Goonfella

Thanks TR. The new version looks awesome. I'll have another go later and see how I get on.

Just can`t get this plugin to work TR. After reading through the thread in case I was doing something wrong I saw that the plugin image had to be smaller than the actual image so I thought this might be it. So I started with a canvas of 1600x1200, ran the plugin, chose a small png image - but nothing happened. I noticed that there should be a preview so you can see the effect before clicking OK but I don`t even get this. I tried making a new layer, as I know some plugins only work this way, ran it again still with no joy. I have the latest version, as I downloaded the latest version of your plugin pack only yesterday, and PDN 4.0.3. I`m sure it must be me as everyone else seems to have no probs but I just can`t figure out what I am doing wrong.

Another new image - Transit of Mercury, this one inspired by Dryda`s excellent new tutorial `Solar Atmosphere'.

Yep,I think I will. I've already added it to my Fans gallery.

Here is my effort. I added a bit of extra interest by replicating a transit of Mercury across the face of the sun. Mercury and Venus are the only two planets we can see transiting from Earth because, as I am sure everyone already knows, these are the only two planets closer to the sun than we are. In the final step I added an extra layer below the sun layer, did a radial gradient , colours at default, and used the Fire plugin to add a bit more fire to the edge of the sun. After a bit of fiddling I settled on blend mode Additive, opacity 80 for this layer. I also think that if you stop at the point just before you add the colour this technique makes a great moon. Anyway enough chat, here is my image -

That's awesome Pixey! So realistic. Nicely done. Can't wait to get back from work to continue with mine. I understand where you are coming from about which canvas to use for which part. I had to think a bit as well and got it the wrong way round at first. I'm sure when Dryda reads these replies he will update the tut.

Super detailed tut Dryda. Nice work . Started mine already.

Superb series of images Skullbonz! Great work , I love Castle in the Clouds. Has a real eerie mystique about it . I can imagine fishermen in an olde worlde tavern telling olde worlde tales of this huuuge mysterious castle handed down through the olde worlde generations. I was going to suggest adding a single tiny boat drifting past the castle but on second thoughts I think this image is all about the castle and a boat would only divert peoples attention away. As for the space images I think you have done another awesome job and I just had to have a go at identifying which galaxies they are. Now let`s see - the galaxies. The Star Trek one is the Sombrero galaxy, Enterprise version NCC-1701 or 1701A from the original series. And I think the planet in this image is yours. The other one was trickier but I think it`s the Andromeda Galaxy. I recognized the small distant galaxy just below . I reckon this is the Hubble planet/moon but for the life of me I just can`t think of it`s name! The Nebula I have no idea whatsoever but it looks spectacular! Great images Skullbonz, I really enjoyed them and had a bit of a challenge as well. Keep `em coming.

Thanks very much Dryda.

Thanks for the explanation Midora. Unfortunately I am not much of a Techy so I can`t answer your question ( if it was directed at me - which I doubt but you never know). Maybe someone else can?

In issue 353 of Webuser magazine PDN was rated as the best free graphics program available in a comparison test with others such as Gimp etc. Great stuff ! My one concern in the review was that they never said where to find plugins and just said to search the net, instead of telling people that they should only be downloading from here. So I mentioned that on their forum and posted a link to the plugin section. Unfortunately not everyone who reads the article will visit the forum so will just go ahead and do as they say and search the net, possibly downloading plugins from other websites. A very serious omission I thought. Anyway it was still nice to see our fave graphics program get a mention.

So you are saying that if someone was having issues in, for example Win7, then upgraded to 8.1, the issues would be solved because 8.1+ was designed to work with high DPI`s ?

I have read about issues such as this when using ultra high resolution screens. The idea behind these screens is so you can see more all at once , which is handy on small 13.3" sceens. The trouble is that the adjustable scaling technology used in Windows works OK on the desktop so you can adjust the size of some icons and text but unfortunately does not work as well in some programs, ironically graphics ones like PS or PDN. I read a review of Dell`s latest XPS15 which has an even higher res than the MacBook Pro Retina which they call a QHD screen and it has this problem. Looking at the resolution of your screen I would guess that this maybe the problem. From what I have read it is Windows at fault here and not PDN. You could try lowering the resolution when using PDN and see if that helps. I had a full HD screen (1920x1080) on my last laptop and everything was much smaller but not too small to make things difficult. It was ideal in fact because I could see all of my distort/render list of plugins without having to scroll down. Maybe you could try this and see how things go. Other than that I can`t think what else to suggest. Hope this is of some help anyway.

Many thanks ladies . Always nice to hear from you - especially when you say such nice things!

Not a bad shot at all TR. Spot on in fact. It`s always nice to see alternative ways of achieving similar results.

Ingenius! Top marks Yellowman and thanks for the video. In the end it was fairly straightforward. I'll have to have a go at this later.

New image. Dreamy Nights. This image started off as a sunset but I thought this looked much more serene. Oma`s old palm leaf tut was a help with the palms but as the trees were going to be silhouetted I never added too much detail.

Thanks. Always nice to hear that a tut is useful.

I noticed a comment by Yellowman that Alpha Blur did not work properly in PDN4. Has it been fixed then?

Thanks for the tip Fuzzy. I'll have to try out that Alpha Blur. Must admit I haven't had a go at this for a while now so I'll probably be following my own tut! Lol

I am afraid Dryda is correct. The new PDN requires a minimum of Win7 SP1 . Vista is too old - even after only a few years. You can get 3.5.11 online though. Just scroll down to the bottom of the page. It`s the last one before v4 was introduced and should work fine. Hopefully Rick won`t mind me posting a link to an older version. It`s one of the unfortunate consequences of making v4 only compatible with the latest OS`s. ( not a criticism, just an observation )

Very impressive Red. I'll have to go back and have another bash at it later.

I tried making one with your Gears plugin but it really needs a 3D program like Blender. Thanks anyway.

Thanks for showing us this FF. Just so you know , you can also go Ctrl-A > Del to erase the white. I always use this method as I find it is quicker.

Try Avast Free. Excellent AV. Been using it for years on the laptop and now the mobile version on the phone & tablet. Back on topic- interesting plugin Anthony. Nice gif showing what it can do. Thanks.