How It Works

AKVIS NatureArt miraculously adds natural phenomena to your photos. It also lets you create nature scenes from scratch.

Follow these instructions to add a natural effect to an image:

• Step 1. Load an image into the software.

  - If you work with the standalone version:

  The dialog box Select File To Open appears if you double-click on the empty workspace of the program or if you click on the button on the Control Panel. You can also drag the required image into the workspace of the program.

  The standalone edition of AKVIS NatureArt supports JPEG, RAW, PNG, BMP, and TIFF file formats.

  - If you work with the plug-in:

  Open an image in your photo editor by calling the command File -> Open or using the key combination Ctrl+O on Windows, ⌘+O on Mac.

  Then call the AKVIS NatureArt plugin in the Filter/Effects menu of the photo editor:

  in AliveColors: Effects -> AKVIS -> NatureArt;
  in Adobe Photoshop: Filter –> AKVIS –> NatureArt;
  in Corel Paint Shop Pro: Effects –> Plugins -> AKVIS –> NatureArt.

  
  Original Photo
• Step 2. Choose an Effect in the Settings Panel.

  The program offers these nature effects: Rain, Sun, Water, Lightning, Clouds, Frost, Rainbow, Aurora, Fire, Ice, Night Sky, and Snow.

  Note that Fire, Ice, Night Sky, and Snow are only available for Home Deluxe and Business licenses.

• Step 3. Select areas where an effect will be applied. Each effect has its own tools for this task.

  Hint: You can change the tool's size in a pop-up window which opens with a right mouse click in the image. To draw a straight line use the Shift-key.

  
  Direction Lines

  You can choose how the selection looks like in the program Preferences .

  It's possible to change the size and position of the selection with the Transform tool .

  Hold down the Shift key to maintain the object's proportions. Hold down Alt to rotate the object by 5 degrees intervals or to scale it from its center.

  
  Transforming Selection

  You can save the selection or direction lines to a file *.nature with and load with .

• Step 4. Start processing with .

  Hint: Enable the Autorun Mode in the Preferences to apply any changes automatically. It is helpful when selecting the presets or adjusting the effect parameters.

  The image will be processed, and the result will be shown in the After tab.

  
  Default Settings for Lightning Effect
• Step 5. If you want other results change the effect's parameters in the Settings Panel.
  
  Adjusting Settings
• Step 6. You can also make final touches and correct the result using the post-processing tool which - History Brush on the After tab. This tool is available only under the Home Deluxe and Business licenses! It lets you change the area and the intensity of the applied effect, fade the effect and restore the image to its original state.

  Attention! If you switch to the Before tab and click on the button , the changes made with the History Brush will be lost.

  You can adjust the parameters for the tool in the pop-up box that appears after a right click in the image window:

  - Size (1-1000) changes the tool's diameter.

  - Hardness (0-100%) defines the blurriness of the tool's edges. The less the value the more blurry the edges of the brush are.

  - Strength (1-100%) affects the degree of restoration to the original state.

  
  Lightning Effect

  
  Using the History Brush
• Step 7. If you like your new settings of the effect, you can save them as a preset and use them in the future.

  To save a preset, enter its name into the Presets field and press the button Save. Now, as you start the program, it will use the settings of this preset. If you change the values of the parameters, you can always come back to the default settings of the preset by pressing the button Reset. To remove your preset, select it from the list and press Delete.

  To process an image with the settings of a certain preset, select it from the drop-down menu and press if the Autorun Mode is disabled.

• Step 8. Share your image by clicking on . It opens the list of the services where you can publish the picture: Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr, Google+.

  In the standalone version, you can also print your image with .

• Step 9. Save the processed image.

  - If you work with the standalone edition:

  Click on the button to open the Save as dialog box. Enter a name for the file, choose the format (TIFF, BMP, JPEG or PNG) and indicate the target folder.

  - If you work with the plugin:

  Press the button to apply the result and close the plugin window. The AKVIS NatureArt plugin will close and the resized image will appear in the workspace of the photo editor.

  Call the Save As dialog box using the command File -> Save As, enter a name for the file, choose the format and indicate the target folder.

  
  Result: click to open in large size