Filter Forge releases Filter Forge 7.0
Filter Forge’s overview video for its eponymous node-based tool for creating effects filters. Version 7.0, released this week, adds the option to copy and paste images to host applications that don’t support plugins.
Filter Forge has released Filter Forge 7.0, the new version of its node-based tool for authoring effects filters for Photoshop and other 2D image-editing apps and for generating texture maps from source images.
The update introduces copy/paste support, making the software compatible with applications that don’t support plugins, and improves rendering speed.
Create custom filters for use with image-editing software or generate 3D texture maps
Filter Forge provides a node-based environment in which users can design their own custom filters for Photoshop, Affinity Photo and other 2D image-editing software.
Users can download readymade filters from an online library of over 12,000 community-submitted examples.
The software is also capable of generating seamlessly tiling texture maps, including bump, normal, ambient occlusion, specular and metallicity, and supports a full 32-bit floating-point workflow.
New Copy/Paste commands, improved rendering speed, parallel rendering of texture maps
Previous releases relied on integration plugins to link Filter Forge to its host applications. To that version 7.0 adds a standard copy/paste workflow for getting images in and out of the software.
The new Copy and Paste commands preserve image precision and HDR colours, including negative color channel values.
The update also introduces a new sample cache architecture to increase the speed at which filters render, which the firm claims improves performance by up to 50%, although not every existing filter will benefit.
In addition, the update exposes more inputs on 50 of the software’s existing filter components, and introduces a built-in internal component search function.
Users of the Professional edition of the software also get the option to render texture maps in parallel to the final image without increasing calculation time. Each map can be previewed live during rendering.
Pricing and availability
Filter Forge 7.0 is available for Windows 7+ and Mac OS X 10.7+. Integration plugins are available for Photoshop CC and above and, on Windows only, a range of other 2D image-editing applications.
The software is avaiable in Basic, Standard and Professional editions, with MSRPs of $149, $249 and $399 respectively, although at the time of posting, version 7.0 is available at a 75% launch discount.
Read a full list of new features in Filter Forge 7.0 on the product website