Sparkle! Plugins (v2.6; Updated: 10/31/2007)

[barkbark00]

Changes:

* Added additional shapes, including a 45 degree rotated flare, an eight-spoke flare (45 + 0 degree rotated flare), and a flare combo which picks 0 degree rotated flare 50% of the time and 45 degree rotated flare the other 50% of the time

Modified GUI

* Instead of the previous trackbars, the GUI uses an interface similar to Paint Shop Pro: the bar underneath the text box is a slider. It can be clicked/dragged to select values just like a trackbar. Also added a "rnd" button to many of the options - click to get a random number for the given control. (The only control without rnd is the probability control; this is to prevent the number generated being so high that the computer goes nuts trying to create the glitter)

* Seed gets the new slider control too, so you can randomly pick a seed, as well as select a specific seed.

* Added version/date string on the GUI so you can tell which version you've got

* Changed "Brightness" to "Intensity"

Anyone got suggestions for more shapes? Or any other suggestions are always appreciated, too :-)

Looks great! You're really good at this stuff!

[davidtayhs]

Hi kshotts,

Thanks for the clear reply. The effects look so good I was hoping that I could isolate them on a black background for use on other pictures. Will hope and wait for a version that can do it on a black background.

[MattBlackLamb]

@ davidtayhs, try putting some small white spots on the black background, this way the plugin will see them as ligher parts of the image & render the sparkles over the white bits.

Hope that helps

[Bob]

Try it with some random points on the background - you can use the Add Noise effect;

[...]

Eventually I'd like to give the plugin the ability to generate its own flares without the need for source material, and also give it the ability to render just one shape in the selection, which would allow pin-point control over size and location of the flare.

Just a thought, but can't you add a checkbox, like "Draw Background" and just run Add Noise (or better, Add Noise +) first in the background?

Well, it's true that the interface seems already quite complicated.

My 2 cents.

[kshotts]

Just a thought, but can't you add a checkbox, like "Draw Background" and just run Add Noise (or better, Add Noise +) first in the background?

Well, it's true that the interface seems already quite complicated.

My 2 cents.

It'd be sort of like that... just need to figure out how I want the interface to work without making the interface more complicated...

[Bob]

Neat, thanks!

[davidtayhs]

Hi MatBlackLamb,

On receiving kshotts explanation, I actually tried it out what you suggested and enjoyed the plugin tremendously.

I can see myself creating a new black layer over the original picture, placing white spots to activate the plugin, doing a global select of all the black spots on this layer, and deleting all the black areas on this layer.

Then I will be able to move the stars around to wherever I like. Thanks to all for helping.

[kshotts]

On receiving kshotts explanation, I actually tried it out what you suggested and enjoyed the plugin tremendously.

Thanks! I'm glad you're having fun with it.

I can see myself creating a new black layer over the original picture, placing white spots to activate the plugin, doing a global select of all the black spots on this layer, and deleting all the black areas on this layer.

Then I will be able to move the stars around to wherever I like. Thanks to all for helping.

Just FYI too - I also want to add an option that restricts the flare to your existing selection so that you would have pinpoint control over where the flare was generated. I think it would source the color from the Primary color, and probably fade out with Alpha (so it could be on a different layer) rather than the current method... Some of the options become a little meaningless in that world (like min/max size and probability...) but I think it would be cool for that perfectionist nature in me.

I just have to figure out how to work the UI without making it even more messy/complicated than it is. And what to call these new options... So far the only appropriate label I can think of is "Select source material:" with options "Selection in current layer", "Ignore layer content and use selection with Primary color", and "Generate layer content" (which would generate the dots and such that sources the flares)... I just can't come up with simpler/shorter terms at the moment.

Something will pop in my head eventually, though... anyway, wanted to let you know something like that was coming! :-)

[davidtayhs]

Hi kshotts,

Wow! With control of the colour and position, we'll all be ecstatic users of this plugin.

Thanks!

[kshotts]

A new idea (only an idea!): Kshotts, you could merge all your glitter-related plugins into one, for example providing an UI with tabs. The reason is that I also like your first attemps, but I would like to see all of these glitter things together in one UI. Perhaps Madjik would be so kind and help you again, I know him for very professional UIs.

