What it does

How to install

Controls

Thngs to try

Versions

Questions

 

Boss Emboss

 

What it does

Boss Emboss does heavy-duty embossing.

 

How to install

To use this software, you need a paint program which accepts standard Photoshop 3.0 plugins.

Just put the plug-in filter into the folder where your paint program expects to find it. If you have Photoshop, the folder is Photoshop:Plugins:Filters or Photoshop:Plug-ins. You must restart Photoshop before it will notice the new plug-in. It will appear in the menus as Filters->Flaming Pear->Boss Emboss.

Most other paint programs follow a similar scheme.

If you have Paint Shop Pro: you have to create a new folder, put the plug-in filter into it, and then tell PSP to look there. In PSP's menus, choose File-> Preferences->General Program Preferences (PSP versions 5 and 6) or File->Preferences->File Locations (PSP version 7). Next, click the Plug-in Filters tab. Use a "Browse" button to choose the folder. The plugin will appear in the menus as Image->Plug-in Filters->Flaming Pear->Boss Emboss.

 

Controls

When you invoke Boss Emboss, a dialog box will appear:


Quick start

   
If you just want to see some effects quickly, click the dice button until you see something you like; then click OK.

Using the dice is the easiest way to use Boss Emboss. If you want to hand-tune your own effects, it helps to learn the controls, which are explained below.

 

dice
 



Main controls

   
Boss Emboss deveopes a 3-D surface from the picture, and shines a light on it.

The basic result is gray, but you can use glue modes like 'overlay' to merge the embossing effect with your original image.

 

 

 
original image


embossed


embossed + overlay

 
Height is the altitude of the light source.

Angle is the direction of the light source.

(The mathematically-minded may like to call these controls right ascension and azimuth respectively.)

Relief is the strength of the embossing.

 



different light, less relief

Creasing folds the surface it into sharp-edged V-shapes. It adds life to flat areas.

creased

Melt blurs the shapes together while retaining some detail. Good to use if the picture is too busy.

melted


melted and creased


melted and creased + overlay
Unsparkle removes sparkly highlights from the creases. It makes Boss Emboss run more slowly.

Source chooses whether to use use the grey version of the picture; only its red, green, or blue color channels; or all three channels independently. Mostly you will want to use grey.



3-channel source



Other controls

 
Dice The dice choose a random effect. Click as much as you want to see different effects.

Glue mode popup menu Lets you combine the result with the underlying image in various ways. Modes other than "normal" produce special effects.

Plus, % and minus buttons: These zoom the preview in and out. Drag the preview to move it.

Load preset Boss Emboss comes with some presets, which are files containing settings. To load one, click this button and browse for a preset file.

Save preset When you make an effect you like, click this button to save the settings in a file. 

Undo backs up one step.

OK  Applies the effect to your image.

Cancel  Dismisses the filter, and leaves the image unchanged.

 

dice

 



load preset (top)
and save preset

 



undo

 



Things to try

• Use different glue modes like 'luminance' and ' soft light' to add life to the embossing.

• Open a picture and run the filter. Change the angle control and the height slider to extreme settings.

 



Version History

Version 1.0 March 2003

The first release in this form.

The Furbo Filters were orginally developed by Craig Hockenberry.

 



Questions

Answers to common technical questions appear on the support page.

For bug reports and technical questions about the software, please write to support@flamingpear.com .