Cut out plug-in for Photoshop

[RichardD]

Hi all,
Has anyone heard of Vertus who apparently do a cut out plug in for Photoshop. I heard it mentioned but got no more details?
Ta,
Richard

[DannyRaphael]

Hello, Richard:

Welcome to RetouchPRO. For information on this plugin see:

http://www.vertustech.com/index.htm

Thoughts:
* I would be reluctant to purchase version 1.0 of any software.
* As of 5/29/05, no trial versions available.
* I have had Knockout 2.0 for a couple of years. I don't remember the last time I used it. I almost always use layer masks, but everyone has different requirements.
* I would highly recommend you look into Photoshop Masking and Compositing, the most recent book written by Katrin Eismann. If you learn the techniques presented in that book, you will be a lot better off in my opinion.

~Danny~

[Xaran]

Doesn't look like the product itself is available yet either - I clicked the buy now button to try to find out the price and it doesn't go anywhere. I also have knockout but rarely use it since using layer masks.

Christine

[RichardD]

Thanks to both of you - I will definitely check out the book. I did see somewhere that there would be a 30 days trial version but can't see any info on it on the site.

Richard

[Xaran]

I got the following email from Vertustech.

"The Fluid Mask demo for PC should be released by the end of August, the full version will be priced at £299 (€399, $499)."

Would have to be very good to warrant that sort of price

Christine

[Andrew B.]

At the DCP Systems web site you can navigate your way into the tutorial page for Fluid Mask, and see movies that demo how it works. It looks like it offers a great deal of control and flexibility. But still, the real test would be trying the demo and comparing to other tools. But I don't see a Windows demo there. So I tried the actual Vertustech site, but it's been down all day.

[creeduk]

would agree with xaran, I used to use knockout for every job when I first got it then I moved back to masks and got better with those than any rxtract program can do so never looked back not even for a rush job.

[Dave Mamet]

RichardD,

If you're still interested in the Vertus plugin it's now available to download as a free trial. You didn't mention what platform you're running but the demo is only available for the Mac OSX and PS7 or higher at the present time. The Windows version is still under development.

I've tried it myself recently out of curiosity and found it very impressive. Selecting those bits to remove or keep is as simple as dabbing your brush or pencil on those areas and assigning them a mask type. You can then adjust those masks manually using the pen tool or let the software flood to the edges of your masks automatically. All-in-all it's a great time saver and the results are much better than I personally could achieve using other techniques.

The free trial is great but given the price tag (£299) I think Vertus are really aiming for the professional end of the market.

Dave.

[Xaran]

The MAC demo has been available for some time - The PC version is due by the end of August.

I must admit I was impressed by the tutorial video but at £299 dont think it will be top of my list.

Christine

[Dave Mamet]

From what I've read, I believe Vertus are targeting the plugin at professional design studios who might consider the price a good deal.

If you're a business who handles lots of cutouts on a regular basis and it reduces the time to do them from an hour down to 5 minutes you might consider the software to be worth the investment.

It doesn't take much work at all at a professional level to claw back the £299 cost.

Dave.

[Dave Mamet]

FYI I've just read Vertus have slashed the price of the Fluid Mask plugin to £179 and added an extra 6 months onto the free upgrade period so now you get a full year.

Dave.

[Xaran]

Still not available for Windows - another 2-3 weeks to wait.

Christine

[Dead Moroz]

Wow! Some demos make me think, that for certain instruments like used in http://www.vertustech.com/downloads/...s/hair_pop.htm they used technology very similar to ours...

(see my post here http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/software/11815-please-test-new-freeware-selection-plugin-gml-crowcut.html)

I wonder whether they read our paper

[saberlancer]

Anyone has news of what happened to Fluidmask for PC?
Its Dec now and still no news about their PC demo?

