Community photoshop, which has absorbed a huge amount of resources, tutorials, tips and methods, .psd files and even actions (Action), resembles something like a box of good chocolates. But there is one area where all this is so lacking, namely free plugins and filters. Of course, Photoshop for a long time was the best example in the development of graphic editors, and with each new version(most latest version CS4) added an infinite number of features and add-ons to the program. As a result, it has also become likely that there is no longer such a strong need in additional free plugins as before. Or did they just ignore it?

The standard Photoshop plugins are best friends amateur photographers: take a couple of shots, fire up Photoshop, add some filters, and voila, you have a pretty professional shot. Professional photographers, on the other hand, use plug-ins as a basis and only after that adjust and add filters in order to emphasize their own professional nature of photography. Plugins are, in fact, a very important and overlooked link - which brings us back to our initial puzzle about why there are so few free plugins and filters? Do you know the answer to this question? We are not.

In this article you will find a few free plugins that are very old, but don't be alarmed - they will work perfectly on all versions of Photoshop, and the effect they achieve is as in demand as it was when they were developed. If you have spent a lot of time looking for an easy and convenient way to apply effects to your images, then this article is just for you.

3D Shadow

With this handy plugin, you can easily create 3D shadows of various objects (Letters, numbers, shapes, and so on). All transparency level settings, perspective, color and shadow positions, XYZ directions and many others are placed in one convenient window.
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AAA buzzer

AAA Buzzer simplifies your image by keeping the edges sharp. Works quickly or slowly, depending on the settings.
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Absolute Color

Absolute Color is a palette of shades in the form of a circle, divided into 6 parts of 60 degrees. Select any color segment and it will limit the hue of the image to that color.
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B/W conversion

Plugin for converting an image to B/W. It gives you complete control over the red, yellow, green, cyan, cyan, magenta and intermediate tonalities. The user can increase the supply of each color, or reduce everything to white or black, without affecting the rest of the colors at all.
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bad dream

Bad Dream gives you the ability to create color solutions that would normally take hours to complete. In addition, it is possible to add the effect of softness and nebula. The end result can be very pleasing.
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Bas-Relief

The filter transforms the image as if it were carved in bas-relief. This effect is achieved by setting a certain lighting to accentuate the surface relief. You can make the image look like aluminum foil, forged metal, or edged stone. Also a plugin to convert a photo into a sketch drawn with a pencil.
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Camouflage

This plugin allows you to create types of colors like army camouflage, or animal skins. This plugin creates solid images, which means you can use them as textures for 3D models or background image on website pages. You can also use them as a pattern for clothes.
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Caravaggio

With this plugin you can get the effect of oil paints. There are only 4 sliders in the plugin control window: Creativity, Exuberance, Attentiveness and something like Moodswing.
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Chalkaholic

Chalkaholic creates a chalk or charcoal effect with a distinct artistic style. This makes it possible to create unique artistic implementations. This plugin will be an important addition to any artist's collection.
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circle to square

With this plugin you can turn any circle into a square.
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Cloud 2.2

With this plugin, you will be able to create whole images, like clouds in pictures. You will be able to control the levels of blur, contours and lighting shades.
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Color MegaMix

Color MegaMix easily changes the colors of any image. The control consists of 2 columns of colors: 8 original colors and 8 of those to which you want to convert the original color. Taking into account the data set, the plugin will completely convert the entire original color of the image into the one you specified.
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Color Replacer

This filter acts as a color substitute. This function similar to standard command Replace Color in Photoshop. However, this plugin is more flexible in handling, since you can separately select the source color and also specify the color you want to convert the source to. Moreover, with this filter, you can fill the gray areas of the image with an arbitrary color, which can serve to restore color in overexposed areas of the image.
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ColorWorks

This plugin comes with 20 effects for editing the color value of images in various ways. You can use it to fine-tune your digital photos or experiment with possible larger transformations. All effects are fairly standard, but they can be useful with regular use.
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Contrast Balance

Contrast Balance enhances the standard luminosity/contrast filter and divides it into 4 constant/contrast parts using these 4 ratios: white-black, red-cyan, green-magenta, cyan-yellow.
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Contrast Mask

This plugin uses a contrast mask to reduce the overall contrast of an image while bringing out detail in both bright and dark cases.
The black and white negative of the image is blurred (blur radius controlled by the slider) to avoid sharp edges, and then covered with the original image, darkening the highlights and lightening the darks. The density level of the surface layer is controlled by the "Strength" slider.
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Craquelure 3D

