) is set by the size slider, so the lines can be stretched horizontally for additional colorful displays. The blur or shudder is set in the vertical and horizontal. The plugin can be used to create unusual abstract paint effects.

"Threshold - BasicBW"

Basic black n white threshold plug-in. Plug-in creates very basic black and white images. By increasing or decreasing the noise, the image can be given a b/w grained look instead of cleaner lines. The initial black point (0,0,0) can be modified by the black slider, making the image lighter as the black increases. The white (255,255,255) can be decreased and used to reduce contrast. Swapping over the black n white settings will invert the B/W effect. The plugin is great for creating pop art cartoon like images

"Threshold - BlurNoise"

Heat / Blurred noise effect plug-in. The plug-in applies an edge/blur/camera judder via the edge slider. The image and effect mix is controlled by the threshold, the higher the threshold, the less of the image show through. The lower the threshold, the image approaches white. The black and white values can be modified using the black / white settings (the black and white settings change the overall contrast of the image and if the black setting is great than the white, the image will be inverted). The grain is set by the noise slider.

"Threshold - ColorLite"

Screened threshold grain color plug-in. Printed standout grained image effect. The primary setting being the threshold and how the image cuts away from the source. Additional color is added via the color control and noise is added on a channel by channel basis as well as a single noise control. The plug-in creates unusual grained images with subtle color shifts.

"Threshold - ColorPhase"

Smeary dark threshold color plug-in. Smeary black n white image plugin.

The effect primary control is the cutoff slider. The lower the cutoff, the lighter the image. If you want only subtle smears of light to pass through, set the cutoff to a higher value.

The smear is set by the smear slider. The smear edges colors are set by the color sliders. The white and black point of the image is set by the black and white sliders, controlling the contrast, crossing the white/black sliders, inverts the effect (making unusual inverted smears)

"Threshold - CuttingThrough"

Film noirish screen plug-in. Film noir like effects. This plug-in generates a cut out of the image. The cutout is smeared using the smear slider. The cutout is controlled by the cutoff slider setting. The lower the cutoff setting, the less of the original image gets through. The black and white points are set by the black and white sliders. Crossing the Black n white sliders, inverts the effect and creates an unusual grayscale shadow invert.

"Threshold - DarkDays"

Criss-cross smeary threshold plug-in. The direction of the smear is set by the direction sliders (x) (y) creating diagonal smears or up / down smears. The smear is set using the smear slider. The lower the threshold setting, the less image appears. The edges of the smear are modified using the color (R) (G) (B) sliders. The intensity or brightness is set using the intensity slider. The black and white points are set using the black and white sliders and control the contrast and invert the effect if the sliders cross. Variants of the effect for color channels are set using the dropdown.

"Threshold - DarkDrift"

Grained cutout plug-in for surreal. Surreal cutout effect, filling the cutout background with grain and noise shaped by the underlying image. The drift/smear of the grain and cut is set using the drift sliders. The cutout is controlled by the threshold cutoff slider. Grain is added using the noise slider and this creates an embossed / 3D effect. The factor sliders modify the cutout and the direction of the cut and smear.

"Threshold - DarkGloomy"

Color screen plug-in. The smear is set using the smear slider. The image cuts through based on the threshold setting. The Color of cutout is set by the color sliders. The mixing of the image and the effect is set using the mixing sliders.

"Threshold - HeatHaze"

Scratchy heat haze plug-in. The lower the threshold, the clearer the image and the whiter the output. The higher settings of threshold turns the image into a darkened heat haze. The noise added to the image is set by the noise slider. The edge setting applies a fuzziness to the heat haze. The black and white setting controlled the black and white points, setting the effect contrast. The factor settings add additional scratchy / haze to the effect. Blast applies an additional intensity to the effect.

