Alien Skin‘s Snap Art is a plug-in for Photoshop, Lightroom, and Photoshop Elements that lets you apply art effects (including watercolor, oil paint, charcoal, pencil, and the new crayon) to photographs. Version 3 is now available, and it has several significant changes.
First, Alien Skin has revamped Snap Art’s interface so that you access all of it in one filter. That means no more repeat trips to Photoshop’s Filter menu when you want to change styles.
Version 3 also adds a detail mask so you can more carefully control where effects are applied. And speaking of control, Snap Art 3 is more precise overall; for example, improved stroke placement keeps edges sharp. The end result is greater realism, particularly when you’re working on photos of people.
One of my favorite things about Snap Art is that it doesn’t destroy any pixels of the original image. Instead, all of its effects are on a separate layer.
Snap Art 3 costs $199; upgrades from versions 1 and 2 are $99. You can buy it here.
This article was last modified on December 14, 2022
This article was first published on July 20, 2011
Commenting is easier and faster when you're logged in!
Recommended for you
How Photoshop Uses Bungee Cords to Define Color
The following excerpt is adapted from Speaking Photoshop CC by David Bate. Repri...
How to Create Realistic Watercolor Effects in Photoshop
Learn how to use Photoshop to create hand-brushed watercolor effects that don’t...
Do-It-Yourself Glitch Art
Here’s something perfect for a Friday, or any day when productivity isn...