Oct 5 2002
Alien Skin Image Doctor 1.0
I’m afraid for my job. Seriously. Earlier this year I started feeling a bit threatened
by Photoshop 7′s new Heal tool and Pattern Maker. I mean photo retouching is a
big part of what I do and if any yahoo can open a less than flattering picture
of themselves and apply a little digital Accutane and with a shot of electronic
Botox, my skill set becomes increasingly less impressive.
Now with the release of Alien Skin’s Image Doctor I think I’d better find another
line of work. Proper effective use of the Clone tool takes time, talent, and a
certain "eye." Doing the same work with Image Doctor requires Photoshop
5.5 and not a lot more. It’s impressive. It’s scary.
Image Doctor is a Photoshop filter package consisting of following 4 plug-ins:
JPEG Repair – JPEG Repair attempts to repair the damage caused
by over-compressing screen-resolution JPEG image files.
( Before and
After )
Scratch Remover – Scratch Remover offers what might be considered
a quick fix to images that contain minor defects surrounded by fairly simple textures.
It’s a great tool to use for removing creases, time stamps, short lines of text
and …well …scratches.
( Before and
After )
Smart Fill – Smart Fill is actually able to remove large objects
from images with complex background details. It intelligently samples image chunks
around the area to be removed, automatically detects details such as color and
lighting, then adaptively recombines the sampled image details to create a contiguous
background texture where the original object once appeared.
( Before and
After )
and…
Spot Lifter – Somewhat similar to Photoshop’s Heal tool, Spot
Lifter removes small defects from images, while blending in the appearance of
the surrounding image.
( Before and
After )
As you can see, these four filters cover a broad range of retouching needs. And
if you do a lot of photo retouching or restoring work, you’ll find that the $129
price tag is more than paid back in the time you save by using these filters.
The manual, though only a few dozen pages, is easy to follow and offers helpful
tips on getting the most out of Image Doctor.
MacMerc’s Field Manual Breakdown:
Alien Skin Image Doctor 1.0
Price:
Full Version $129 US
Sidegrade $99 US (available to registered users of Eye Candy 4000, Xenofex, Splat!
and/or Eye Candy for After Effects)
Performance:
Excellent.
Compatibility:
Adobe Photoshop 5.5 or later and/or Macromedia Fireworks 4.0 or later. Runs well
in Mac OS X.
Complaints:
None.
