Graphics

=Feature Comparison: Aviary's Phoenix versus iPhone App PhotoWizard =  media type="file" key="LenkerAudio1.mp3" (used under the CC license) || Image edited with Phoenix || Image edited with PhotoWizard for iPhone ||
 * Original image from Flikr
 * [[image:window.jpg width="181" height="256"]] || [[image:cleanwindow.jpg width="181" height="256"]] || [[image:photowizard_edit.JPG width="181" height="256"]] ||


 * Criteria || Aviary's Phoenix || PhotoWizard for iPhone ||
 * Tools || Phoenix allows users to transform, layer, and add filters. Basically, Phoenix is a free version of Adobe's Photoshop without all the bells and whistles. One major flaw is that the "magic eraser" tool is missing. There is a "smudge tool" that can eliminate some flaws, but it is not as effective as Photoshop's magic eraser. || Users have quite a range of options with seventeen filters, thirty five effects, four cropping tools, four masking tools, "undo," "redo," and an option to "reload last session." ||
 * Interface || Tutorials needed before using if users are unfamiliar with Photoshop. Application is __very__ similar to Photoshop (in all its complexity.) Many tutorials are available for free and an instruction manual is also available from Amazon for $34.99. Manual is entitled __More than One Way to Skin a Cat: Create Eye-Popping Effects Using Aviary (Without Paying for Photoshop!)__ || Simple and intuitive. The screen shows the canvas in the middle with six icons above and five icons below. The icons at the top of the screen control the navigation to upload photos, take a picture using the camera, save/share, undo, redo, and access information about the app. The icons at the bottom of the screen control navigation to the home screen, filters, effects, cropping, and masking. ||
 * Speed || As the application is web-based, speed depends on a variety of factors--Internet connection, browser, and file size. Tools worked very quickly, but saving and importing was slow. Application seemed to have more glitches with Chrome than with Safari. || Very quick. Developer warns that file sizes over 1024 can be slow. Camera turns on in seconds; images upload in seconds. ||
 * Cost || Free || 99 cents ||
 * Flash/ HTML || Flash* || HTML ||
 * Layers || Sophisticated layering available. Users may work with various layers, convert the layers to bitmap, mask layers, duplicate layers, and flatten layers. || Layers are not available in PhotoWizard but the masking tool does allow users to apply filters and effects to masked areas without affecting unmasked areas. Users can switch back and forth between masked and unmasked layers with one button. ||
 * Text || Adding text is available. Users add text in a variety of fonts from size 6 to 288. || A major flaw. No options to add text to images in any form. ||
 * File Size and Resolution || Adequate for images to be published on Web and smaller photo prints. As 300 pixels per inch is largest working size, images will not be adequate for printing in a format larger than 9.3x9.3 inches ("Aviary Report"). || When image is saved, users have the option to save at 480 or full resolution. In instructions located on the app home page, the developer warns that users should use "resolution beyond 1024 only if you really need it, as it can be extremely slow and consume a lot of memory." ||
 * Export || Users have the option to save to the site which provides an embed code, an image URL, an editing URL, and a forums embed code. Users may also export images in the following formats--PNG, TIFF, GIF, JPG || Users may save to photo library, email, Facebook, or Tweet their images. ||
 * Killer Features || The killer feature here is the price. I am amazed that this application is free. It really does most everything that Adobe's Photoshop does without the cost or the chunk of memory Photoshop takes up on the hard drive. || The ability to mask and apply filters and effects to isolated aspects of images sets this app apart. The effects cover a wide range of uses. They include thermal camera, gray presets, color presets, cross process, vignette, gradient, symmetry, solarize, pop art, pixelate, crayons, ripple, pinch/ punch, whirl, bathroom glass, flower glass, pencil, emboss, old photo, blue print, posterize, black and white, old book, neon glow, x-ray, photocopy, dreamy, pointillize, water color, night vision, edge glow, plaster art, hot wax, light bloom, and texturize. ||

I enjoyed this assignment as it gave me a reason to explore Aviary's Phoenix application, and it gave me a reason to buy a few more iPhone apps. Blythewood High School recently adopted Google Apps for Education. One of the services available through the applications menu is the Phoenix suite of tools. I quickly ran through the tools before Christmas, but I did not have time to see what they were capable of. Recently, a few teachers have asked me what I know about them, and I had to admit that I knew very little. Now I can give them a full report about one of the apps—Phoenix. I am amazed at the power of this web-based application. It really does have most of the important features of Photoshop, and like Photoshop, it can be very difficult to master. Fortunately, Phoenix has a nice selection of tutorials in its help menu. Tutorials range from beginner to advanced and offer help in most everything from erasing wrinkles, to cloning, to creating an Avatar-inspired character. I used the application to clean up the graffiti on an old building. I used layers, filters, the smudge, and paintbrush tools to restore the building to its original colors. I started to add a face in the window and some reflections of the clouds, but the project got to be a little too complex for my time frame. The tools to accomplish this, however, are available. Despite the usual glitches involved with web-based applications, (slow connections, incompatible browsers, etc) I highly recommend Phoenix and I am looking forward to trying out the other applications in the Phoenix suite of tools.

 I have nineteen photography related applications on my iPhone. Most are one-trick ponies. Fatbooth makes the subject look fat. 'Stachetastic adds mustaches, hats, tattoos, etc. Comic Touch adds speech bubbles and cartoon effects. And iSwap Faces does just as the name implies. I have been looking for an application with a little more sophistication, and for this class, I researched quite a few. PhotoWizard seems to have the most bang for the buck. While there are many applications available with filters and effects, I could not find any applications that allowed users to work in layers. PhotoWizard is the only one to come close with the ability to mask and apply filters to different areas. As I show in the edited image above, I selected the window, masked the surrounding area and applied a whirl effect to the windowpanes. The brick wall itself was not affected. Another nice tool is the "undo" button. When users "undo," the name of the operation appears at the top of the screen so users can easily retrace their steps as they edit photos. When I finish editing I can hit "undo" to see just how the final image was created, and then I can hit "redo" to get back to where I ended. At 99 cents, PhotoWizard is one of the best deals in the app store.


 * Aviary is beta testing an HTML based photo editor. Try it out at http://www.aviary.com/html5

Sources: "Aviary Report: Summer 2010." St. Olaf College—A Private Liberal Arts College of the Lutheran Church in Minnesota. Web. .