Adobe Systems Inc., Voice 888-724-4508, http://www.adobe.com
Requirements: Power Mac, Mac OS 9.1-9.x or Mac OS X 10.1 and later, 128MB RAM, 120MB free hard disk space
Add pizazz to film, video, multimedia, and the Web with this powerful motion graphics and visual effects package. This industry favorite will allow you to create complex special effects, sophisticated graphic animations, and more. You can animate Photoshop layers and Illustrator art in 3D space. This latest version adds native support for Mac OS X, Colored Shadows and Projection layers, eight new effects, multiple comp views, an advanced 3D renderer, adjustment lights, an effects palette, and more.
Requirements: Power Mac, Mac OS 9.x, Adobe Photoshop
Here’s a nice collection to add to your design tool belt. This freebie package contains a bunch of Photoshop plug-ins that allow you to apply editable effects to your graphics and images. The effects pack includes Ornament, ChromaSolarize, Tachyon, Ghost, Solidify, Vitriol, ColorSwap, RGB/HSL, TransLine, Anglyph Flip, and more.
Requirements: G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS X 10.0 or later, Adobe Photoshop 7 or later
Here’s a nice collection to add to your design tool belt. This freebie package contains 15 Photoshop plug-ins that allow you to apply editable effects to your graphics and images. The effects pack includes Ornament, ChromaSolarize, Tachyon, Ghost, Solidify, Vitriol, ColorSwap, RGB/HSL, TransLine, Anglyph Flip, and more.
Looking for a fantastic graphics editor, but can’t afford Photoshop? This all-purpose, image-editing program lets you open, tweak, and save files in just about any graphics format. It features high-end editing tools for graphic manipulation, filters for special effects, and even supports Photoshop plug-ins. Plus, it also offers batch-conversion capabilities, lets you build your own slide show, supports AppleScript, and can import and export a helluva lot more file formats than you even knew existed.
Looking for a fantastic graphics editor, but can’t afford Photoshop? This all-purpose, image-editing program lets you open, tweak, and save files in just about any graphics format. It features high-end editing tools for graphic manipulation, filters for special effects, and even supports Photoshop plug-ins. Plus, it also offers batch-conversion capabilities, lets you build your own slide show, supports AppleScript, and can import and export a helluva lot more file formats than you even knew existed.
Requirements: Power Mac, Mac OS 7-9.x or OS X 10.0 or later, Adobe Photoshop (any version)
Put your own signature stamp on your Web site. This GPL-licensed Photoshop plug-in can turn your graphics into one of those teensy 16- by 16-pixel favicons (ICO file format) that you see riding shotgun in Safari’s URL bar.
InTools for InDesign 1.0.1—Trial
A Lowly Apprentice Production, support@alap.com, http://www.alap.com
Requirements: Power Mac, Mac OS 9.1-9.x or OS X 10.0 or later, Adobe InDesign 2.0 or later
Pushing Quark XPress yet farther back from the collective radar of the publishing industry, ALAP’s InTools for InDesign is a suite of plug-ins for InDesign 2.0 or later that bring some favorite Quarkish tricks to our new layout tool. This is the full version, but it times out after 15 days.
Requirements: 450MHz G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS X 10.1.3 or later, 256MB RAM
If you ever wanted to recreate that good old-fashioned, paper scrapbook feeling on your Mac, you’re in luck—Mac FlipAlbum does just that. This demo version lets you create all the FlipAlbums you want, with a 50-images-per-book limit, as long as you don’t use GIFs.
MissingMenuGen 1.0—Freeware
Ross Cathriner, rnc@mac.com, http://homepage.mac.com/rnc/
Requirements: G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS X 10.2 or later
If you don’t have a DVD-R burner, Video CDs (or VCDs) allow you to house your digital movies on a standard CD-R, and play them on most home theater DVD players. The catch—the video quality is generally shoddy. However, if you create a Super Video CD (SVCD), you can get near DVD quality. If you’re going this route, following this month’s tutorial, “Create a Super Video CD,” MissingMenuGen allows you to dictate navigation in your SVCD’s menu.
MissingMpegTools 0.9.1—Freeware
Ross Cathriner, rnc@mac.com, http://homepage.mac.com/rnc/
Requirements: G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS X 10.2 or later
If you don’t have a DVD-R burner, Video CDs (or VCDs) allow you to house your digital movies on a standard CD-R, and play them on most home theater DVD players. The catch—the video quality is generally shoddy. However, if you create a Super Video CD (SVCD), you can get near DVD quality. If you’re going this route, following this month’s tutorial, “Create a Super Video CD,” MissingMpegTools will compress, encode, and mux your audio and video files for DVD player compatibility.
