A lot of people are trying to reproduce the infamous LucisArt effects using convoluted actions, HDR tricks, manual dodging and burning, etc. But an inexpensive plug-in was just released that comes closer than anything I've seen so far: Adjust.

It not only gets pretty close to LucisArt's sought-after chiseled look, it also makes a decent go at its soft effects. Plus Adjust does noise-reduction, color effects, exposure adjustment and more.

There's a free 30-day trial.

Based on the sample images on the Topaz web site, I think that you might also want to check out Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0. It cost more, but it offers a lot more options from what I can tell. I have it and I use it a lot for my fine art images.

Bud James
North Wales, PA.

My Webpage

Click to view attachment

For those like Bud who may wish to experiment, I just created a couple of different treatments of an image using genuine LucisArt (the standalone Pro demo, as yet unreleased).

This zipped file* (5.33 megs) also includes the original unedited image so you can compare the results with Topaz Adjust, ColorEfex Pro or other methods on your own computer.

In LucisArt I could have gotten thousands of additional and totally different effects, but the two in the zipped file represent different points along its wide range.

*Made on a Mac, so no virus worries!

Alright, I got Lucis Pro 6 today (Mac version). I did some quick comparisons between it and Topaz Adjust – nothing scientific, just quick.

It seems they both have their own unique style! Though Lucis Pro seems to come off a little less gimmicky, perhaps more conservative.

Obviously, each plug-in can produce an endless stream of effects by virtue of slider and setting adjustments, so these examples are by no means the whole story.

Feel free to play with the originals.

BTW, for those of you who have tried Adjust and noticed its slowness, I understand the developer is working on an upgrade for later this month.

That would be me (not the developer but the slowness makes it basically unusable for me)

I tried it some more and followed the developer's stop-gap tips (ie, keep the image zoomed in tight) and the preview at least is less painful.

My problem is with the rendering - I know he suggests you do noise and all the rest separately, but it's been a long time since I've suffered from the "hit enter and go for a cup of coffee syndrome" (other than ingesting photos, but that's just the nature of the process).

True; let's hope the update solves this! In the meantime, I'll write the developer and impress upon him the need to work this out ASAP.

I have to say that I haven't found it THAT slow--certainly slow-ish, but not that it would be a deal breaker by any circumstance. I do also have Lucisart (not new version). The one thing I've found strange is occasionally that after the TA render I get magenta/turquoise instead of true colors (as seen in preview). I haven't quite figured it out, but by closing PS and reopening it corrects itself. I've never had a problem with any other plugin. I've not gotten around to sending the issue to the Topaz folks until I can better document it.

Diane

LucisArt has been known for its color shifts as well, but the new LucisPro 6 allows you to restore the original colors via a slider, if desired.

I'm seeing a bit of this colorization in my Adjust tests.