The first 20-page issue of the new Plugs 'N Pixels ezine is now available for free download from http://www.plugsnpixels.com/ezine.html (no registration required).

There's a cool tutorial about using several different plug-ins to create the firey cover image, as well as visual examples and information about a number of currently available Photoshop-compatible plug-ins.

Come and get it!

Mike

hi mike,

i see no one has responded here yet, so i thought i'd welcome you to RetouchPRO :)

just a few comments here; i'm glad to see an ezine of this nature, but posting in this forum (the Restoration, Retouching and Manipulation) is a bit out of place for this type of post. it's ok by me, but then i'm not a moderator here :) also, speaking only for myself here, i'm a bit reluctant to download anything of which i'm not familiar with the person, the content and so on. viruses, spam, spyware and so on, make downloading these days an adventure. please understand, i'm NOT accusing you of doing anything suspicious or unethical. it's just that one tends to get a bit uneasy over such things and a bit paranoid after being burned a few times. and, even ignoring all of the above, harddrive space isnt always at a premium.

with all of that in mind, i'm curious why you're only offering this as a download. why not have the pages as web pages that one could read like a magazine online? like i said above, i think this is a great idea. there are many, many plugins out there and that someone is making an attempt to sort these out and categorize them and help others locate and use these is a great idea. i'm surprised no one else has done anything of this nature before. i, myself, have quite probably 100 various plugins, painters, and other graphical programs, both installed and just taking up space on my drives. if someone were to create a centralized helps and tutorials web site on even just the plugins, i would quite probably visit that site often.

perhaps an option would serve best here, downloaded ezine or web pages ezine. those that wanted to download and peruse off-line could do so, and those that wanted to go page by page on-line could also do so.

i could easily see your site expanded into something more comprehensive and perhaps even, heaven forbid, profitable. so, i'm extending you this offer to open a dialog here in the forums about this. communication opens the doors, resolves problems and sets minds to ease. so, i extend the invitation to do so. :)

Craig

Hi Craig,

Thanks for your thoughtful reply!

First, issue #2 is live, so have at it! I'll look around the forums here to see where else it might be appropriate to post the news.

I create my materials on a Mac so you don't need to fear viruses, at least not from me. I don't have any to share. Nor have I ever caught anything from downloading, but we'll do Mac promotion another time... ;-)

The way I have it set up at the moment, the ezine compliments the website. I did think about making the website downloadable; we'll see. There are software utilities that allow one to grab entire websites in one shot, so anyone is free to do that in the meantime.

I've always loved plugins, and the sites dedicated to them that I have found thus far on the web have been less that satisfying. Also, I've got so many plugins on hand I needed to make some sort of charts so I knew what I had! So by helping myself, I also hope to help others.

As for profitability, no, not yet, but affiliate sales will help in time. I just signed on for a more serious web hosting package due to the bandwidth required, so that took a little bite.

Looking forward to hearing back from you!

Issues #2 and 3 are live!

I just released issue #4 of the ezine, featuring terrain generating applications and chroma keying plug-ins, etc.

http://www.plugsnpixels.com/ezine.html

Mike

I need to start exploring RetouchPRO forums more. Keep up the good work. Just bookmarked your site; very big fan of plugins. I'm going to spread the work to DPR's Retouch forum as well. :)

Well thanks for the kind words!

I released issue 5 of the free Plugs 'N Pixels ezine today! It features natural media applications--turn your photos into artwork, or paint your own masterpiece.

Issue #6 of Plugs 'N Pixels is now available! Learn about software for converting color photos to monochrome.

Another fantastic one. I do have to say, when I opened the PDF file, that the following message popped up: The font 'VQQMPK+GillSans' contains an invalid encoding. Some characters may not display.

Thanks!

The font error is bogus; I'm not sure if it's a problem with PDF output in Canvas or Acrobat. But it displays and prints fine once you dismiss the error. It was hard to find a body copy font I liked, so it figures.

Hi all,

Issue #7 is now available! It includes tutorials for using plug-ins to rescue bland images.

As always, free and no registration required.

Just discovered this post today and am so very much looking forward to digging in to the zine. I am getting a new computer set up, so I will have a really good look once I'm done setting up the new system and running.

Thanks for posting!

Hi all,

Issue #8 of the free Plugs 'N Pixels ezine is hot off the press! It includes features about Filter Forge, Gertrudis, Vue, Terragen and others for your creative inspiration.

Download your free copy from:

http://www.plugsandpixels.com/ezine.html

Subscribers (those who requested it) will receive their copy via email on Monday.

Enjoy!
Mike

Greetings all,

Issue #9 is now available (see URL above)!

Mike

Issue #10 is just out the door!

Issue #11 is now available! The coverage includes a mixture of 3D and 2D software.