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Aquatint
Issue: 2.4 (March/April 2004)
Author: Brian Jones
Article Description: No description available.
Article Length (in bytes): 3,601
Starting Page Number: 10
Article Number: 2406
Related Web Link(s):
http://www.sticksoftware.com
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Aquatint from Stick Software gives those without any artistic abilities the opportunity to create images with the typical Aqua look. With the advent of the Aqua appearance in Mac OS X, many feel it necessary to adhere to this look in their own applications, web sites, and other digital creations. However, achieving the typical Aqua look with traditional graphics software can be tedious, and even intimidating, for those with limited expertise and experience in the area. Aquatint addresses just this problem.
Aquatint does one thing and one thing only. It takes an image (referred to by the application as a "stencil") and creates an Aqua image from it according to a number of different criteria. The stencil must be 32-bit with an 8-bit mask. The colors of the stencil affect the resulting image, with black giving the "standard" result defined by the various parameters.
There are many different settings that can be tweaked. First, there is the basic hue, saturation, and brightness of the result image. You can also adjust the contrast, but the default contrast setting is best for achieving a "true" Aqua look. In addition to these basic color settings, there are other settings that specifically deal with the "Aqua-ness" of the image. The first sets whether the color is solid or "rainbow," and whether the rainbow is in a linear or radial gradient. There are also settings for the size of the bezelled border, the opacity of the image, and the size, intensity, and position of the shadow.
It takes a while experimenting with Aquatint before you can expect anything like predictable results. The interface is great for its purpose, but it is still complex enough to be a bit overwhelming on the first launch. Once you've gotten the hang of it, however, Aquatint can produce some pretty rewarding results.
One interesting part of Aquatint from a developer's perspective is the circular positioning interface widget it uses. The widget consists of a smaller circle circumscribed by a much larger circle (both having an Aqua look, of course). The user moves the smaller circle around inside the larger in order to select values that should be presented radially. It's a great, simple solution to a problem that is not necessarily common, but is certainly unavoidable in some applications.
Aquatint will not give you professional-level results, but it is a useful tool if users take into account its limitations and plan accordingly. For most, it will probably just be an interesting toy to play with, but there will definitely be those who find a way to make it work for more sophisticated purposes.
End of article.