A filter with which you can create a rich assortment of cracked lacquer effects, which is extremely useful in creating various abstract textures, decorative surfaces and building materials. You can control two separate cracked effect layers and achieve a huge variety of texture effects, from etched metal and silk to fused glass and water ripples.
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Curves Plugin

This plugin can implement 8 predefined and interesting "curves" inside your image. The plugin's interface shows several presets with curves - choose one of them and you'll be impressed with how it will show up in your image.
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Depth Dither

DepthDither uses 3 ways to give your image a look that creates a continuous effect if the color is below 24 bits. Just like Photoshop, it offers a choice of diffusion, and options for applying noise to textures. You can also specify the level of color depth, such as 2 bits, 4 bits, and so on up to 18 bits - this is the main difference from Photoshop. The most fresh version Photoshop provides up to 256 color modes to choose from.
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Digitization

This plugin has been developed in order to digitize position data on large images. By clicking on the received information, you save the coordinates to a text file (CSV). These coordinates can be used for further analysis. The picture below shows an example of an analysis based on the information obtained with this plugin.
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Dreamy Photo

Dreamy Photo gives photos a soft, romantic feel. This effect is indispensable in enhancing ordinary photographs, digital camera shots, and in general - for any image to which you would like to give a feeling of warmth.
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Edges Fx

This plugin is mainly used to define the precise contouring algorithm (precise) for applying the following effects: Colorize, Erode/Dilate, Sat Boost and Sketch.
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EdgeWorks

This plugin comes with 20 effects to make serious contouring and color modifications. This plugin is best used when experimenting with improving the stylistic appearance of photographs. Also interesting to use when creating texture effects.

Note.

Full details on how to use some filters can be found in other sections. Information about the filters for sharpening, blurring, filters "Correction of distortion", "Blur at a shallow depth of field", "Noise Reduction", Liquify, and Vanishing Point can be found with help from Adobe Help.

List of filters that support 16- and 32-bit/channel documents

The following filters support 16- and 32-bit/channel documents:

• All filters in the Blur group (except for and Smart Blur )
• All filters of the Distortion group
• Filter Noise > Add Noise
• All filters of the Appearance group
• All filters of the Rendering group (except for the filter lighting effects)
• All group filters Sharpening(with the exception of Sharpness at the edges)
• Next filters in the group Filters > Styling:
  • Diffusion
  • Embossing
  • Contour tracing
• All filters of the Video group
• All filters in the Filter > Other group

Video | Hiding confidential information in pictures

In this episode of the Photoshop Playbook, Bryan O'Neil Hughes, General Product Manager for Photoshop, explains how to use blur and filters to hide sensitive information.

Bryan O'Neil Hughes

Filters submenu "Simulation"

Filters from the Artistic sub-menu allow you to achieve painterly and artistic effects for fine arts or commercial projects. For example, the "Appliqué" filter can be used to create collages or to design typographic products. These filters mimic natural or traditional decorating techniques. All filters of the "Imitation" submenu can be applied using the filter gallery.

Colour pencils

Lets you style an image as if it were drawn with colored pencils on a solid background. In this case, the edges are preserved and take on the form of rough hatching. Areas that are not shaded are filled with a solid background color.

Note.

To create a parchment effect, just before applying the Colored Pencils filter to the selected area, change the background color.

Application

Makes an image look like it was assembled from carelessly cut pieces of colored paper. High-contrast images look like cut-out silhouettes, while color images are created from multiple layers of colored paper.

Dry brush

Paints the edges of the image using a dry brush technique (somewhere between oil and watercolor). This filter simplifies the image by reducing the range of colors in it and creating areas with a common color.

Film grain

Applies a uniform pattern to shadows and midtones. A smoother, richer pattern is added to light areas. This filter allows you to eliminate splitting in transitions and visually combine elements from different sources.

Fresco

Draws an image in a rough style with short, rounded, and hastily applied strokes.

neon light

Appends to objects in the image different types glow. This filter can be used to tone an image while softening it. To select a glow color, click the glow field and select a color from the palette.

Oil painting

outlined edges

This filter allows you to reduce the number of colors in the image (by posterizing it) in accordance with the specified posterization option, find corners in the image and draw black lines along them. In the resulting image, large wide areas acquire simple shading, while small dark details are distributed throughout the image.

Pastel

shading

Softens an image by smearing or rubbing darker areas in short diagonal strokes. Lighter areas become brighter and lose detail.