"Threshold - Newspaper"

Light faint newspaper smeared plug-in. Smear lined grayscale plugin effect. The smear is set using the smear setting. The threshold allows more or less of the smear through. The white and black sliders control the effect contrast. The image and effect is mixed using the mixing sliders. You can experiment with the smear and threshold settings by clicking the tweak button, the grain and the smear vary the image in many different ways

"Threshold - RandomChannels"

Dark scratched grainy plug-in. A scratchy pencil grayscale effect. The smear or sketch is set using the smear slider. More or less of the image appears using the threshold slider. The black and white sliders control the contrast. Inverting the color sliders, inverts the image to create a shadowy sketch effect

"Threshold - RGBSmear"

Smeary threshold abstract plug-in. The plugin creates a smeary chunkier grained effect. More or less of the image appears depending on the threshold setting. The direction sliders control the direction of the smear, the smear setting, the strength of the smear. The black and white sliders control the contrast. The noise is additional noise added to the image. To tryout wide range of smears/directions (and these can totally change the image), click the tweak button.

"Threshold - Shift"

Shimmery threshold effect plug-in. A blur is applied using the thread slider. Noise is added to the image using the noise slider. The threshold of the effect is applied using the threshold slider, the lower the setting, the more pastel-like the effect. The white and black points are set using the black and white sliders to control the contrast. The image and the effect are mixed using the mixing sliders.

Applications support

98 ME NT XP Photoshop ® CS 2 and CS 1 and 7 (as well as a number of other products such as PSP). The plugins should be fine in a number of products such as Illustrator ®, Canvas ™ PhotoImpact ™, Expression ™, and many others

Questions

Please contact me on support@graphicxtras.com (I might answer on a different mail account though!). If you don't receive a reply, please re-email. I answer all my mail but sometimes the mail is blocked or whatever or lost or something, and replies fail to arrive. You can also call me on the number above or fax a message if required.

Other plugins are available on the site http://www.graphicxtras.com (a collection of all the plugins in the series is also available)

Upgrades are generally available, either as free updates or inexpensive updates/upgrades and these can be obtained via the product pages on the site.

Please store the reference serial number or details of order.

Copyright

The plugins are copyright of 1996-2005 Abneil Software Ltd (Andrew Buckle). This product was released by Abneil Software ltd (UK based company)

Trademarks

Photoshop is registered trademarks of Adobe. We have no connection whatsoever with Adobe. Paint Shop Pro is registered trademark of Corel Corporation, as is Painter and Photo-Paint. Illustrator is registered trademark of Adobe. Other products mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners

Legal Agreement / License Agreement

The plugins are (c) 1996-2005 Andrew Buckle and Abneil Software ltd

The manual is for information only and is in a constant state of update and additions. The manual should not be construed as any commitment to function or use, and we can assume no responsibility for errors or any liability based on the comments made. Please let us know if you find any errors and we will try our best to update the documentation

- Plugins are non-exclusive
- Plugins can be used in multiple products on the same machine
- Plugins uses are royalty-free
- Plugins can be used on any single computer and not as a network source.
- Plugins can be used to create incredible images
- Plugins should not be used to create images that break the law.
- Plugins can be used to create logos etc but all trademarks etc must be checked by you
- Plugins can be backed up (this is definitely recommended)
- Plugins should not be copied onto a CD / DVD / Website and sold as a collection
- Plugins should not be rented etc or sold as is.
- Any copyright notices should not be removed
- Plugins may or may not work with some versions of applications (especially future releases..)
- We give a non-exclusive and nontransferable license to use one (1) copy of the product and related material
- If you don't agree with the license, you must promptly destroy / rip into shreds etc the product and docs

To the max amount permitted by relevant law, in no way shall Abneil Software ltd or our sellers/distributors be liable for damages (this includes, without limits, damages and costs for any loss of profits to the business, or disruption to your business, loss of business info, or other losses) from the use of this plugin set of or inability to create using this plugin graphics product, even if we have been told of the chance of such claims. As some areas of this planet do not allow for the removal or limits on liability for damages, the above limits may not relate to you.