Second Life Forums Archive - Looking for Textures ?

Noaru Semyorka

Registered User

Join date: 9 Dec 2006

Posts: 4

01-23-2007 17:42

maybe you should try this "little" tool.

http://www.filterforge.com/

Abu Nasu

Code Monkey

Join date: 17 Jun 2006

Posts: 476

01-23-2007 18:34

I was on the beta team for Filter Forge for a bit. It fills a rather big void in 2d graphics. It takes the 3d package method for material/map generation and brings it to the 2d group. Very much like Maya and Dark Tree. Or even like Shaderman for RM. Node-based and very nice. If you've ever fired up 3DS Max for a good Perlin Noise or Cellular to be used in Photoshop, then you gotta give FF a try. The node-based approach is also on the 2d level. That is, nodes based on RGB values, 2d position, and what-not.

If I remember correctly, FF is a stand-alone that is being marketed as Photoshop plug-in. Called externally and all that jazz.

Torley Linden

Enlightenment!

Join date: 15 Sep 2004

Posts: 16,530

Filter Forge is lovely!

02-27-2007 15:33

After I searched, this looks like the only Filter Forge thread on the entire forums. :(

Such a gem must not go unnoticed!

Who else enjoys using Filter Forge to make your own Photoshop filters and textures here?

Some samples of what it can do:

In addition to my being a Linden, I'm also a Filter Forge enthusiast; infact, a lot of my recent LOVE TEXTURES were processed through FF.

They're all seamlessly tiling (which I did with PhotoSEAM, another shamefully underused tool — but fair enough, it hasn't been updated in 6+ years) and I used a variety of both stock presets and my own settings.

I was a beta tester of Filter Forge too and got a free copy for my feature suggestions (I can't help but share how I'd make something good even better!). It's US$249 if you preorder, and t has a stand-alone version too. Apparently, you can still get it for free if you submit 3 filters that attain a "high" usage rank.

You can do all sorts of things with FF, from clean stylizing to gritty organic surfaces; it's great for making sets of cohesive textures with variations (like walls for a building), and the randomize controls make it supah-easy to mix things up while retaining the same flav0r.

ArtRage 2 + Filter Forge + PhotoSEAM = killer combo for my Second Life content creation, as mentioned on my SL wiki page. I enjoy seeing Resis create awe-inspiring stuff so I hope if you've never heard of these tools before, that you'll give 'em a spin, and hopefully, they'll be good for you too. :)

_____________________

Chosen Few

Alpha Channel Slave

Join date: 16 Jan 2004

Posts: 7,496

02-27-2007 16:35

AAAHHHHH!!!!! All that Torley pink is hurting my poor little eyes.

Seriously though, Filter Forge looks interesting. I think I'll give it a whirl. Thanks for the info, guys.

_____________________

.

Land now available for rent in Indigo. Low rates. Quiet, low-lag mainland sim with good neighbors. IM me in-world if you're interested.

Arikinui Adria

Elucidated Deviant

Join date: 18 Aug 2006

Posts: 592

02-27-2007 16:44

*drool*

TheFriedGeek Althouse

Registered User

Join date: 16 Nov 2006

Posts: 6

02-27-2007 18:57

FF is a very cool tool. I've used it to create some organic textures for a few products. It is a system hog and complex shaders can take a long time to render but it's very cool.

Daz Karas

Registered User

Join date: 14 Feb 2007

Posts: 53

02-27-2007 20:52

From: Chosen Few

AAAHHHHH!!!!! All that ...pink is hurting my poor little eyes.

It's even worse on the index page.. The stickies are light orange on light blue = zero contrast from text to background. Where is the person who coded the color and why can't they change it? It's just a 6 digit number.

I know this is off topic but there's no forum for forum issues. Now, back to your originally scheduled programming.

Thanks for the tips on textures by the way. Beware of the addiction to them.

Chip Midnight

ate my baby!

