The Pixelmator team has just released a significant update to their popular Mac image editing software, adding “over 100 new features,” including several new tools, including one that I am particularly excited about: The new Light Leak tool!
From the press release:
Today the Pixelmator Team released Pixelmator 2.2, a major update of the world’s most innovative, easy-to-use, fast and powerful image editing app. Pixelmator 2.2 Blueberry features new, easy-to-use Smart Shape, Move and Paint Selection Tools, and a new Light Leak effect for creating retro-artistically illuminated images. Pixelmator 2.2 Blueberry is available today as a free update from the Mac App Store.
“We’re excited to deliver even more, easy-to-use, advanced features to our Pixelmator fans and continue to create the best and most enjoyable image editing experience,” said Saulius Dailide of the Pixelmator Team. “With new state-of-the-art Smart Shape Tools, people can fully enhance their images, create logos, Web layouts, posters, and much more, all easier than ever before.
While Pixelmator still isn’t quite as powerful as Adobe Photoshop, most users find that it contains and supports enough features to meet their needs – and at a price of $14.99 (much, much less than Photoshop), it’s also a far better value. If you’re not already a Pixelmator user, you can download a free trial from their Web site. I’ve used Pixelmator for several years, and I can’t say enough good things about it.
Here’s a summary of the new features, from the press release:
Pixelmator 2.2 Blueberry comes with more than 100 new features and improvements, including:
- Smart Shapes Tools, which let you quickly adjust a shape’s outline with easy-to-use controls to get just the look you’re after;
- Shapes palette packed with dozens of readily available shapes that are as easy to add as dragging and dropping;
- Shape Style palette, so you can effortlessly create more polished and advanced shapes;
- Convert Text into Shape, which allows you to convert type layers to shape layers and then easily apply gradients, shadows, strokes, or even reshape individual letters;
- Smart Move Tool, which knows when you are working with image or shape layers and gives you just the options you need at that time;
- Paint Selection Tool, which is the simplest and the fastest way to make even the most challenging selections in your images with just a few brush strokes; and
- Light Leak effect, which makes it easy and fun to create stunning, retro-artistically illuminated images from any of your photos.
Additional features include the new Color Popovers for quicker access to color swatches, new gradient presets, improved drawing tools, an improved Type Tool, the ability to copy and paste shape styles, and major performance improvements.
Pixelmator 2.2 is available now from the Mac App Store for $14.99, and as always, is a free update for current owners of the app.
- Pixelmator 2.2 (Direct Link)
Check out the below videos to see some of the new features in action!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCXsBq1v9Ag
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmV5zrXOuA4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXVmeyWXwr0