Sponge

Creates an image with highly textured areas of contrasting colors, simulating the effect of sponge painting.

Drawing on the back

This filter creates an image against a textured background and then overlays the final image.

Watercolor

This filter renders an image in the style of a watercolor painting using a medium-sized brush dipped in water and paint, resulting in easier detailing. In places where there is a significant change in tone at the edges, this filter increases the color saturation.

Blur Filters

Blur filters soften a selection or an entire image and are applied when retouching. They smooth out transitions by averaging the characteristics of pixels near the sharp edges of well-defined lines and shadow areas in an image.

Image before applying the Shallow Depth of Field Blur filter (left) and after (right). The background is blurred, but the foreground remains sharp.

Note.

To apply the Blur filter to the edges of a layer, deselect Preserve Pixel Transparency in the Layers panel.

Average

Finds the average color of an image or selection and then fills the image or selection with that color to make it look smooth. For example, if an area with grass is selected, this filter will convert the area into a uniform green patch.

"Blur" and "Blur +"

Eliminate noise when there are significant color transitions in the image. Blur filters smooth out transitions by averaging out the characteristics of pixels near the hard edges of sharp lines and shadow areas in an image. The effect of the "Blur +" filter is three to four times more pronounced than the "Blur" filter.

Frame blur

Produces image blur based on the average color value of adjacent pixels. This filter is for creating special effects. It is possible to change the size of the area used when calculating the average value for a given pixel (increasing the radius results in more blur).

Gaussian blur

Produces a quick selection blur by a variable amount. Gaussian distribution called the cone curve that Photoshop calculates when it applies a weighted average to the pixels. Applying a filter "Gaussian blur" leads to a reduction in detail and allows you to create the effect of immersion in fog.

Note. When applying the Gaussian Blur, Box Blur, Motion Blur, or Shape Blur filters to a selected area of ​​an image visual effect around the edges of the selected area may be unexpected. This is because to create new blurry pixels in the selected area, such filters use image data that includes data for areas outside the selected area. For example, if the selected area is a background that you want to blur while leaving the foreground color solid, the edges of the blurred background area will be painted with the colors present in the foreground color area. As a result, the contour around the base color area will look fuzzy and dirty. To avoid this effect, you should use the Smart Blur or Shallow Depth of Field Blur filters.

Blurring at shallow depth of field

Blurs an image by creating the effect of reducing the depth of field of an image in space, causing some objects in the image to remain in focus and others to be blurred. See Create a blur effect with a shallow depth of field.

Motion blur

Blurs in the specified direction (-360º to +360º) and at the specified intensity (1 to 999). This filter creates an effect similar to taking a picture of a moving subject with a constant exposure time.

Radial blur

Simulates camera blur when zoomed or rotated to create a soft blur effect. To blur along segments of concentric circles, select the Ring option and specify how many degrees to blur. To blur along radial lines, as if you were scaling, select the Linear option and enter a value from 1 to 100. The quality of the blur can be set to Draft (works fast, but more grainy), Good, or Best (smoother result). However, the quality of the blur is no different if the effect is not applied to large selections. Determine where the blur begins by dragging the pattern into the Center box.

Shape Blur

This filter uses the specified kernel for blurring. Select the kernel from the list of custom shape styles and use the Radius slider to adjust its size. It is also possible to load other libraries of standard shapes. To do this, click the inverted triangle and select the required library from the list. The "Radius" parameter determines the size of the kernel. The larger the nucleus, the greater the blur.

"Smart" blur

Allows you to fine-tune image blurring. You can specify the radius, threshold, and blur quality. The value of the "Radius" parameter determines the size of the area in which the search for pixels with dissimilar characteristics is performed. The Threshold option lets you specify how dissimilar the pixels to be processed by the filter should be. Also available are Normal (the entire selection), Edges Only, and Overlay (edges of color transitions). Where there is significant contrast, Edges Only mode applies black and white edges, while Blending uses white edges.

Surface Blur

Blurs the image while preserving the edges. This filter is designed to create special effects, as well as to eliminate noise and grain. The Radius option lets you specify the size of the area that is sampled for blurring. The Threshold setting determines how much the tonal values ​​of neighboring pixels must differ from the center pixel in order for those pixels to be included in the blur process. Pixels that have tonal value differences less than the Threshold value are excluded from the blur.

