Studio Artist Blog

Studio Artist 4

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:33:43 -1000

Studio Artist 4 is the next generation of Studio Artist digital art, image and video processing software. With version 4 we’ve now opened up the Studio Artist experience to Windows as well as Mac users. Mac users will be pleased that version 4 is a universal binary application with faster processing speeds on Intel and PPC Macs. Version 4 is compatible with Apple computers running OSX 10.4 through the latest OSX 10.6, and with WIndows computers running Windows 2000, XP, Vista, and WIndows 7.

Version 4 still provides the same graphics synthesizer editing metaphors, intelligent visual processing and smart automatic drawing capabilities developed in previous versions of Studio Artist. But the new expanded version 4 workspace is much more user configurable than previous versions of Studio Artist. You can dock and reposition your working palettes and toolbars, as well as switch on the fly between 4 different custom workspace configurations and a full screen display mode.

Version 4 provides enhanced functionality and new features while maintaining compatibility with all of your old Studio Artist presets. The factory preset collection has also been significantly expanded, providing thousands of new presets to explore and modify. A new Favorites preset toolbar allows you to custom organize sets of working favorites presets in a space saving moveable toolbar. The new Dual Paint operation mode allows you to combine digital painting and live image processing to create dynamic organic paint presets as well as amazing interactive visual effects.

Loop Action allows you to switch between different processing presets on the fly while they run in a live processing loop. Effect and paint parameters can be adjusted on the fly while Studio Artist is auto painting or processing in loop action. Paint Synthesizer Time Particles take on a whole new life with live editing while they are painting. Live video capture can also be incorporated into loop action processing along with live interactive editing for live visual performance or live video synthesizer style output. The new Gallery Show features allows you to build custom free running art shows or automatically generate new presets and/or art images.

The paint synthesizer has new support for vector painting in addition to new features that expand the extensive existing organic raster paint capabilities. Vector files can be output to eps, pdf, or svg vector file formats for resolution independent output. Image Operation effects like the new Sketch effects can now generate Bezier paths as well as raster processing effects. The new intelligent path generation features can be combined with the infinite variability of the paint synthesizer’s drawing engine to create an endless range of different art styles and processing effects limited only by your imagination.

The new Temporal Image Processing operation mode provides a number of new time based image processing effects. These new temporal effects can be used for video processing. They can also be used to generate static images from video sequences that encapsulate the motion in a video into a single image. They can also generate a static panorama view based on the video camera’s panning and movement in a scene. Slit scan temporal effects can be used to expand, contract, extract or remove motion from a scene as well as create amazing looking visual effects.

Much of the old MSG Evolver modular image processing editing capabilities are now accessible directly in version 4 via the MSG Advanced Editor and the MSG Evolution palettes. Over 150 new MSG image processing modules have also been added to the hundreds of existing processing modules in version 4.

The Vectorizer has a new anti-aliased canvas render mode as well as many new features. New photo mosaic and paint regionization features have been added to the paint synthesizer. The new Live Extend path shape features provide dynamic interactive paint paths with physics based behavior.

There are too many new features in Studio Artist 4 to fully describe here. This short overview discusses some of the highlights. The new Studio Artist 4 features are being actively discussed on the Studio Artist News site as well as the Studio Artist User Forum. Check out both of those web sites for the latest Studio Artist news and discussions.

Studio Artist Information Update

Fri, 18 May 2007 15:41:01 -1000

First, there are some new application updates available for Studio Artist 3.5 users. The new Studio Artist 3.5.2 and MSG Evolver 1.02 applications are available as free updates for all registered Studio Artist 3.5 users. If you haven’t received these updates you can get them by emailing techsupport at synthetik.com.

There are also 2 new information resources for Studio Artist users available on the web. The first is the new Studio Artist News site at studioartist.blogspot.com. The second is the new Studio Artist User Forum at studioartist.ning.com.