Join date: 1 May 2003

Posts: 10,231

02-28-2007 08:18

Anyone know how FF compares to DarkTree? DT is amazing, and playing with it is a lot of fun, but it's very difficult to create textures deliberately, meaning I have a hard time predicting what any particular combination of nodes is going to produce so I end up just noodling around with it hoping I make a cool texture by accident.

_____________________

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TheFriedGeek Althouse

Registered User

Join date: 16 Nov 2006

Posts: 6

02-28-2007 10:31

It is similar to DT in that way but since you can see how all the filters are built it helps guide you in many ways. I usually start with one of the filters and then hack around the nodes so it looks like what I want.

Chip Midnight

ate my baby!

Join date: 1 May 2003

Posts: 10,231

02-28-2007 10:56

Yeah, the node editor layout is definitely a bit more elegant than DT's. I doubt I'd switch at this point because I bought DT for doing 3d work, and the parameters of any node in a DT texture can be animated in Max, or driven by input from something else in the scene, which is incredibly useful. For 2D work though FF looks like a great tool.

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My other hobby:
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Torley Linden

Enlightenment!

Join date: 15 Sep 2004

Posts: 16,530

02-28-2007 11:56

@Chosen: O.O it's so weird having the pink sans green, but that was a byproduct of Valentine's Day!

@TheFriedGeek: Glad to hear you use FF too! Also, I was pleased to find out it scales well with multi-core processors... so as quad-core desktops get more popular this year, that should help.

@Daz: The colors (incl. my Linden posts *forces my writing black*) are part of our current aesthetic branding specs, BUT good news is it's subject to change in the future. You may have already noticed http://lindenlab.com doesn't look so somber as it used to.

@Chip: I haven't used DarkTree myself, but you hit it spot on I feel, when you said "elegant". Thing about Filter Forge for me is it's terribly easy for a rookie to get into, but with enough power under-the-hood to keep those with a lot of experience satisfied. Also, the dev team is pretty amenable to feature requests and the community is very friendly. It's been brought up before that FF textures can't be animated, and I'd like to see that too...

(Context: I previously used other tools like Genetica 2 and Texture Maker but didn't find them as intuitive to get into. In some ways, Filter Forge's workflow feels natural, like a visual equivalent to Ableton Live... and when it comes to superb UI, Live is an emperor!)

_____________________

Chip Midnight

ate my baby!

Join date: 1 May 2003

Posts: 10,231

02-28-2007 15:06

I just noticed that even though the beta is over, they still have the final beta version up for download which will work for 30 days. I'll have to take it for a spin.

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My other hobby:
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Sylvia Trilling

Flying Tribe

Join date: 2 Oct 2006

Posts: 1,117

02-28-2007 16:33

It looks like this is pc only. Is there anything similar for the mac?

FD Spark

Prim & Texture Doodler

Join date: 30 Oct 2006

Posts: 4,697

02-28-2007 17:26

gez 250 usd just for filter program

Doll Box

Registered User

Join date: 17 Jan 2007

Posts: 11

FF rocks!

11-19-2007 16:09

omg i just found FF...i'm going to be uploading for WEEKS now
a BIG hearty TY to Torley for finding this

Infiniview Merit

The 100 Trillionth Cell

Join date: 27 Apr 2006

Posts: 845

11-20-2007 05:50

Yep me too!

I was also on the beta team and won a free copy
I find it totally absorbing I can and have played with the filter creation modules all day.
In short yeah it Rocks!

I have only had time to make one from scratch so far, as I am just to darn busy creating
Textures

.

You can check it out here-
http://www.filterforge.com/filters/4263.html

_____________________

http://slurl.com/secondlife/puea/126/10/60/

Zuri Simca

Registered User

Join date: 6 Oct 2006

Posts: 39

11-21-2007 14:05

I've been using FF for about 3 months and it's great. There's so much you can do with it from editing pictures to actually creating textures using the filters you can download.

I had a trial and immediately bought the $100 package. It's very helpful with almost everything I've been creating.

I've downloaded probably every filter available from the website, and let me tell you, that $100 is nothing compared to what you get free from that place.