Filters submenu "Brush stroke"

Like the filters in the Artistic submenu, the filters in the Brushstroke submenu allow you to achieve a variety of painterly and artistic effects using brushes and paint strokes. Separate filters of this type allow you to increase the detail of the edges, add grain, paint, noise or texture. All filters in the Brush Stroke submenu can be applied using the Filter Gallery.

Emphasis on the edges

Emphasizes the edges of an image. When the edge brightness control is set to a high value, the emphasized details of the image resemble those drawn with white chalk. If it is given low value, then they resemble those drawn with black paint.

Oblique strokes

Redraws the image with diagonal strokes. In this case, strokes going in opposite directions are used for lighter and darker areas.

cross strokes

Maintains detail and characteristics original image, adding texture and roughening the edges of painted areas and simulating pencil shading. The Intensity parameter (with values ​​from 1 to 3) determines the number of hatch passes.

dark strokes

Paints dark areas with short, dense, dark strokes and lighter areas with long, white strokes.

Stroke

Redraws the image with thin, narrow lines drawn over the details of the original image, in the style of a pen drawing.

splashing

Reproduces the effect of an airbrush. The larger the parameter values, the simpler the overall effect looks.

airbrush

Redraws an image with slanted, sprayed strokes using its dominant colors.

Sumi-e

Draws a Japanese-style image when a fully saturated brush is brushed over rice paper. The Sumi-e filter creates soft, blurry edges with rich, inky shades of black.

Filters submenu "Distort"

The filters in the Distort submenu produce a geometric distortion of an image, creating three-dimensional or other reshaping effects. It should be noted that these filters can take a long time to work. random access memory. The Diffused Glow, Glass, and Ocean Waves filters can be applied via the Filter Gallery.

Diffused glow

After processing with this filter, the image looks as if through a soft diffusion filter. This adds transparent white noise with a glow that gradually fades away from the center of the selected area.

Bias

To determine the distortion of the selected area, an image called curvature scheme. For example, if you use a parabolic warp pattern, you can create an image that looks like it's printed on fabric stretched around the corners.

Glass

Image looks like when viewed through different kinds glass. To simulate a glass surface, use the Glass effect, which can be selected from a list of available ones or created in a separate Photoshop file. You can change the values ​​of the scaling, distortion and smoothness parameters. When applying surface controls to a file, follow the guidelines given for the Offset filter.

ocean waves

Ripples the surface of an image so that it appears to be under water.

distortion

Compresses the selected area. With a positive value (up to 100%), the selected area is shifted towards its center, with a negative value (up to -100%) - away from the center.

Polar coordinates

Transforms the selection, converting coordinates from rectangular to polar and vice versa, according to the selected options. This filter can be used to create cylindrical anamorphosis (an artistic technique popular in the 18th century) in which the distorted image appears normal when viewed in a mirror cylinder.

ripple

Creates a wavy pattern over the selection, resembling ripples on the surface of a body of water. If you need more control over the result, use the Wave filter. Options allow you to adjust the number and size of the ripple waves.

curvature

Distorts the image along a curve. Drag a line into the field to define a curve. You can adjust the position of any point on this curve. To turn a curve into a straight line, click the Default button. In addition, the filter allows you to define how undistorted areas are processed.

Spherization

Gives objects the appearance of three-dimensional shapes by wrapping the selection around a spherical shape, distorting the image, and stretching it to fit the selected curve.

Twisting

Produces a sharper rotation in the center of the selection than at the periphery. Specifying an angle creates a twist shape.

Wave

Works basically the same as the Ripples filter, but provides more control. Parameters: number of wave generators, wave length (distance from one wave crest to another), height and wave type: "Sine" (rolling), "Triangle" or "Square". The "Other Option" option allows you to apply random values. It is possible to define areas that are not subject to distortion.

Zigzag

Radially distorts the selection based on the radius of the pixels in it. The Folds parameter determines the number of direction changes in the zigzag going from the center of the selected area to its periphery. You can also specify how the pixels should be shifted: Circles on Water shifts pixels towards the top left or bottom right corners, Center Mode shifts pixels toward or away from the center of the selection, and Around Center shifts pixels in concentric circles around the center.

Noise submenu filters

Noise submenu filters add or remove noise or pixels with randomly distributed color levels. This allows you to make the selected area indistinguishable from the surrounding pixels. Noise filters let you create unusual textures or remove problem areas (such as dust and scratches).