The new Studio Artist User Forum features the latest in web 2.0 social networking technology. Meet other Studio Artist users, ask questions on the forum, post your own Studio Artist artwork or processed videos to the online galleries, start your own personal Studio Artist blog.

These two new sites feature much more active posting of articles and information than this older blog site developed with older technology, so you should definitely check them out. We’ll still be posting tutorials here from time to time and maintaining this site for reference but the two new sites are the best place to go to get the latest Studio Artist news and Tips.

Pencil Sketch Ideas and Presets

Sat, 17 Feb 2007 11:32:57 -1000

We’ve put together a new set of Studio Artist 3.5 Pencil Sketch Paint Synthesizer Presets and some additional Pencil Sketch Paint Action Sequences that are available for download. These presets show off some different approaches to creating pencil sketch renditions of source images in various shading styles.

These new presets are primarily designed to be used with automatic action painting (as opposed to manual interactive drawing). Depending on the size of your working canvas you may want to adjust the path length of the strokes (Path Shape control panel) and possibly the max number of strokes (Path Start control panel) for optimal results. These presets tend to focus more on showing off some different approaches to creating pencil sketch shading effects as opposed to outline sketches.

Artist’s often work with their hand shading in a pencil sketch to accentuate the positive and negative space in the image they are creating. One approach to emulating this particular stylistic effect in Studio Artist is to enhance your source image prior to doing the actual pencil sketch. Some of the Paint Action Sequence presets show off some different approaches to creating this kind of effect in a pencil sketch. The source image is enhanced with one of more image operations, and then the enhanced image is placed in the source area using the Canvas Image to Source Image menu. Then the enhanced source image is used as the source for the pencil sketch painting steps.

You can configure a single PASeq to do all of these different steps in a single action script. You could also combine together different pencil shading and outline sketch effects to create a final artistic rendition style. Keep in mind that if you modify the source area image in your PASeq, you will need to reload the original source image after you run the PASeq to avoid enhancing already enhanced images multiple times.

You can download the new Paint Synthesizer pencil sketch presets from this link called PencilSketch.zip. You can download the new Paint Action Sequence pencil sketch presets from this link called PencilSketchPASeq.zip.

Year of the Fish

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 10:58:57 -1000

Year of the Fish is a Studio Artist animated independent feature film written and directed by David Kaplan that is premiering at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival on January 24th 2007. A modern-day adaption of Cinderella based on an old Chinese version of the story, it was shot on location in New York City’s Chinatown using inexpensive live-action video that was then used as a guide for automated digital painting using Studio Artist in post production.

David made extensive use of custom designed Studio Artist Paint Action Sequences to automatically process his live video shots to achieve the lush organic painterly feel of the film. David also used Studio Artist’s Warp and Supersizer interpolation features to up-size some of his initial Studio Artist rendered paint animation footage to final frame size and aspect ratio for the finished film.

Year of the Fish is a stunning example of what can be created by someone with some vision and a good visual aesthetic using an inexpensive video camera and Studio Artist.

You can learn more about Year of the Fish as well as see additional beautiful still images from the film at yearofthefish.com.

New 3.5 Preset - Source Tiler

Thu, 30 Nov 2006 10:39:13 -1000

Studio Artist user Craig Linderman was kind enough to share his Paint Synthesizer preset solution for creating tiled texture fills in Studio Artist. This preset can be used to make tiled fills of either an image or a generative procedural texture. We thought this preset and Craig’s explanation of how to use it would be useful for Studio Artist users, so we’re making it available here for download.

You can download the new Paint Synthesizer Tiling preset from this link called StudioArtistTiler.zip. After downloading and decompressing the downloaded zip file you will have a folder called ‘Studio Artist Tiler’. Inside the folder is a pdf document that explains how to use the preset, a sample image texture that should either be placed in the Brush folder if you want Studio Artist to find it automatically, and the Tiler Paint Synthesizer Preset.