Discover Filter Forge 7 Standard
Find out how to use this month’s terrific free software download
Welcome to one of the most powerful and versatile image editing packages you’re likely to use. Filter Forge offers thousands of effects you can apply to your photos, helping you find precisely the look you want to achieve. Search and Favorite options make it easy to locate the effect you want quickly.
If that’s not enough, you can also use Filter Forge’s integrated editor to make your own effects. You can arrange blurs, gradients, colour adjustments, distortions and more into a ‘network’, with controls
1 Find a filter
The simplest way to find the effect you want is to click on the Effects folder to the left of the screen, then enter a word to describe the effect you have in mind in the Search bar at the top. You can also browse through the sub-folders on the left and discover effects you may not have thought of!
2 Edit a filter
You can get a huge amount out of Filter Forge without ever editing an effect; but if you don’t mind rolling up your sleeves, click Filter Editor in the top-right corner of the screen to reveal the settings that make up your chosen effect. Use the Settings tab on the left to make tweaks, then save it as a preset.
3 Find a texture
Filter Forge includes a powerful engine for generating textures on the fly. It’s designed more for use by 3D artists, who need original textures to apply to the surface of 3D models, but you may well find textures you can apply as an overlay to give your photo a distinctive creative edge. that dictate how one effect combines with the next. You can also share your effects with the online Filter Forge community, and enjoy access to over 12,000 more effects through that same community.
While it’s of less use to photographers, Filter Forge also offers a huge library of textures, made with 3D artists in mind.
Filter Forge 7 comes in separate editions for Windows and macOS. You can use it as a stand-alone application, or add it as a plugin to use within Photoshop CC or other compatible software. (The macOS plugin only works with Photoshop CC.)