Add Noise

Applies randomly selected pixels to an image, simulating the effect of shooting on high speed film. This filter can also be used to reduce banding in feathered selections and staggered fills, or to add more realism to heavily retouched areas. Noise distribution options include Uniform and Gaussian. The Uniform option distributes chroma noise color codes using random numbers ranging from 0 to a specified value, counting up or down, resulting in subtle transitions. The Gaussian option distributes the color noise color codes according to a cone-shaped curve, creating a mottled effect. The Monochrome option lets you apply the filter to only the tonal elements of the image without changing the color of the image.

Retouch

Detects edges in an image (areas where significant color changes are present) and blurs the entire selection except for those edges. As a result of this blurring, noise is removed, and details are preserved.

Dust and scratches

Median

Reduces noise in an image by blending the brightness values ​​of pixels within a selection. This filter searches the selected area within a given radius for pixels that have similar brightness values ​​(does not take into account pixels that are too different from adjacent ones), after which the brightness value of the central pixel is replaced by the average brightness value of the pixels found in the search . This filter can be used to remove or reduce the effect of motion in an image.

Filters of the "Appearance" submenu

The filters in the Appearance submenu sharpen a selection by combining pixels with similar color values ​​into cells.

Color halftones

Simulates the effect of applying an enlarged halftone screen to each of the channels in an image. In each channel, the filter divides the image into rectangular areas and replaces each rectangle with a circle whose size is proportional to the rectangle's brightness. See Applying the Color Halftone filter .

Crystallization

Groups pixels into a solid tone shaped like a polygon.

facet

Groups pixels with solid or similar colors into blocks of similar colors. This filter allows you to make the scanned image look like it was hand-painted, or convert a realistic image into an abstract painting.

Fragment

Creates four copies of pixels in the selected area, averages them, and then shifts them relative to each other.

Mezzotint

Turns an image into a random pattern of black and white areas, and a color image into a pattern of fully saturated colors. To use this filter, in the Mezzotint dialog box, choose a bitmap from the Type menu.

Mosaic

Groups pixels into square blocks. In each block, all pixels have the same color, and the color of the block represents the colors of the selected area.

Pointillism

Breaks up the color in an image into randomly arranged dots, as in pointillist painting. The space between the dots is filled with the background color.

Filters submenu "Rendering"

The Render submenu filters allow you to create 3D shapes, clouds, refraction, and simulate light reflections in an image. It also provides the ability to manipulate objects in 3D space, create 3D objects (cubes, spheres, and cylinders) and texture fills from grayscale image files for 3D lighting effects.

Clouds

Generates a soft cloudy texture using random colors that are chosen between the foreground and background colors. To create harsher clouds, Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) while choosing the Filter > Render > Clouds menu command. Applying this filter replaces the image data in the active layer.

overlay clouds

This cloudy filter uses random values ​​that vary between the foreground and background colors. This filter blends cloud data with existing pixels in the same way that Difference mode blends colors. After the first selection of this filter, the image fragments in the cloud pattern are inverted. Reapplying the filter creates fork and vein patterns that resemble the texture of marble. Applying the Overlay Clouds filter replaces the image data in the active layer.

fibers

Using the foreground and background colors, forms the appearance of woven fibers. Use the Deviation slider to control how the colors change (small values ​​produce long color bands, larger values ​​produce short fibers with more variable color distribution). The Intensity slider controls the appearance of each fiber. At low values ​​of this parameter, a loose weave is formed, at high values ​​- short, matted fibers. Click the "Randomize" button to change appearance pattern (this button can be pressed many times until the pattern you like appears). Applying the Fibers filter replaces the image data in the active layer.

Note.

To colorize the fibers, you can try adding a Gradient Map Adjustment Layer.

Video | Adding and removing lens flare

In this episode of the Photoshop Playbook, Bryan O'Neil Hughes, General Product Manager for Photoshop, explains how to add or remove lens flare from an image.

lighting effects

Allows you to create various lighting effects on RGB images by combining 17 styles, three types and four sets of lighting properties. It is also possible to apply textures obtained from grayscale image files (these are called bump maps), and save your own styles for use in other images. See Add Lighting Effects .

Note. Lighting effects are not available on 64-bit versions of Mac OS.

Filters in the Sharpen submenu

The filters in the Sharpen submenu allow you to focus blurry images by enhancing the contrast of adjacent pixels.

Sharpen and Sharpen+

Improves the focus of the selected area and makes it clearer. The Sharpen+ filter provides stronger sharpening than the Sharpen filter.

