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I'm curious about that, you are the second person to say that... I've had Filter Forge from version 2 and have never seen any kind of request or demand for upgrade... I usually wait until a sizable amount of good filters build up before upgrading, so it's usually by the time the Beta for the next version comes out before I upgrade...
Could it be that you are trying to use a filter intended for a higher version than the one you have?... Like right now I have version 5, but they have moved on to 6... If I were to try and DL or use a filter made in version 6, it would not work in version 5, so I'd get a "please upgrade" notice... I only had that happen once because there was something borked in the filter, so I can't remember the exact wording...
I ask because if that is problem and the wording is coming across sounding like a demand and not a suggestion, I'd mention it to them... I've already mentioned something about how an upgrade sale notice was phased and they changed it so as to be less confusing... Based on my suggestion... Which was shocking because I'm used to users getting ignored... But they are pretty nice there and you usually get a reply from their top people... Which is also kind of shocking.
On a side note, this is just freakin mesmerizing....
...back to your regularly scheduled thread ;).
Laurie
I got the idea from their website:
https://affinity.serif.com/blog/affinity-photo-for-windows-is-available-now/
The Beta is free for windows users. From what I read, they'll make it not-free eventually tho.
There's sculptris, a free sculpting program, it's a Pixologic product, they are the ones that also make ZBrush, (But that's $800!) they just released a $150 version called ZBrush Core! which has most of the core functionality which means you can use it with GOZ! although you cannot use GOZ, you can still im/export obj files!
For land building there's Planetsides's terragen with the most realistic landscape creation aside from Vue, with both free and paid versions, you can also pick up World Machine 2 with both paid, and free versions which can then be imported/exported directly into terragen, and vice-versa!
There's also Make human with fully rigged characters which you can export to zbrush, blender and other 3D progs, it's also Free!
For 2D there's always gimp that's always free, you can pick up Pixia, also free, and an anime/manga/painting program with loads of gorgeous brushes called krita also free!
Hope this helps!
And NO subscription! I detest rent-ware.
I'll second that Krita is fantastic. Rather than trying to be a photoshop clone, it does its own thing, and, consequently, has some really cool features, even a few that that AFAIK nothing else has.
I might be a mutant... I actually found ZBrush pretty intuitive to use. Haven't gotten to the stage the Big Boys (like Rick Baker) are at with it yet, though.
Wow this is amazing software I bought both of them, tone mapping is brilliant !!!
Thanks for sharing !!!
As I said, I don't use it enough for them to notice I'm using the wrong filter. I just keep getting emails urging me to upgrade for a "special" price which is always out of my reach anyway and I have no idea what a new version would do for me anyway. I bought version 3 in a moment of weakness and have regretted it since because it was a lot of money to spend on something that I rarely use. I'm taliking about months between the occasional times I make use of it. Yet I get emails regularly as though I were some sort of power user.
To comment on a couple of other posts - the beta phase of Affinity Photo for Windows is over and the full product is on General Release now - certainly not free.
I looked again at ZBursh core and I am pretty sure that GoZ can NOT be used with it. I'd recommend people check for themselves before buying.
Yah, I bought them both as well. Prices too low to resist. I have a number of photo editors that I really like and use regularly, but inevitably theirs something I want to do that's missing or difficult and tedious. Affinity Designer looks like it may add most of the missing or difficult things i want.
To clarify I did not mention it as free, but I did mention that I detest rent-ware...I might just pick it up next check though, as I do not support rent-ware.
Ahh, I took a look and no, there's no goz support, however, you can still im/export obj files...
...I have to agree about Gimp. It is versatile, as well as able to handle .abr files which makes many of Deviney's brushes much more accessible without resorting to subscription ware. It is a bit tricky at first but I find it very easy to use.
PSP can be pretty useful as well, particularly for combining text and images as well as making adjustments/additions to and even creating new textures (though it is only available as a download).
Sadly two that gave me a true "WOW" factor are defintiely not under 100$: the full blown Modo, and Marvelous Designer (don't have the former as it's now over 1,500$ but do have a personal licence for a slightly older version of the latter).
Virtual World Dynamics VWD with the bridge.
