It’s been in the works for a very long time (for me, anyway)- about 3 months, off and on, but Fun Foto FX 2.5 is finally out!

So What’s New?

This pack installs 72 actions automatically to Windows versions of Photoshop Elements 3, 4 and/or 5.

If you are a Mac user, you’ll be happy to know that this pack also can be used in your OS as well (just like all the action packs in the Graffishop); however, manual installation is required (and full instructions are included).

…if you are a Mac user, you’ll be happy to know that this pack can be installed in your OS as well…

Starting with this release, an UN-installer is also included that will remove this action pack automatically (Windows, again) from whichever version(s) of Elements you have installed it to. A similar uility is also retro-included with Handy Actions 2.5.

There is a slight overlap between action packs, also starting with this version. For example, a few of the photo effects in Handy Actions 2.5 can also be found here, as well as Sketchy Paint. In addition, Sketchy Paint 2.5 will incorporate some of the paint effects found in this release when it is upgraded to the 2.5 release later this year.

The Actions Bundle pack has also been upgraded to include this new action effects set - previously, the bundle included Handy Actions, Sketchy Paint, Photo Filters and Glam Photo. Now there’s five complete action sets in there.

 … this release is also the first to really utilize some of the unlockable features only found in 
Photoshop CS & CS2 …This release is also the first to really utilize some of the unlockable features found in Photoshop CS & CS2 - Curves and Channel Mixer steps are used in some actions, as well as harnessing some of the editing capability of Lab mode. As a result, some of the included actions (6 of the 72, to be exact) will only work in Photoshop Elements 5.0, so if you haven’t upgraded, now is an excellent time to do so - PSE 5 is available from numerous places for as low as $39, and it’s far and away the finest upgrade Adobe has ever offered.

The specific actions that are PSE 5-only are “Cross Processed”, “Metal Paint”, “True Colors”, “Horror Show”, “Infrared”, and “Lab Convert to B&W”. They will function in earlier versions of Elements, however, but with slightly different results than originally programmed.

This pack will remove previous editions of Fun Foto FX if you use the auto-installer. This is a feature, not a bug! It will clean up after itself, so to speak, by getting rid of earlier versions and removing the clutter, making navigation easier.

So What Effects are in this thing, anyway?

Glad you asked! A gallery of example images is here - if you’d rather check them out here in a Flash gallery, I posted a bunch of them earlier in this post.

The effects in this pack will create a duplicate of your current image so you don’t inadvertantly lose an original (your digital negative). This makes it easier to add multiple effects, essentially layering the actions on top of each other (running the “Misty Morning” effect, followed by a “Graffi_Rain” effect, and finished with the “Orton“, “Polarize“ or “Letterbox” effect, for example).

The images are always left with layers intact, too, when that’s applicable - so further manipulation or fine tuning is easy possible, as is running other actions on top as mentioned.

Drop me a note, or maybe write a review, about these actions - I hope you like them!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Trackback URI | Comments RSS