ANATOMY / On1 Effects 2018

Explore the ON1 Effects interface with our guide to its main areas and tools

Presets

This tab displays ON1 Effects’ library of preset image effects. These are organized into categories; we’ve currently got the ‘Cinematic’ category selected.

This previews all the preset effects on the current image.

image enhancement tools

ON1 Effects 2018 doesn’t just apply effects filters: it has regular image fixing tools too, including cropping, cloning and masking tools. We’ve used the Local button to create a gradient mask for darkening the sky in this shot.

Filters

All of the preset effects are built from a combination of different effects filters. You can use these filters individually, and this tab shows preset settings for each filter. It’s a way for you to be more selective about the adjustments you apply.

Your ‘live’ image

All image effects and filters are shown ‘live’ on your image as you pick them. This shot has the ’Thermopylae’ preset applied; we’ve added a ‘viewfinder’ border effect and a local adjustment to darken the sky.

Overall settings

The Tools panel on the right side of the screen has two tabs. The Overall Settings tab selected here is used for applying presets and filters to the image as a whole. This is mostly what you’ll be working with when applying effects.

add Filter

The Add Filter button opens this panel, where you can choose filters to add to those already in use, or start from a clean slate if you know which filters you need to create a particular effect. The filters you add are ‘stacked’ below.

local adjustments

But you can apply filters and effects to specific areas of the image only, if you need to. That’s how we darkened the sky in this image, using a gradient mask and the Adjustment Filter, which is a kind of regular do-it-all tone and colour tweaking tool.

Filters in use

All the filters currently applied to your image are shown here. Each offers a range of adjustments, and if you find your interface become a bit too cluttered you can ‘hide’ filters and just shrink them down to their title bar.