Image is Everything
Jasc's Paint Shop Pro 6.01

Jasc's Paint Shop Pro (PSP) image-editing program has been around for some time, and it's gotten better as it's gotten older. When I wrote "Going Ape for Image Enhancement" for the August 1994 issue of ComputerUser, the program was already at version 2. At that time, I wrote, "If you're new to Windows image enhancement programs, Paint Shop Pro is the best place to start." I haven't changed my mind since then.

There are two schools of thought on interface design: Either give users a small-yet-expandable tool kit, or give them the kitchen sink. Adobe Photoshop is probably the best example of the first approach. It uses a sparse interface with a toolbar and palettes that can be called up when needed.

Jasc definitely uses the kitchen-sink interface philosophy. It features a horizontal toolbar augmented by another, vertical one located on the left-hand edge of the screen. A color palette, which can be toggled off and on, rests snugly on the right-hand edge. Jasc also offers floating palettes that are visible only in headers that expand when your cursor approaches them. You won't see such cool stuff in Photoshop. Because everything is out in the open, neophytes in particular will find Jasc's interface much easier to use.

Also unlike Photoshop, PSP allows you to create, edit, and produce graphic images using vector drawing tools right in the program, without needing to use plug-ins or import graphics created by a separate illustration program. Being able to use some of the tools in this latest version is bound to simplify graphic designers' workflow, thereby streamlining production.

Like the most recent incarnation of Photoshop, PSP also excels at creating Web graphics. You'll find Export Wizards that let Web newbies create transparent GIF or JPEG files. Before-and-after windows let you see the results of your optimized choices in a dialog box before saving.

To protect copyrighted graphics and images on the Wild Wild Web, PSP includes Digimarc digital watermarking capabilities. Additional Web options include animation capabilities available with the no-cost bundling of Jasc's stand-alone Animation Pro 2 software.

PSP's other new features include multiple color gradients; a variety of image effects and deformations; color layers; expanded digital-camera support; and multiple image-printing features that integrate a dash of desktop publishing in the bargain.

Text capabilities are impressive for an image-editing program and function in a logical DTP manner. Functions include editable text with character-level formatting and the ability to place text on a path-something usually found only on vector graphics programs.

There's also multiple-level undos and redos, and a Command History function that lets you experiment without having to worry about making a permanent mistake. This is a program that has many nooks and crannies, and the experimental among you will find many hours of pleasure exploring the program's capabilities.

Although Jasc doesn't necessarily look at it as such, I've always treated PSP as a useful graphics file conversion program. The latest version features expanded file-format support allowing you to save and read files in formats as widely diverse as Amiga (no kidding), Macintosh PICT and the moldy oldie MacPaint. All of these features function in a Windows-centric way that most PC users will find comfortable.

Paint Shop Pro 6 is one of the best ways I've found to get acquainted with the art of image manipulation, and it might be the only graphics program that many computer users will ever need.

You've Got the Power
Kai's Power Tools 6

Those of us who waited a long time between the launch of Kai's Power Tools 3 and its next update--KPT5--will be glad to learn that version 6 didn't take so long. The KPT6 interface reflects the style that has been part of all these products since the first edition of Kai's Power Tools, but gone is the gimmicky design-for-its-own-sake aspect. KPT's filters interface features tools that appear just when you need them.

The biggest difference is what's included; KPT6 could be considered a supplement, not a replacement, for KPT5. KPT6 is a suite of plug-ins that include KPT Goo, a plug-in version of MetaCreations' (http://www.metacreations.com) famous Goo programs. You can use Goo to create images that can be smeared, smudged, twirled, or pinched as though reflecting an image in a circus mirror. Goo's interface offers real-world tools-including an iron to flatten effects you might have pushed too hard.

KPT Lens Flare is more impressive than Photoshop's somewhat limited flare tool and approaches the movie capabilities of Knoll Lens Flare Pro. You can create realistic glows, halo, and lens reflections simulating real-world conditions. With KPT Materializer, you can bend an image around the contours of a surface texture using bump maps.

While many plug-ins let you add streaks, KPT Turbulence lets you produce wave distortions and ripples that have a realistic fluid look, and you can output images as single images or as an animation sequence. While not a sharpening plug-in in the traditional sense, KPT Equalizer lets you correct blurred images by sharpening pixels within a specific frequency, and you can add selective smoothing and blurring.

KPT Reaction defies description, but the best way of thinking about it may be as a way to add three-dimensional organic textures to the surface of an image.

KPT Gel acts almost as a subset of the Reaction tool because it allows you to add gel-like blobs to the surface of a graphic image, and is almost as much fun as Goo. KPT Projector lets you add warp, distortion or 3D transformations to any flat image, in addition to letting you produce tiling effects.

Also included are two other plug-ins that eschew the organic look of KPT6. KPT SkyEffects lets you create effects that are far removed from Photoshop's Clouds command, and has many of the features found in early versions of MetaCreations' Bryce program.

Similarly, KPT SceneBuilder, which requires more memory than the other plug-ins in the package, lets you create realistic scenes by manipulating transparency, reflection, refraction, and bump-map properties.

When reading the system requirements, please note that the memory requirement is not for your computer, but for memory allocated to the host application. You may have a 64 MB Power Mac G3, but with only 24 MB assigned to Photoshop, many of the plug-ins will either not function or cause the application to crash-even when working with files as small as 2 MB.

While some users criticized KPT5 as abstract and useful primarily for graphics files, KPT6 redefines the genre by offering a set of tools for designers, photographers and other digital artists that you can't find anywhere else.