Edge Sharpening and Peaking

Finds areas in an image with significant color changes and sharpens them. The Sharpen Edges filter sharpens only the edges, keeping the rest of the image smooth. This filter is used to sharpen edges without specifying any quantitative parameters. For professional color grading, the Sharpening filter is used to correct the contrast of edges by drawing lighter and darker lines on either side of them. As a result, the edges become more pronounced, giving the illusion of sharper images.

Smart Sharpen

Performs image sharpening, allowing you to set the algorithm and control its degree in highlights and shadows. This is the preferred sharpening method when no specific filter is used to sharpen. See Sharpening with Smart Sharpen .

Photoshop's advanced Smart Sharpen filter achieves high-quality results using adaptive sharpening technology that minimizes noise and feathering at the edges of an image. An advanced filter interface provides optimized control over targeted sharpening. The sliders are used for quick adjustments, while the additional controls are used for more precise correction of the result.

The Smart Sharpen filter in Photoshop supports the CMYK color scheme. In addition, sharpening is available in selected channels. For example, you can sharpen only the blue, green, or alpha channel.

Smart Sharpen advanced filter interface

Sharpening images in Photoshop is recommended as follows:

1. Set the Effect parameter to a high value first.
2. Increase the value of the Radius parameter so that there is a stroke around the edges of the image.
3. Decrease the value of the Radius parameter until the stroke disappears. This way you will achieve the optimal value for the parameter Radius.
4. Now reduce the "Effect" value to the desired value.
5. Adjust the Reduce noise slider so that the amount of noise in the image remains the same as it was before the sharpening began. Too much noise reduction may cause the image to look unrealistic. The higher the value of the Effect parameter, the higher the value to be set for the Reduce Noise parameter.

Submenu filters "Sketch"

The filters in the Sketch submenu allow you to introduce textures into your images, often resulting in a three-dimensional effect. These filters also allow you to create images that look like drawings or works of art. Many of the filters in the Sketch submenu use the foreground and background colors to redraw the image. All filters of the "Sketch" submenu can be applied using the filter gallery.

Relief

Transforms the image so that it appears to be carved in bas-relief, with lighting that enhances the texture of the surface. Dark areas of the image are painted in the foreground color, and light areas in the background.

Chalk and coal

Redraws the highlights and midtones as solid gray background medium tone as if drawn in rough chalk. The shadows are replaced with black diagonal lines drawn in charcoal. For drawing with charcoal, the main color is used, and for drawing with chalk, the background color.

Coal

Creates the effect of a posterized, blurred image. The main edges are drawn in bold, and the midtones are depicted as an outline with diagonal hatching. Charcoal is drawn as the foreground color, and paper as the background.

Chromium

As a result of applying this filter, the image takes on the appearance of a polished chrome surface. Light areas protrude outward, while dark areas hide in the depths of the reflective surface. After applying the filter, increase the image contrast in the Levels dialog box.

"Magic Pencil"

Reproduces the texture of deep dark and pure white pencils in an image. This filter uses the foreground color for dark areas and the background color for light areas. To get a more pronounced effect, before applying the filter, replace the image color with one of the usual magic pencil colors (black, hot brown, dark red). To create a muted effect, replace the background color with white, add some of the base color to the white background, and then apply a filter.

ink

Applies thin, linear ink strokes to capture detail in the original image. The resulting effect becomes especially expressive when processing scanned images. The filter replaces the color of the original image, using the foreground color for ink and the background color for paper.

halftone pattern

Simulates the effect of a halftone screen while maintaining a continuous range of tones.

Postal paper

Creates an image that looks like it was made from handmade paper. This filter simplifies the image and combines the effects of the Texture > Grain and Stylize > Emboss filters. Dark areas of the image appear as holes in the top layer of paper, under which the background color is revealed.

Photocopy

Simulates the effect of a photocopy of an image. Typically, large dark areas are copied only along their edges, and midtones are converted to either solid blacks or solid whites.

Gypsum

The image is formed in the form of a three-dimensional plaster cast, and then the result is colored using the main and background colors. Dark areas become convex, while light areas become depressed.

Reticulation

Simulates controlled compression and distortion of film emulsion, resulting in an image that appears crumpled in dark areas and slightly grainy in light areas.

Linocut

Simplifies an image so that it appears to have been created with a rubber or wood stamp. This filter is best used with black and white images.

For image processing, their correction, various tools are used. Consider how to install a filter in Photoshop that helps you change photos, add various effects, and improve the picture.

