Recomend Sites for Buying Post Work Filters and Actions?
Fauvist
Posts: 2,290
[Recomend Sites for Buying Post Work Filters and Actions?] The type of filters and actions that make photos or renders look more like illustrations, paintings, cartoons, etc. Either freestanding software, or plug-ins for Photoshop.
Thanks!
Post edited by Richard Haseltine on

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Just search for tutorials online. You just have to have the idea in your head, and then search for that idea on the internet. Want to make your image look like a watercolor painting? There are free tutorials that show you, step by step, how to do this. These are often do-able in GIMP as well (since subscription-based software can stay the duck off of my computer).
I was going to recommend Envatomarket's GraphicRiver.net....
https://www.photowhoa.com/
https://akvis.com/
Not listed in any particular order:
Filter Forge is amazing!
https://filterforge.com/
Topaz Labs has a variety of things, but Topaz Studio fits the bill.
https://topazlabs.com/
PhotoDonut is cool
https://photodonut.smithmicro.com/shop/
Google Deep Dream Generator
https://deepdreamgenerator.com/
I really, really like Dynamic Auto Painter
https://www.mediachance.com/dap/index.html
Graphic River / Envato Elements has tons of one 'one off' actions for Photoshop, here are some I like in particular:
https://elements.envato.com/all-items/profactions
https://elements.envato.com/user/sevenstyles
https://elements.envato.com/user/Eugene-design/add-ons
Hope this helps!
There are a lot of them, but I find that about 90% of what I'm looking for can be done with one of the over 13,000 free filters on Filterforge.com. The program itself goes on sale all the time, both here in the DAZ store https://www.daz3d.com/filter-forge-90-professional-win and on the filterforge websire, and it's a really hard bargain to beat in terms of creating textures for DS work and getting a ton of photographic and art-emulation modes. There are also a huge number of actions and filter from hundreds of artists and companies available over at DeviantArt, including quite a few freebies, so it makes for a really great spot to find various companies through. Another place you might not think of at first is HumbleBundle.com, which regularly offers huge bundles of various kinds of software for pennies on the dollar with the profits going to charity... that's where I picked up Flamepainter 4,Rebelle, Luminar, Amberlight and many more. Beyond that, it really comes down to what you're looking for, as a lot of creators specialize in certain types of effects. What I DO recommend doing, though, is researching ANY site selling photoshop products before you buy them, as there are a lot that are selling bootleg/cracked products and others that are just a big trap waiting to zap you with a virus.
I prefer topaz labs legacy free edition and nik collection. I don't use most of the others I've purchase through the years.
This is a neat site, love the cartoon filter. https://www.befunky.com/
Novica shows a number of filters and actions in her Photoshop Playtime thread.
This is the one I always think of: https://www.behance.net/gallery/73331125/Real-Paint-FX-Photoshop-Add-On
As mentioned by others, this artist on this site has the best photoshop filters and actions on the internet.
https://elements.envato.com/user/sevenstyles
Don't forget Fotosketcher- it's free and a ton of fun!
I LOVE envato graphics river, have about thirty or forty of their Photoshop actions. Be SURE and download immediately as actions are pulled periodically by the vendor or site.
I get a lot of use out of Anthropic's Smart Photo Editor. There are two versions depending on whether you want to use it as a photoshop plugin as well as standalone. Definitely not free, but there is a trial version.
Trial Version: https://www.anthropics.com/smartphotoeditor/download/
Comparison of paid versions: https://www.anthropics.com/smartphotoeditor/editions/
There are options for "realistic" and "Art" filters, and you have the ability to make your own, or edit the included ones.
I would say try Spoongraphic Photoshop Tutorial . Enhance it and make custom action by yourself
Most Toon Actions I bought seem use few of his techniques ( rotate canvas and apply paint filter)
But if you want simple solution try search "Vectorizer" in envato or creativemarket
I would say try Spoongraphic Photoshop Tutorial . Enhance it and make custom action by yourself
Most Toon Actions I bought seem use few of his techniques ( rotate canvas and apply paint filter)
But if you want simple solution try search "Vectorizer" in envato or creativemarket
+1 for this. I get most of my photoshop actions and brushes from here and have always found them to be good quality.
+1
Thank you for the suggestions. I"ll take a look at all of them. What screws me up, is that some of these sites, at least the big ones, have lisences that are like lisences for stock photographs - you can use the filter for this, but not for this, if you use it for that, you can only have 10,000 views, if you use it to print something, you can only print 100,000 copies, otherwise you need the "enhanced liscence" or whatever. This is, like, 20th century thinking. There's no way to know how many "views" an image is going to get on the Internet. NO WAY. Something goes viral and ten million people could look at it, and who knows if something they create is someday published somewhere. Are you going to say to the publisher, well, you'r magazine can't sell more than 10,000 copies because my filter lisence was written in 1996? As soon as I see a lisence with some restriction as to the number of views or imprints or whatever - I just instantly leave the site and never go back to it.
It is actually/really no license at all. However they probably never bother about view count unless purchaser is one of hollywood etc. producers.
My suggestion is learn best is Photoshop or second best Affinity photo well for photo editing, you will never need to depend/require those things or need to accept those terms. Another advise is uninstall GIMP it is our own software but you will waste your time using this and you probably never learn advance editing. I uninstalled it months ago.
Daz store already have some useful postwork items I found.
N.B. GIMP it is a recommended tool for general or various type of editing.
You can try Krita. Sorry I forgot it. Under filter you will find lot of filters specially GMIC Qt. And some useful software already suggested by other people.
I love Fotosketcher :)
And on the license front - you can use the filtered images for any purpose (including commercial use).
It helps to play with the sliders (and I (very) occasionally need to do 2 passes with different strength of effect and then erase over the eyes in GIMP (so you get nice brush strokes on the body but otherwise the eyes would be brushed out if they're too small in the render)).