Favorite extreme visual effects plugs?

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squirrel$$$bandit

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My friend is a visual artist, and I'd like to get him some really weird interesting plugins as a Christmas gift (I'm late, I know). His pictures are photo abstracts...he takes pics with a point-and-shoot digital, often of things like television screens close-up, and then manipulates them into evocative shapes, colors, etc. He's really good at this.

Can anyone recommend really extreme, really bizarre effects for Photoshop? I don't know this stuff since I'm mostly a representational photographer...

Thanks!
 
Alienskin makes some cool plugins that I use for graphic design work sometimes. Eye Candy is the most popular plugin from them. Check with your friend though, he might have it already, as it is very popular.
 
I was checking them out, mostly because I'm interested in Exposure for my own stuff...but it all looks a little too commercial for my friend. I know he doesn't own any plugins though.

I suppose I'm looking specifically for nonrepresentational effects...like buying a new kind of paint, if you're a painter, or painting on a new surface, if that makes any sense. Bizarre color juxtapositions, strange morphing of shapes, contrast experiments, etc.
 
mabelsound said:
I was checking them out, mostly because I'm interested in Exposure for my own stuff...but it all looks a little too commercial for my friend. I know he doesn't own any plugins though.

I suppose I'm looking specifically for nonrepresentational effects...like buying a new kind of paint, if you're a painter, or painting on a new surface, if that makes any sense. Bizarre color juxtapositions, strange morphing of shapes, contrast experiments, etc.
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Those kind of effects are really not hard to do with tools that come with Photoshop. One thing you might try, I had forgotten this, is Auto FX Dreamsuite. Also check out Flaming Pear's website. That might actually be the best one, and thier plugins are cheap. I have their Melancholytron (imitates Diana/Holga look) and Lunarcell (creates moons and planets for you to drop into photos or drawings). The Creative Pack is the one your friend would probably like best.
 
Chriscrawfordphoto said:
Also check out Flaming Pear's website. That might actually be the best one, and thier plugins are cheap. I have their Melancholytron (imitates Diana/Holga look) and Lunarcell (creates moons and planets for you to drop into photos or drawings). The Creative Pack is the one your friend would probably like best.
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Ahhhhh that looks perfect, but is it Mac only? He's on a PC...
 
Color Efex Pro is pretty sweet -- it has some wild effects, and it's all based on emulating film chemistry. At first it might seem like it's strictly representational, but actually I've only found 6 or 7 filters out of the few dozen that don't create surreal, non-representational effects. It's made by Nik Software...
 
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