Notice:
LucisArt will soon be discontinued to make way for LucisArt Pro, which promises advanced features and greater functionality. The new version should be available in July or August and will retail for $595. If you wish to purchase the current version which retails for $169 ($144 with the coupon code) you must do so by May 8th at 5:00 PM EST. The current version is the one I use and all of the samples below were created with it. If you've been holding off on purchasing LucisArt, don't delay any longer. Once the cutoff date passes, it will not be offered again. More details can be found on the LucisArt website.
I don't use very many third party Photoshop filters
because my style and workflow just don't require them. However,
there is one filter that I just couldn't live without. It's called
LucisArt and it's been my secret weapon for almost as long as this
site's been up. I use it to some degree in most of my images. Some
rely heavily on it while I use it as a final touch on others. It's
the perfect compliment to the dynamic lighting techniques presented
in my videos and it helps give my images that extra "something".
So why am I telling you this? Several reasons, really. For one,
the secret's already out. LucisArt is becoming more and more popular
every day. Secondly, it's impossible to fully describe my post processing
techniques without including it in the discussion. Thirdly, I've
received a lot of support from the photoblog community and I want
to give something back. To that end, I've spoken with the owner
of the company and secured a coupon code that will get you
$25
off the purchase price. The code is
ARH3001.
LucisArt is very simple to use and is available for
both Windows and Mac's. A standalone version is available that provides
enhanced functionality but I've been very happy with the plugin.
LucisArt provides eight different effects. The ones I use most often
are "Sculpture" and "Exposure". I like those
two so much that I haven't really explored the other six in much
detail.
It's difficult to describe just what LucisArt does so I've provided
some samples here to give you a little taste. I use a number of
different processing techniques but LucisArt was the core component
of these effects. There are also user galleries and samples on the
company's website that will provide more examples.
Here are a few of my favorite images that I've created with the help of LucisArt.
Check out these amazing images created by other LucisArt users. If you have a favorite LucisArt processed image and would like to see it listed here, please send me the link. If you don't have a website, I will be happy to host the image for you.
If you would like to see LucisArt in action, you can watch a free video tutorial featuring the making of "Old Together"shown below. Click here to watch the video..
This is only a small sampling of the many possible
effects you can create with the filter. You can download a free
demo from www.lucisart.com.
It will give you a preview of what LucisArt can do for your images.
If you decide to purchase it, make sure you use coupon code
ARH3001 during checkout to claim the discount.
Well, there you have it. I have other tricks as well but this one
is key, second only to my lighting techniques. Feel free to contact
me if you have any questions about the filter. You can also contact
the folks at LucisArt from their website.