Filter Forge is a

computer graphics Computer graphics deals with generating images with the aid of computers. Today, computer graphics is a core technology in digital photography, film, video games, cell phone and computer displays, and many specialized applications. A great deal ...

program for Windows and Mac that allows users to create

procedural texture In computer graphics, a procedural texture is a texture created using a mathematical description (i.e. an algorithm) rather than directly stored data. The advantage of this approach is low storage cost, unlimited texture resolution and easy textu ...

s and modify images. It can be used as a standalone application or as a

plugin Plug-in, plug in or plugin may refer to: * Plug-in (computing) is a software component that adds a specific feature to an existing computer program. ** Audio plug-in, adds audio signal processing features ** Photoshop plugin, a piece of softwar ...

for compatible 8bf hosts such as

Adobe Photoshop Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor developed and published by Adobe Inc. for Windows and macOS. It was originally created in 1988 by Thomas and John Knoll. Since then, the software has become the industry standard not only in ras ...

. It has been under continuous development by Filter Forge Inc. since its official release in March 2007. Filter Forge renders images based on input images and

XML Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a markup language and file format for storing, transmitting, and reconstructing arbitrary data. It defines a set of rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable. ...

documents called "filters". A filter ''(not to be confused with a mathematical filter)'' is essentially a tree of successive generations and/or transformations of color and position. Types of generations include single colors, polygons, gradients,

Perlin noise Perlin noise is a type of gradient noise developed by Ken Perlin. History Ken Perlin developed Perlin noise in 1983 as a result of his frustration with the "machine-like" look of computer-generated imagery (CGI) at the time. He formally descr ...

, variations of

Worley noise Worley noise is a noise function introduced by Steven Worley in 1996. In computer graphics it is used to create procedural textures, i.e. textures that are created automatically with arbitrary precision and do not have to be drawn by hand. Worley ...

, and patterns commonly found in masonry. Types of transformations include rotation, scaling, refraction, noise distortion, kaleidoscope patterns, blurs, edge detection, blending, a variety of

color space A color space is a specific organization of colors. In combination with color profiling supported by various physical devices, it supports reproducible representations of colorwhether such representation entails an analog or a digital representa ...

manipulations, and switches. As of version 4.0xx, the program also implements

floating point In computing, floating-point arithmetic (FP) is arithmetic that represents real numbers approximately, using an integer with a fixed precision, called the significand, scaled by an integer exponent of a fixed base. For example, 12.345 can be r ...

processing, particle arrays, recursive loops,

bézier curve A Bézier curve ( ) is a parametric curve used in computer graphics and related fields. A set of discrete "control points" defines a smooth, continuous curve by means of a formula. Usually the curve is intended to approximate a real-world shape ...

s, and built-in

Lua Lua or LUA may refer to: Science and technology * Lua (programming language) * Latvia University of Agriculture * Last universal ancestor, in evolution Ethnicity and language * Lua people, of Laos * Lawa people, of Thailand sometimes referred t ...

scripting. Filter Forge also includes rendering options such as

anti-aliasing Anti-aliasing may refer to any of a number of techniques to combat the problems of aliasing in a sampled signal such as a digital image or digital audio recording. Specific topics in anti-aliasing include: * Anti-aliasing filter, a filter used ...

, bump maps and normal maps,

environment mapping In computer graphics, environment mapping, or reflection mapping, is an efficient image-based lighting technique for approximating the appearance of a reflective surface by means of a precomputed texture. The texture is used to store the image of ...

ambient occlusion In 3D computer graphics, modeling, and animation, ambient occlusion is a shading and rendering technique used to calculate how exposed each point in a scene is to ambient lighting. For example, the interior of a tube is typically more occlude ...

, seamless tiling, and a text-based batch renderer. Users can randomize or control specific parameters of each filter through sliders, color pickers, and checkboxes. Sets of parameter values can be saved as presets. While it is possible to edit filters with any text editor, Filter Forge includes a visual node-based filter editor. In the editor window, components are placed on a workspace and connected to one another like blocks in a

flowchart A flowchart is a type of diagram that represents a workflow or process. A flowchart can also be defined as a diagrammatic representation of an algorithm, a step-by-step approach to solving a task. The flowchart shows the steps as boxes of va ...

. Similar editors exist in other computer graphics applications such as Genetica, DarkTree, and Substance Designer. Filter Forge Inc. hosts a web-based library of thousands of user-submitted filters that can be previewed and downloaded online or using the program's built-in browser. It maintains this model by offering a time-limited demo and rewards to authors of highly used library filters. Renders of library filters are available to anyone for free, but the program is needed to modify the filters and their parameters.Online filter library
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References

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External links

Filter Forge homepage
Adobe Photoshop

See also

References

External links