So, what kind of plugins do you use?

[alikzam13]

Nope. used photoshop for over 4 years now, tried many plug ins and other filters. None are worth the time. But I did find one that created a grid for you.... back in the day when i did a bunch of trendy art stuff, hah. I got over that stage tho :P Hermm.... Some good custom brushes are good tho... And there are some that aren't grungy out there, heh.

[Stroker]

I remember going through a filter/plug-in phase. I tried damn near every single one. They never lasted too long, though. I was never in a situation where I wanted to make something that required a 3rd party plug/filter.

It seems to me that too many people think backwards when it comes to filters. If they are working on something, it's like they feel obligated to use a 3rd party simply because they have it. They are making the job fit the plug-in, instead of using a plug-in that fit the job. Know what I mean?

That aside, the only 3rd party plug-in that I kinda of liked was Super Blade Pro. Even though I kind of liked it, it didn't last.

[d4rk]

I have to agree with what is being said about plug ins here and I'd like to add that I've seen alot of newbies and beginers use 3rd party plugins (as I once did way back) like Eye candy and KTP to achieve simple affects. Simple affects like drop shadows and glows and fire. Now they are in Photoshop they are super easy too... kinda sad. I remember learning how to do that on my own and I still don't trust using the layer affects in PS7 all that much. Learning how to do things without plug ins, doing it the hard way, you learn how to think your way through problems you may have. It makes you a better artist not to rely on one button fixes. I like some of the layer affects in PS7 now don't get me wrong. It's a trade off though, some of the new features make it more powerfull. I've got friends that have hundreds of filters though, most of which they never use, and PS takes forever to load up. I think out of the box it's got everything you need.

[Premutos]

Great, thanks for your input everyone.

Yup, 'plugins' cheapens your 'Photoshop Experience' aswell.
Instead of going through many filters, or drawing something, etc bascially learning new stuff, you simply click a button. =/

[singularity2006]

on a similar note, there was a lengthy thread I started regarding the use of filters. If u do a search in the photoshop forum for "f*lters," u'll find it... the search function seems to not like me tonight. good night people. =)

[wolver1ne]

To me there're eye candy plugins and plugins that allow you to manipulate your later/image/whatnot in a way that you won't be able to achieve easily. Like KPT Equalizer; quite obvious what the tool does. Although you could use default contrast/hue/level/etc tools to achieve your goal without Equalizer or some other inparticular plugin, in the end it saves you more time.

Although I do try to avoid eye candy plugins as much as possible, as I tend to do most of the stuff myself, sometimes using some comes quite handy when something needs to be done fast. I think problem with eye candy plugins is that people new to graphics tend to overuse it what makes that certain plugin look bad. Even default photoshop filters are being overused by the beginners; shadows, bevel & etc.

It's not what the plugin does, it's the person who uses it. Basically the same as with Photoshop itself. The program won't do much for you if you have no idea how to use it properly.

[bumskee]

absolutely agree with what everyone else said, in a way it's kinda of sad, but it is a lot faster to achieve effects in PS. I think the important thing is not to rely on filters, or at least allow it to make decisions about your work.

i tried many filters myself, but now i dun use much of them, for some reason i dun find myself needing those. But as someone mentioned having custom brush is good!

:beer:

[klingspor]

Personally, I always find it strange that many CG artists tend to dismiss plug-ins saying "they do all the work for you"... IMHO that's just like a traditional artist saying that computers do all the work for CG artists. Or how about this: "Hey, you're using Photoshop, that's too easy because it does the cool stuff for you - you must use Paint instead!!" :rolleyes:

There are some very useful plugins, and, if used in moderation and only as a tool and not the artwork itself, they produce excellent results. Sure, you could probably go ahead and apply most effects manually, but by the the time you'd have done that you could have already finished the image by using an appropriate plug-in! It's not a matter of cheating or "l33tness" but simply of efficiency.

BTW, the ones I use regularly are Auto FX Mystical Lighting and KPT Channel Surfing/Equalizer. Some of the Xenofex plug-ins are useful when texturing as well...:thumbsup:

[Levitateme]

at work they have eyecandy, i would guess everyplugin you can imagine. the only one i put on my computer is some film grain plugin. but i got it off my computer cuase i just use a composting prgram for that now.

[Grinning Maniac]

I use filters every now and then, but I don't rely on that whole "click-and-go" method. I play with it a lot inside and outside of the filter menu.

For that "Agent 005" poster that I put up in the Gallery a while back, I did use the EC4K Fire filter, but I spent about a half hour playing with the settings, getting it just right and then even after that, I tweaked the colors, and used the Smudge tool to have the flames bend just the way I wanted. I'm meticulous like that. :p

They're nice to have around, but I really don't think I've used any of the Eye Candy filters much aside from Fire and Drip.

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