[illapu]

I found this

http://www.dcpsystems.co.uk/index.htm

MORE EXCITING NEWS ON FLUID MASK

DCP are pleased to announce the long awaited arrival of the PC version of Fluid Mask which offers all the benefits of the hugely successful Mac version introduced by DCP three months ago.

This next generation cut out tool makes light work of the cutting out process by not just reducing, but eradicating the risk of error when cutting out the extremely intricate in what seems an impossibly short time.

As well as being able to pass on the exciting news of the PC version, Fluid Mask launch, we can now also announce the launch of a new additional version of the plug-in Fluid Mask Advanced, which will be available in the new year.

As a special offer to customers buying the standard version Fluid mask software, currently priced £179.00 ex VAT, between now and the end of the year, a free upgrade to the advanced version which will sell at £350.00 ex VAT, when it becomes available. Thereafter, Fluid Mask Advanced, will be available for both Mac and PC at the revised price

[Xaran]

Nothing yet for the PC on their website.

Christine

[illapu]

I was intrigued by the idea of an "advanced" version of Fluid Mask (having reasonably assumed the current one is otherwise advanced given some of the glowing praise it has received). I found this posting on another site, written by Simon Eccles, on 4 October 2005. He wrote:

" They're working on a Pro version that will use something new for better hair cutouts. It's pretty good at hair already, but still not perfect, so they think they can improve it still further. I suspect that the Pro version will be at the original £299 price.

They're also adapting the undelying segmentation technology for raster-to-vector conversions for another forthcoming product. I've seen demo images that seem to be better than the Live Trace feature in Adobe Illustrator CS2. "

[Xaran]

Fluidmask PC Demo is now available.

Christine

[Cassidy]

Thanks Xaran, been looking daily too, been looking for a new 'toy'

[Kraellin]

thanks, xaran.

now, the next question on this is whether or not this program will work for us non-photoshop folks. the vertus website says this:

Fluid Mask is an Adobe Photoshop plug-in, therefore you will need to have Photoshop v6 or higher installed.

and, if taken literally, that means ONLY photoshop and not the gimp or paint shop pro or any others that are photoshop plugin compatible. and since Grow Cut in its earliest form only worked with photoshop, i'm inclined to believe this is a literal statement by Vertus. however, if anyone could confirm this one way or the other, i'd appreciate it.

craig

[Dave Mamet]

Originally Posted by Kraellin

now, the next question on this is whether or not this program will work for us non-photoshop folks...if anyone could confirm this one way or the other, i'd appreciate it.

I haven't seen or heard anything to the contrary, but this thread on the Vertus Community quotes Fluid Mask co-creator James Carr-Jones as saying they've no plans to extend the software outside Photoshop users.

Dave.

[illapu]

Fluid mask version 2 is now out for Windows and Mac users

Main new features I think include 16 bit capability and a new "jigsaw" image approach, which is quite revolutionary and state-of-the-art.

I have seen many people looking for independent reviews, to which I would say this;

Unless you are a dyed in the wool user of old methods then F M is the future and the sooner you get into it (it will involve a learning curve) the better, especially students and trainees.

Remember though, F M was designed as a high end add on tool.

IF money is an issue and you cut out infrequently and have lots of time or your cut outs are simple ones against a distinct background then you should stick to Photoshop's inbuilt tools.

So the choice is simple - keep to Photoshop or add on F M, in my view all other masking add ons are now out of date regardless of price.

if in doubt try the fee trial download from the F M site www.vertustech.com (you may even win a free copy)

[Dm_Cher]

Originally Posted by RichardD

Hi all,
Has anyone heard of Vertus who apparently do a cut out plug in for Photoshop. I heard it mentioned but got no more details?
Ta,
Richard

Try use our Photoshop-compatible masking plug-in-
Background Remover .
New version allows you process translucent objects.


ImageSkill site

[plugsnpixels]

You can find Fluid Mask 2.0 at a discount here.

As Dm_Cher mentioned, ImageSkill offers another option (which I still need to add to my website! Their other product pages are linked from their logo here).