Filters are essentially pre-made changes that are applicable to photos when working in Adobe Photoshop. The standard set includes various photo processing options: from slight sharpening to special distortions. They are used depending on the task set by the image processor, expanding the capabilities of the graphic editor.

Functions

These tools perform a variety of tasks:

• cleaning, retouching images;
• a wide variety of special effects;
• transformations with distortion effects.

They are applied to the whole layer or to the selected part. Some functions are executed immediately when the option is applied, for others you need to select options in the dialog box that appears, usually by moving the slider.

Where they are

Not all users know what plugins are available to them, where the filters are located in Photoshop, therefore they do not use them. At the same time, some versions of the program may not have the options you are used to. Then the question arises, how to add a filter to Photoshop. Let's consider these questions in order.

Go to the top panel on the Filter tab. There you will see the standard plug-ins installed, grouped by the type of effect they perform.

If the standard functions, effects are not enough for you, you can find and additionally install others.

Type in the search engine a request for free filters for Photoshop. You will be given a choice of sites where you can get acquainted with the characteristics of the effects added to the pictures. Choose the one that suits you, download it to your computer.

Special discs with various additions are sold in stores.

There are portals on the Internet offering add-ons for a graphic editor. For example, on the portal www.adobe.com you will find paid and free add-ons, extensions for the products of this brand.

Installing Extract on CS6

Let's see how to install a filter based on CS6. This version does not have Extract, so we are solving the question of how to install filters in Photoshop CS6.

Find Extract and download it from any of the resources. Open the archive with the saved file (archive). Further installation will depend on the file format, there are two ways:

1. If the file has the ".exe" extension, then it is executable, just double-click it.
2. If the extension is ".8bf", then it must be manually added to desired folder where others are already installed files. It is done like this:
   • Copy file from archive desired version: 32 or 64 - to the clipboard.
   • Go to "My Computer" - "Local Disk C" - "Program Files", there go to the folder with installed program Adobe. Accordingly, there is a folder " Adobe Photoshop CS6" with our program.
   • Next, we enter the "Required" folder, then "Plug-Ins", here are the plugins. Find the "Filters" folder. Paste our copied file into it.

The filter will appear in the general section of Photoshop CS6. Restart the program after installation, and use the installed tool in your work on Photoshop.

Those who use Photoshop version CS5 (or earlier) are used to the fact that in the menu tab Filters the entire list of available filters is presented. In general, it is convenient to quickly access and use them. With coming next version- Photoshop CS6 - This menu has undergone a change that has led to confusion and confusion among users. The fact is that a number of filters from this menu disappeared altogether.

List of filters in Photoshop CS5:

Changed list of filters in Photoshop CS6:

As you can see, the following groups disappeared without a trace: Imitation (Artistic), Texture (Texture), Strokes (Brush Strokes) and Sketch (Sketch). In addition to this, a number of individual filters from the remaining groups have also been removed.

But do not panic, in fact, these filter groups have not disappeared anywhere. Yes, they are not in the main menu, but from Filter Galleries no one removed them! Thus, in order to apply them, you must first go to Filter - Filter Gallery(Filter Gallery). A familiar dialog box will open, in which you will find what you were looking for:

(Click to enlarge)

As you can see, all the missing filters are present here and you can still use them. But the following problem has appeared regarding smart objects and their smart filters.

Smart Objects and Filter Gallery in Photoshop CS6

Let's say we have and we need to apply a filter to it.

If we choose from those filters that are displayed in the menu, then there are no problems - we see their names, and we understand what we have applied.

But if you need to use filters from the missing list, that is, through the Gallery, then we see that Photoshop does not write their names!

Agree, this is extremely inconvenient. Suppose we applied only one Application, it can still be remembered. What if we add another filter? And then another one? First, you can forget not just the names, but also in what order they were. Secondly, if you come back to this project in a week, or even handed over the PSD file to another person, what then?

Of course, you can click through them in order, opening a window with filter settings and thanks to this, to understand what it is. But it's so inconvenient... It slows down the speed of work...

Okay, I got carried away escalating this problem. The developers left us the right to choose and a way to fix everything.

Restoring missing filters in CS6

So, to return the missing filters in the menu to their previous form, you need to go to the Photoshop settings: Editing(edit) - Settings(Preferences) - External modules(Plug-Ins).

In the settings window that opens, check the box next to the setting Show all groups and filter gallery names(Show all Filter Gallery groups and names).

After that, you need to apply the changes and restart Photoshop.

