Sparks... Fireflies... Smoke... Rain... Snow... Star fields. Hundreds of  sparkles dancing across the screen. Exactly the kind of visual effects that would cause After Effects SFX artists to contemplate running head first into an oncoming locomotive.   "I hear that train acomin', it's comin' 'round the bend..."-- Johnny Cash

What took Disney animators untold hours to do by hand for Tinkerbell's sparkling trails can now be done with a few Mickey Mouse clicks thanks to Trapcode Particular... and you don't have to the Sorcerer's Apprentice to make it happen! (OK,OK!!  That's the last Disney reference. I promise.)

I’ll repeat: I love Alien Skin products. I’ve never had or used a bad one. Someone somewhere has, so please raise your hand …  okay, no hands, so I stand on my statement. Hey, you’ve got to love a company whose mascot’s head looks like a watermelon with eyes. (Well, it is an alien, y’know.)

Bokeh – pronounced “bo-kuh,” not "bo-kay" – is derived from a Japanese word meaning “blur” or “haze”; it also means mental haze or senility and also happens to be the name of a town in Iran, but I digress.

The first thing I learned when I set out to try AKVIS Alchemy is that it is not a plugin. Alchemy is a bundle of of 13 plugins, (also available as standalone software tools) encompassing AKVIS Software's entire product offering.

There is a lot of discussion about tablet vs mouse among users, however, as a graphic artist/designer/photographer I find a tablet to be indispensable. This is my second pen tablet but my fist Wacom tablet. If you have never used a pen tablet, I would encourage you to try the Wacom Intous4 Bluetooth Wireless.

The Wacom Intuos4 Bluetooth Wireless is specifically designed for creative professionals. The tablet and pen have been ergonomically engineered for ease of use. The programmable features customize the user experience and speed up workflow. The Bluetooth Wireless allows you to "free range" as much as 30 feet. Here is a list of some of the features:

Pad features:
    - Programmable Touch Ring
    - Programmable Express Keys with Illuminated Displays
    - Ergonomic design
    - Bluetooth Wireless
    - Ambidextrous design

I was happy to be a recipient of one of the WACOM Bamboo tablets at our last DMAG meeting.  I've been a proud owner and user of WACOM's tablets and stylus pens since the 90's. However, the last one I had was not compatible wth my new MAC and I really did not have the money to upgrade. As a professional illustrator, this device is the best tool I can think of next to the real thing. Actually, it's better ...

The Bamboo was a cinch to install and load to my MAC. And I did not even have to re-boot my system to have everything working property. It took only a few minutes for me to adjust to using it, since I'd already had experience ... but even if I had not, it's very simple to use.

The Alien Skin Photo Bundle is a compilation of five plug-ins: Bokeh, Blow-up, Image Doctor, Exposure, and Snap Art.  One of the biggest draws of this bundle is the lower price, a $500 savings over buying the plug-ins individually. 

Bokeh, as the name implies, is used for adding depth of field effects to photographs that have little or no bokeh, giving the user the potential to breath new life into an otherwise less interesting photograph.  This is one of my favorite plug-ins in this bundle.  When using masks in conjunction with this plug-in, there is a lot of control to be had.

For this review we are going to take two plugin from Digieffect and see how they work seemlessly together to take modern video that you can take from any digital camera and age to mimic vintage 8mm film. I would like to thank Artbeats.com for the use of their footage.

First we need to find a good video clip to use, I have one here of a typical beach scene with people having fun.

Now im going to apply the plugin Damage V2 go to overexpose and thats it, no tweeking of any of the setting, just drop it onto your video. This plugin will add haziness to your video, which really helps the aging process that were trying to go for.