It's much better than most of the filters you pay much more for.

Looking for Textures ?
Noaru Semyorka Registered User Join date: 9 Dec 2006 Posts: 4	01-23-2007 17:42 maybe you should try this "little" tool. http://www.filterforge.com/
Abu Nasu Code Monkey Join date: 17 Jun 2006 Posts: 476	01-23-2007 18:34 I was on the beta team for Filter Forge for a bit. It fills a rather big void in 2d graphics. It takes the 3d package method for material/map generation and brings it to the 2d group. Very much like Maya and Dark Tree. Or even like Shaderman for RM. Node-based and very nice. If you've ever fired up 3DS Max for a good Perlin Noise or Cellular to be used in Photoshop, then you gotta give FF a try. The node-based approach is also on the 2d level. That is, nodes based on RGB values, 2d position, and what-not. If I remember correctly, FF is a stand-alone that is being marketed as Photoshop plug-in. Called externally and all that jazz.
Torley Linden Enlightenment! Join date: 15 Sep 2004 Posts: 16,530	Filter Forge is lovely! 02-27-2007 15:33 After I searched, this looks like the only Filter Forge thread on the entire forums. :( Such a gem must not go unnoticed! Who else enjoys using Filter Forge to make your own Photoshop filters and textures here? Some samples of what it can do: In addition to my being a Linden, I'm also a Filter Forge enthusiast; infact, a lot of my recent LOVE TEXTURES were processed through FF. They're all seamlessly tiling (which I did with PhotoSEAM, another shamefully underused tool — but fair enough, it hasn't been updated in 6+ years) and I used a variety of both stock presets and my own settings. I was a beta tester of Filter Forge too and got a free copy for my feature suggestions (I can't help but share how I'd make something good even better!). It's US$249 if you preorder, and t has a stand-alone version too. Apparently, you can still get it for free if you submit 3 filters that attain a "high" usage rank. You can do all sorts of things with FF, from clean stylizing to gritty organic surfaces; it's great for making sets of cohesive textures with variations (like walls for a building), and the randomize controls make it supah-easy to mix things up while retaining the same flav0r. ArtRage 2 + Filter Forge + PhotoSEAM = killer combo for my Second Life content creation, as mentioned on my SL wiki page. I enjoy seeing Resis create awe-inspiring stuff so I hope if you've never heard of these tools before, that you'll give 'em a spin, and hopefully, they'll be good for you too. :) _____________________
Chosen Few Alpha Channel Slave Join date: 16 Jan 2004 Posts: 7,496	02-27-2007 16:35 AAAHHHHH!!!!! All that Torley pink is hurting my poor little eyes. Seriously though, Filter Forge looks interesting. I think I'll give it a whirl. Thanks for the info, guys. _____________________ . Land now available for rent in Indigo. Low rates. Quiet, low-lag mainland sim with good neighbors. IM me in-world if you're interested.
Arikinui Adria Elucidated Deviant Join date: 18 Aug 2006 Posts: 592	02-27-2007 16:44 drool
TheFriedGeek Althouse Registered User Join date: 16 Nov 2006 Posts: 6	02-27-2007 18:57 FF is a very cool tool. I've used it to create some organic textures for a few products. It is a system hog and complex shaders can take a long time to render but it's very cool.
Daz Karas Registered User Join date: 14 Feb 2007 Posts: 53	02-27-2007 20:52 From: Chosen Few AAAHHHHH!!!!! All that ...pink is hurting my poor little eyes. It's even worse on the index page.. The stickies are light orange on light blue = zero contrast from text to background. Where is the person who coded the color and why can't they change it? It's just a 6 digit number. I know this is off topic but there's no forum for forum issues. Now, back to your originally scheduled programming. Thanks for the tips on textures by the way. Beware of the addiction to them.
Chip Midnight ate my baby! Join date: 1 May 2003 Posts: 10,231	02-28-2007 08:18 Anyone know how FF compares to DarkTree? DT is amazing, and playing with it is a lot of fun, but it's very difficult to create textures deliberately, meaning I have a hard time predicting what any particular combination of nodes is going to produce so I end up just noodling around with it hoping I make a cool texture by accident. _____________________ My other hobby: www.live365.com/stations/chip_midnight