Requirements: 500MHz G4 or faster Mac, Mac OS X 10.2 or later
The app we’re spotlighting here is actually Raygun—a cool plug-in that allows you to zap away those clicks, pops, and hisses that may riddle your vinyl and audio tape recordings. This plug-in version is bundled with host app Montage—a consumer targeted video edting app that picks up where iMovie left off, giving you unlimited track support, various visual effects, and a plug-in architecture that allows you to add more features. If you want to check out Raygun’s capabilities, import your AIFF recordings into Montage and fire-up the plug-in from within the app.
Painter 8—Trial
Corel, http://www.corel.com
Requirements: G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS 9.2.2 or OS X 10.2 or later, 128MB RAM, 1024 x 768 display
Say phooey to paint spills on yur rug, toxic turpentine fumes, and that colorful crustiness under your fingernails. You don’t need paint, brushes, or canvas to do your best Bob Ross or Van Gogh interpretation. This ultra cool program allows you to create painted works of art with digital paint that replicates the organic look of oil, watercolor, gooey ink, chalk, acrylic, crayon, pencil, and other mediums. Of course, artistic talent will drive you much farther into the program (this ain’t no paint-by-numbers or Mac-assisted painting dealio here). This latest version features over 400 new brushes, 30 mediums, a new Mixer that lets you blend colors, a Brush Creator to design custom brushes, a redesigned interface, layer maks support, and more.
Requirements: Power Mac, Mac OS 9.x or OS X 10.1 or later, iMovie 2.1.1 or later
If you’re an iMovie fan, GeeThree’s volume set of Slick Transitions and Effects can lend a big-budget Hollywood feel to your digital videos. This sampler pack of iMovie plug-ins includes transitions (Barn Door-Open, Barn Door-Close, Burst, Drip, Heart-Open, Heart-Close, Radiator, and Sweep) and special effects (Film Noise, Solarize, and X-Ray).
Requirements: G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS X 10.1 or later, OpenGL accelerator
SpirographX is the digital version of those old spirographs we used to make in elementary school. Only much faster and easier to control. No leaky pen or plastic disc launching mishaps either.
Requirements: Power Mac, Mac OS 8.6-9.x or OS X 10.1 or later, Photoshop 5.0 or later or Fireworks 3.0 or later
Think clipart, circa 2002. Alien Skin makes it easy to adorn your digital photos with rubber stamp-like graphics depicting all manner of knickknacks, with options for adding frames and faux textures. Splat! is an Adobe Photoshop plug-in package that lets you add frames, textures, edges, borders, mosaics, photo stamps, and more with ease. Web monkeys, digi photographers, and digital artists can set their images apart from the rest with Splat’s incredible amount of diverse and kooky photo embellishments. This demo lets you try out the full package for 30 days.
Universe 5—Demo
Electric Image, eisales@electricimage.com, http://www.electricimage.com
Requirements: 300MHz G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS 9.x or OS X 10.0 or later, 256MB RAM, 16MB graphics card
This powerful 3D modeling and animation package allows you to create amazingly life-like and organic objects without emptying your bank account. It features all the tools you need to model, animate, light, and render digital objects into movie files. This latest version delivers much more speed with its multi-processor support and features Radiosity 1.0, a new Material Library System, Shockwave support, OpenGL shaded texture previews, new View Camera Controls, and much more.
Requirements: G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS X 10.0 or later
Here’s an open-source, free alternative to Apple’s DVD player. VideoLAN Client (VLC) allows you to play DVDs or any MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, or DivX file on your Mac. If you’re forging through this month’s “Create a Super Video CD” tutorial, and want to preview your video files before you burn them onto a CD, you’ll need this player (QuickTime and DVD Player won’t cut it).
Requirements: Power Mac, Mac OS 9.1-9.x or OS X 10.1 or later, Adobe Photoshop 6 or later -or- Photoshop Elements 2 or later -or- Macromedia Fireworks MX
We all know that half the fun of Photoshop is the filters, especially the ones from the wacky beings of Alien Skin Software. Xenofex 2 brings 14 cool effects like Lightning, Shatter, and Fluffy Little Clouds—some old favorites, some entirely new. This demo version gives you the full, unhampered version for 30 days.
Requirements: G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS X 10.1.5 or later
Apple’s QuickTime Player is our favorite all-purpose media player, of course, but it’s a bummer that you can’t view movies at full screen—unless you upgrade to QuickTime Pro. Enter Xinema, a simple utility that lets you do just that.