Now the missing filter groups will return to the menu, which means that they will also show their name in smart objects, like the rest.

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Photoshop is a popular image editor with a wide range of features.

For designers, artists, photographers, unique tools are provided that open up almost limitless possibilities for working with raster graphics.

Photoshop already has a number of preset filters that are used to change the palette or image. Often standard set filters are not enough, it becomes necessary to install additional ones. The filter is also called a plug-in, that is, it is a small third-party program that is built into the main program.

Plug-ins for this graphic editor are produced by different companies, and as a rule, best filters for photoshop are paid, and some can be downloaded for free.

Where is the filter in photoshop

Image Tools - Filters are used to sharpen, blur, stylize, and create other effects. Finding a list of standard filters is easy - they are located in the "Filter" menu section.

Consider the most popular plugins for Photoshop and the features of their use.

1. Artistic filters - allow you to simulate various methods drawing. When selected, a window for additional settings appears. Among the most popular are Noise (noise), Blur (blur), Sharpen (sharpness) and others.
2. Worthy of attention in photoshop filters for photos, such as sharpening plugins. They are useful if the picture was taken on an inexpensive camera, or, for example, if the subject moved during the shooting and the background was blurred because of this.
3. The opposite of this group of plugins are blur filters. Indispensable if you need to smooth a separate area of ​​the image or soften the result of using a particular tool.

The use of plug-ins not only improves the quality of images taken with a modern camera, but also restores images with partially lost fragments, faded hues, turns black and white images into color and vice versa.

The number of additional plug-ins produced by different companies is incredibly huge, and you can choose tools for any task.

VIDEO INSTRUCTION

How to add a filter in Photoshop 5s and 6 - instructions

1. The installation of the filter begins with its download, for example, on a specialized website www.adobe.com. After free registration you will be able to download your favorite plugins. You can also download filters for Photoshop on other resources with tools for graphic editors. Select and download free filters forphotoshopcs5 offer many Internet resources, but you should be careful not to install a virus along with the plugin.
2. If the plugin is downloaded in .exe format, you just need to run it with the left mouse button. Files in the .8bf format must be manually copied to the Plug-ins directory, which is located in the folder with the installed graphical editor. You can find the desired folder using the shortcut in the menu item that launches the graphics editor. Just click on the icon in the menu or on the desktop right click mouse and select "Properties" from the context menu that appears. Another window will appear, where in the lower left corner there will be a "File Location" button. After clicking on it, "Explorer" will open and The root folder with Photoshop installed. And now it remains to find the necessary one in the list of folders - Plug-ins, where you need to copy the plugin in the .8bf format. The file in .exe format must be launched by double-clicking on it. In most cases, the installer will find the correct folder and place the plug-in in it, and in some cases, in the dialog box mode, you will need to help it manually.
3. After that, it remains to restart Photoshop and make sure that the new tool appears at the end of the list in the "Filters" menu section.
4. You can also install other useful tools and plugins. To do this, the downloaded file is placed in a folder at C:\ProgramFiles\Adobe\AdobePhotoshop\Plug-Ins\Filters. After restarting the graphical editor, the tool should appear. Important point- during the installation of the plugin, Photoshop must be closed.

Why Photoshop filters do not work - what to do

Often after installing filters for photoshop, as well as during their use, various difficulties arise.

• So, if the plugin does not work after installation, first of all, you need to make sure that it matches your version of Photoshop. If it still fits, you should check the folder in which it was installed. It should be the Plugins folder. If everything is correct here, it may be in the installer file itself, and it is recommended to download the filter from another source. Don't forget to reload the graphics editor after loading the plugin.
• Difficulties in using plugins are often encountered by those who use an unlicensed version of Photoshop. In this case, no one will undertake to guarantee the stable operation of his tools. If you are serious about using this program for a long time, purchase a full license.
• Particular problems may arise with each filter separately. So, after installing the “Plastic” filter, many note that after applying the tool to the image, no changes are observed, and they only work after pressing the “OK” button. To configure the plugin, you need to uncheck the "Additional settings" field in its settings or select an opacity value equal to zero. After that, the plugin should work as it should.
• Difficulties in working with filters also arise for those who are just learning Photoshop, which means they violate the order of working with images, and the plugin does not work just because the user uses it incorrectly this instrument. On the Internet on specialized sites you can find a lot of useful information, including step by step instructions on the use of certain plugins for the Photoshop graphic editor, which will help you master complex tools.