TheFriedGeek Althouse Registered User Join date: 16 Nov 2006 Posts: 6	02-28-2007 10:31 It is similar to DT in that way but since you can see how all the filters are built it helps guide you in many ways. I usually start with one of the filters and then hack around the nodes so it looks like what I want.
Chip Midnight ate my baby! Join date: 1 May 2003 Posts: 10,231	02-28-2007 10:56 Yeah, the node editor layout is definitely a bit more elegant than DT's. I doubt I'd switch at this point because I bought DT for doing 3d work, and the parameters of any node in a DT texture can be animated in Max, or driven by input from something else in the scene, which is incredibly useful. For 2D work though FF looks like a great tool. _____________________ My other hobby: www.live365.com/stations/chip_midnight
Torley Linden Enlightenment! Join date: 15 Sep 2004 Posts: 16,530	02-28-2007 11:56 @Chosen: O.O it's so weird having the pink sans green, but that was a byproduct of Valentine's Day! @TheFriedGeek: Glad to hear you use FF too! Also, I was pleased to find out it scales well with multi-core processors... so as quad-core desktops get more popular this year, that should help. @Daz: The colors (incl. my Linden posts forces my writing black) are part of our current aesthetic branding specs, BUT good news is it's subject to change in the future. You may have already noticed http://lindenlab.com doesn't look so somber as it used to. @Chip: I haven't used DarkTree myself, but you hit it spot on I feel, when you said "elegant". Thing about Filter Forge for me is it's terribly easy for a rookie to get into, but with enough power under-the-hood to keep those with a lot of experience satisfied. Also, the dev team is pretty amenable to feature requests and the community is very friendly. It's been brought up before that FF textures can't be animated, and I'd like to see that too... (Context: I previously used other tools like Genetica 2 and Texture Maker but didn't find them as intuitive to get into. In some ways, Filter Forge's workflow feels natural, like a visual equivalent to Ableton Live... and when it comes to superb UI, Live is an emperor!) _____________________
Chip Midnight ate my baby! Join date: 1 May 2003 Posts: 10,231	02-28-2007 15:06 I just noticed that even though the beta is over, they still have the final beta version up for download which will work for 30 days. I'll have to take it for a spin. _____________________ My other hobby: www.live365.com/stations/chip_midnight
Sylvia Trilling Flying Tribe Join date: 2 Oct 2006 Posts: 1,117	02-28-2007 16:33 It looks like this is pc only. Is there anything similar for the mac?
FD Spark Prim & Texture Doodler Join date: 30 Oct 2006 Posts: 4,697	02-28-2007 17:26 gez 250 usd just for filter program
Doll Box Registered User Join date: 17 Jan 2007 Posts: 11	FF rocks! 11-19-2007 16:09 omg i just found FF...i'm going to be uploading for WEEKS now a BIG hearty TY to Torley for finding this
Infiniview Merit The 100 Trillionth Cell Join date: 27 Apr 2006 Posts: 845	11-20-2007 05:50 Yep me too! I was also on the beta team and won a free copy I find it totally absorbing I can and have played with the filter creation modules all day. In short yeah it Rocks! I have only had time to make one from scratch so far, as I am just to darn busy creating Textures . You can check it out here- http://www.filterforge.com/filters/4263.html _____________________ http://slurl.com/secondlife/puea/126/10/60/
Zuri Simca Registered User Join date: 6 Oct 2006 Posts: 39	11-21-2007 14:05 I've been using FF for about 3 months and it's great. There's so much you can do with it from editing pictures to actually creating textures using the filters you can download. I had a trial and immediately bought the $100 package. It's very helpful with almost everything I've been creating. I've downloaded probably every filter available from the website, and let me tell you, that $100 is nothing compared to what you get free from that place. It's much better than most of the filters you pay much more for.

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