FILTERiT 4 is a plug-in set which extends the capabilities of Adobe Illustrator. FILTERiT simplifies and automates many complex functions that would otherwise take a great deal of time using Illustrator alone.
I was surprised at just how many useful tools and effects have been packed into this filter set. Installing FILTERiT is as simple as dragging a folder from the CD into your Illustrator Plug-ins folder. Once installed, FILTERiT adds 9 new tools to the Illustrator toolbox, 13 Live Effects under the Windows Menu, and two new effects--3D Transform and Fractalize.
Before I go into my review and the many examples I've provided, I feel like I should state upfront that I am not a heavy user of Adobe Illustrator, so my examples may be somewhat primitive to what could be done by someone who knows Illustrator well. However, even as a relative novice with Illustrator, it was still very apparent to me just how valuable this filter set could be to someone who works extensively with Illustrator. My screen shots and examples were all produced using Illustrator 9 for Windows. All the example images and screen shots in this review will open in a new window, so you need not leave the review to see them.
FILTERiT4 Tools
FILTERiT4 Tools
The first thing you'll notice after installing the plug-ins is that several new tools have been added to Illustrator's toolbox. All the tools except AlignPoints open an options palette where you can modify various settings to control how the tool functions. All tools except the Metabrush, Trail and Alignpoints tools have a trace option which is new to this version. The trace option creates new objects for each effect. This is useful in creating motion blur effects and for animating the effects for Flash output.
Here's a summary of the 9 FILTERiT Tools:
Warp- Allows you to distort objects and text into various shapes. The amount of distortion is controlled by the direction and distance that the mouse is dragged. A perspective option adds depth to the effect.
Wave- Similar to Warp, Wave distorts objects according to various shapes. The amount of distortion is controlled by the direction and distance that the mouse is dragged. Unlike Warp, however, the shape distortion is repeated. The cycle option controls how many times the wave is repeated.
Lens - The Lens tool distorts objects in one of four ways: Fisheye, Magnify, Twirl, and Tone. Craft- The craft tool distorts object within the target area. There are four types of craft tools: free distortion distorts objects in a straight line from the original point to the point where the mouse is released, dynamic distortion distorts along the path you drag with the mouse, pinch distortion distorts object away from or toward the target area according to which direction you drag, twirl distortion distorts object clockwise or counter clockwise around the center point.
Roughening - This tool creates irregular edges along any path within its target area. Options allow the roughen effect to be smooth or jagged. Unlike Illustrator's built-in roughen filter, this one allows you to target a portion of an object rather than applying the roughening to the entire object. It also gives you more control over the effect. For instance, dragging up and down with the mouse increases or decreases the unevenness, and dragging side to side controls the density of the roughen effect. The trace option creates new objects to represent the intermediate roughening steps. Broom- Moves objects by dragging over them. There are four types of brooms: free sweep moves objects along a the path you drag with the broom tool, dynamic sweep also moves objects along a path, but only for a distance of approximately 2-3 times the area radius, pinch sweep moves object away from or closer to the target area center, according to which direction the cursor is dragged, and twirl sweep moves objects around a center point.
Metabrush - When I first looked at the options palette for this tool, I gasped out loud and quickly closed it. It's a doozy! Then I read about it in the User's Guide and gave it a try. Fortunately, there are several presets you can experiment with so you don't have to adjust all the options in the palette. This tool functions somewhat like Illustrator's scatter brushes, but with many more options. It replicates objects along a path allowing you to control the space, angle, shape, and color of the copies.
Trail- Creates a series of copies of the object in a spiraling or straight trail. Controls allow you to adjust the size, tint, location, and color of the copies.
AlignPoints - Allows you to align anchor points or the center point of objects.