Coming - as additional shapes. A couple of the current shapes approximate the earlier attempts very closely, but not exactly, but I'll be happy to add the others in... I may name them "legacy glow" and "legacy flare" or something similar to make it obvious which ones they are.

And to provide a "preview" checkbox is a good idea. Maybe you should look for speed optimizations, sometimes it gets very slow.

Yeah..... I wish I knew of some speed optimizations. Unfortunately, the system, for every pixel it decides to process, has to then process ((size*2)+1)^2 pixels, which, say, for an image of 800 by 600 with an average size of 50 and, say, a few hundred flares... well... it adds up very quickly! (On the order of millions and millions of pixels... oy!) Plus, it is doing some floating point math behind the scenes: squaring, square-rooting, dividing, multiplying, etc., and that consumes more time than if i could do everything in integer world....

But still, maybe one day something will hit me over the head and point out how it could be made even faster in a simple way...

Oh -yes, the source is still coming, so maybe someone else will figure that part out! ;-)

[OmgWtfBbq]

Is it just me or does this plugin lag all comps?

[MadJik]

Is it just me or does this plugin lag all comps?

That's the way it is! Not only you...

[kshotts]

Is it just me or does this plugin lag all comps?

That's the way it is! Not only you...

New version 2.6 should help a bit. For one, you can stop any active operation... (at least it works for me!) and i stopped blending zero valued pixels - which for flares really improves things (not so much for spheres or diamonds).

I'd be curious to hear if it seems any faster to you guys.

[MiguelPereira]

WoW thx kshots really nice update.

The new UI is really great, better than the previous.

Good job

[JS92]

This has got to be the stupidest ever and it has to be me asking it, however....

How do you use this render??? I click on it and choose my settings and nothing shows up???

Any help???

[oma]

don't do what I did the first 50 times I tried it. and I know the answere is here somewhere I just couldn't find it. so here goes quick recap.

have your image

make a new transparent layer over it fill that transparent layer with black

set the blend mode to additive <===that's what I was missing

now you see your picture thru the black layer stay on that black additive layer put a few dots in of white try one or two brush size at say about 10 or 20 and then do the effect on the BLACK layer.

hope that helps.

[rgimberg]

every time I use this it freezes paint.net. Can someone tell me why this is happening.

[MadJik]

@rgimberg:

Sparkle is a tricky one... It looks for white pixels, and if the image is white, then the calculation could take all the night...

To use it safely you should create a black layer and make few white dots on it.

When you will be more confident with it you could add more white dots...

OMA explains this also just before your post!

[zookey]

Hello,

I am in the process of completely reinstalling all of Paint.Net and all of the pluggins I used to have (Before a Hard Drive Reformat). I know I had these pluggins at one time along with Madjicks -- As I try to download these again I keep getting the "error 401" cant find the page or whatever. Do these still exist somewhere or not?

Thanks

[Ash]

Yeah, I just checked..404

Check your pm.

[kshotts]

Yeah, I just checked..404

Check your pm.

Woops! My bad. I'm going through a site redesign, and nuked the links. Doh!

I've attached the plugins previously on my site to the post in a zip file - just so this won't happen again :-)

[dogma999]

Kshotts, why does your 'Sparkle--Glitter' plugin work good on some pictures, barily on some, not at all on others, and only on upper edges yet on others? I tried many pictures including those with bright and those with dark skies, but I still have the same problems.

[dogma999]

Kshotts, why does your 'Sparkle--Glitter' plugin work good on some pictures, barily on some, not at all on others, and only on upper edges yet on others? I tried many pictures including those with bright and those with dark skies, but I still have the same problems.

[dogma999]

Kshotts, why does your 'Sparkle--Glitter' plugin work good on some pictures, barily on some, not at all on others, and only on upper edges yet on others? I tried many pictures including those with bright and those with dark skies, but I still have the same problems.

[dogma999]

Kshotts, why does your 'Sparkle--Glitter' plugin work good on some pictures, barily on some, not at all on others, and only on upper edges yet on others? I tried many pictures including those with bright and those with dark skies, but I still have the same problems.