Before I installed the software, I did a little looking on the Web to find out what I was getting when installing the AV Bros. Page Curl Pro 2.2 & Puzzle Pro 2.2 Photoshop plug-ins. I was excited about this product before using it. The sample images on their website are gorgeous, whimsical, and give a sampling of their products’ diversity.
I am generally much more impressed with the Page Curl Pro than I am with the Puzzle Pro. It’s not that Puzzle Pro is a bad product, but more that it is not as diverse in its applications as Page Curl Pro is. There are simply so many more possible applications for curls and folds than there are for puzzle pieces and its certain type of patterns. The puzzle plug-in feels more like yet another Photoshop texture, there for its specific task, but goes above and beyond the call of duty. It’s great for making tessellations and fancy tiles, as well. Thank goodness that Puzzle Pro is capable of doing so much more than puzzles. Since the Page Curl Pro and Puzzle Pro came as a packaged deal, the Puzzle Pro is a nifty little bonus gift to the real amazing software, much like the prize in a Happy Meal. However, its 2-D effects are simply inferior to the 3-D rendering power of Page Curl.
AV Bros. seems to have a very good grasp on usability. Though its interface doesn’t completely coincide with that of general Photoshop use, its panels, sliders, and buttons are still very user-friendly and attractive. It’s a good little distraction from the flat gray world that most designers work in. A good half hour of play time devoted to the task will teach you all you need to know about their implications, and it’s also a lot of fun. You can curl any flat layer (or selected item) with a very realistic looking edge, regardless of the item’s shape or transparency. It returns absolutely beautiful results. You can also precisely choose how your graphic curls or folds, and are accompanied by a very quickly rendering and accurate preview as you tweak. It can also twist and turn your now 3-D layer in a variety of fashions and perspectives.
One downside to the program is that most computers won’t be able to handle renderings of very large images. Usually when working large, my computer might be stuck in applying a specific filter for a while, but it always gets the job done. This is a little different. Since it’s modifying the layer in a more complicated way than most filters, it can bog down your RAM and return an error message. It isn’t a terminal issue, it just means that you won’t be able to use the filter on a huge image.
All in all, despite its minor limitations (no billboards), I recommend all graphic designers who heavily use Photoshop to visit the AV Bros. site and check out their plug-ins. I have difficulty imagining anyone being disappointed in their products on the whole.