Anastasiy ships MagicTints 2.1
The original demo for MagicTints. The colour-matching tool, now available as both a Photoshop plugin and as a standalone application, makes it possible to generate a LUT from a single image for use in other software.
Originally posted on 5 April 2021. Scroll down for news of the 2.1 update and new desktop edition.
Digital painting tools developer Anastasiy Safari has released MagicTints 2.0, the latest version of the one-click colour-matching plugin for Photoshop and other Adobe software.
As well as transferring a colour scheme from one still image to another, users can now generate a LUT file that can be used to grade video footage in other DCC software, or in game engines like Unity and UE4.
The update also makes it possible to transfer only the contrast profile from the source image, and makes loading and processing a reference image “7-10x faster”.
Apply the colour scheme from one concept image to another, or standardise sets of images
First released in 2019, MagicTints is a machine-learning-trained tool automatically applies the colour scheme from one concept image or illustration to another, preserving the original contrast and illumination.
The plugin automatically transfers the colour palette from a reference to a target image, or applies the same palette to all of the images in a layered document.
It is also possible to specify primary foreground and background colours to apply to an image manually, making it possible to iterate quickly on colour schemes.
New in MagicTints 2: export LUT files for use in other DCC tools and game engines
The original pitch for MagicTints was that it made it possible to transfer a colour scheme from one image to another without the need for a LUT file.
That’s still true within the plugin’s host applications – Illustrator and InDesign as well as Photoshop – although it’s also now possible to generate Lookup Tables for use in other DCC software.
The workflow can be used to transfer the colour scheme from a reference image to video footage in an editing or compositing application as a rough intitial grade that can then be refined by hand.
As with Photoshop’s native LUT generation system, users can export in .cube format, supported by tools like After Effects and DaVinci Resolve.
MagicTints 2 also exports LUT data as unwarped .png files, used for color correction in game engines like Unity and Unreal Engine, as shown in the video above.
Other changes: big speed boost over version 1.0, option to transfer only contrast profiles
Other changes in the release include the option to apply only the contrast profile from the source image to the target image, leaving the colour scheme unaffected.
The update also speeds up image loading and image processing: according to this blog post, version 2 works “up to 50x faster”, although Anastasiy tells us that a figure of “7-10x” is typical.
The speed boost has been achieved through a combination of GPU acceleration – AMD and Nvidia GPUs and Intel integrated graphics are supported – and by taking better advantage of highly multi-core CPUs.
Workflow improvements include the option to past colour references from the Clipboard.
Updated 16 June 2021: Anastasiy has released MagicTints 2.1.
The update introduces a new standalone edition of the software, making it possible to use it with images generated in other apps, like Affinity Photo, Lightroom, GIMP and After Effects.
According to the release notes, the desktop version is “2x faster” than the plugin version, and can make use of AMD, Apple M1 and Nvidia GPUs to accelerate workflow.
Pricing and availability
MagicTints 2.1 is available now for Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign CC 2014+ on Windows and macOS, and as a standalone edition for Windows 8+ and Mac OS X 10.8+.
The plugin now has an MSRP of $59, up $20 on the original release.
Read more about the new desktop edition of MagicTints on Anastasiy’s blog