Both Mod and Mari have Indie versions at Steams which are available with pretty cheap subscription plans of less than $5 (converted price) per month which should cover upgrades. I would avoid buying perpetual licenses of any software at Steam as most publishers do not accomodate upgrades at Steam. However referring to upgrades to full version of Modo and Mari, they said:
"What we do is take whatever amount you spent on the perpetual license of indie off of the regular cost of the full version of the software."
The beta stage ended a while ago (try to click the button). But currently it looks like they're running the 20% intro discount again.
Well bummer. How dare they entice me with the word 'free'! :)
That sounds like a familiar tactic used by a lot of stores Lol
Really happy to see all the Blender love out there, especially as I'm completely on board with their dream of making 3D animation available to the masses. A worthy goal that makes it difficult to understand why so many people, some 3D artists no les, bash it and try to dissuade people (who more than likely can't afford high end 3d software) from trying it out.
You only have to look at some of the amazing projects done with Blender, such as Sintel, or Tears of Steele, to get a wow factor, when you realize these projects were made with freeware.
nelsonsmith: It's to avoid some form of gaslighting, where everyone says how wonderful and awesome it is and you sit there wanting to scream and punch your computer and wonder what's wrong with you.
Or for people not to understand what the actual cost of Blender is, which is extensive training and effort to learn how it works.
That's understandable, but what 3d software doesn't require extensive training and effort? Even the programs people tout as being the "professional standard" require a ton of effort, which is why you don't see a lot of great animation out there from non pros using Maya, or Max or any of them. Just because something is free doesn't mean it's going to be easy (probably the less likely), but just because something costs a fortune, doesn't mean it's going to necessarily be easy either.
Thanks for making this thread I tried the filter forge one, it's what I am looking for to perfect my final images.
I use Filter Forge and rate it highly, but I do wonder if the person has been born who paid full price for the software. I'm often on the site in search of interesting new filters, and I don't think I've ever seen them NOT having a sale of some kind for it.
Another one that I don't think I've seen mentioned is ArtRage, which I think is about $50. I like it not just for the arty stuff you can do with it, but also for the extremely therapeutic practice it allows of throwing glitter all over the screen without having to clear up any mess afterwards. A sort of digital stress-ball, really :)
I'm just blown away i can use daz & learn how to use any of the features.
And just because something is free doesn't mean it's not going to cost you.
That said, I heartily encourage people to poke at it when they have time/inclination, because why not. Personally, I'm downloading Blender because all those much easier low cost products are also not upgraded often/ever (Hexagon, Carrara) and have all sorts of stupid bugs.
That's a good point. This free software has provided me with a hobby for 12 years and I'm still embarrassed about how much I still have to learn. I was drawn into it after playing The Sims and becoming hooked on modding the characters in the game. I wanted to make them more realistic and stumbled across DAZ Studio which completely replaced The Sims in my play time. However, had it not been for DAZ I would probably have taken the Blender route and learned to create for myself. It is having a store with a huge selection of ready made characters and props which has kept me from delving into modelling, rigging and texturing. So the free software ended up costing me thousands but, hey, a couple of thousand over 12 years is not a fortune. I probably spent a lot more on cigarettes when I used to smoke.
I'd love to be able to animate but my attempts at using DAZ Studio for that have been less than satisfactory. I think Blender has better animation capabilities but I have no idea how to export my scenes, fully rigged, into Blender.
Daz Studio is like WOW! for me, and it's FREE! I did my first Iray render in mid-May, and I am continually amazed at the power of this program, but, like any thing of greatness, it requires that you spend lots of time alone with it before it will surrender its secrets. If you enjoy the chase and can play rather than becoming frustrated, it begins to open. So, now I have to just keep rendering and rendering until I really understand how I got the results I was seeking. And, of course, a petroleum corporation-worthy computer is in my future.
Thanks a lot for turning me on to this!
Just snagged Affinity Photo, can't wait to give it a go, I was looking for an excellent PS alternative!
Wow! I love this so much. Thank you for posting the link!
I still use Particle Illusion 3 and Mojoworld 3. They are no longer available, but both are amazing and work well with Windows 10! If you can find a copy on e-bay for cheap, pick one up. You'll have fun.
...not into software by subscription.
...which is why I gave up on it, The UI alone has it's own fairly steep learning curve.