Eye Candy 7 released with demo for download

[Tomahawk Kid]

Thanks to angelize I got to hear that Eye Candy 6 worked in Xara DPX. I promptly ugraded from version 4000 and loved it.

Well version 7 has just been released and although the effects are pretty much the same, with the addition of lightnig (from Xenoflex), the interface is much more visually orientated and I think easier and quicker to navigate.

I've just downloaded the demo and it seems to work in PS Elements 9 OK but not from within Xara.

Using plugins through Xara is a dream and it's a real shame that EC7 doesn't.

I'll try and contact Alien Skin and see if there is a fix but if anyone here knows a fix within Xara that would be brilliant.



Mike




I was registered on TG a few years back but changed my PC and lost/forgot login details :0( I frequently pop in to see what's happening.

[angelize]

Hi Mike, I have good news and not so good news. First the not so good news is that Alien Skin seems to have changed the way that the software installs and if you don't select a reconizable host for the installer to install into it won't work. But the good news is if you have a host program that the Eye Candy installer recognizes you can manually install the plug in into Xara's plug ins directory and they work perfectly!

1. install the plug in to a host in the list you see in the first installation panel in the EC set up ( in my case I am using PSE9)

2. once the installation is complete browse to the program files ( x86 if you have windows7) note: I don't have windows 8 to check but I'm guessing this would be much the same.

3. browse to the plug in location of the host program where you installed the EC plug in and open the Alien Skin folder and inside that you'll find a folder marked Eye Candy 7 copy this folder to the clipboard

4. while still in the program files browse down to Xara and find your version of xara, in the xara program files open the xara picture editor folder and in there open the PSplugins folder and paste the EC 7 folder.

5. if your xara program is open close it and restart it your Eye Candy plug in should show up in the plug ins list.

[Rik]

I've rarely use Eye Candy 4000. Never upgraded to Eye Candy 6. So, I'm not sure I would upgrade to Eye Candy 7.

But...

A great set of instructions for those who want to use EC7.
Well done, Frances.

[Tomahawk Kid]

Frances,


You're a star!

Your set up sounds very similar to mine so I'll give it a go later tonight and let you know how I get on.

BTW what do you think of the new EC7 UI?


Many thanks,
Mike.

[angelize]

@ Rik: The Eye Candy plug in has been improved greatly since the 4000 version and for anyone who has work to meet a deadline these effects can be a real time saver. The lightning for example can be set up and applied in a few seconds and it is really quite realistic. It would certainly be possible to draw lightning in Xara all vector but it would take a lot longer to do it that realistically. Another thing I like about Eye Candy effects is the ability to save your custom settings.

@ Mike: I like the new interface, it's great to be able to see visually each effect. I haven't had a lot of time to explore the new UI or the new effects but so far I like what I see. Now I just have convince my husband that this upgrade is a needed business expense!

[adammhaile]

Hi Mike, I have good news and not so good news. First the not so good news is that Alien Skin seems to have changed the way that the software installs and if you don't select a reconizable host for the installer to install into it won't work. But the good news is if you have a host program that the Eye Candy installer recognizes you can manually install the plug in into Xara's plug ins directory and they work perfectly! ...

Hi, I work for Alien Skin and am one of the programmers responsible for the UI in Eye Candy 7. This is me.

I just wanted to pipe in with a little help. While, officially, we only support Photoshop CS5, CS6 and Elements 10 and 11 as host applications there are many other applications that implement Adobe's plugin API that enable our products to work fine in most cases. Fortunately, there's a much easier way to get our plugins installed with any host application you would like, it's just not heavily advertised.

There's already a support article which describes the process in full. So I won't bore you with the details here. But the short story is that following the linked to instructions will allow you to install the plugins to a host application that we don't officially support. All you need to know is that applications plugin directory and you are good to go.

I hope this will help you and any others trying to use Alien Skin software with Xara.

-Adam Haile

[Tomahawk Kid]

Frances,


I followed your instructions and "bingo" it works. I spent a couple of hours messing and it looks very promising.

Whilst using EC6 and again, whilst briefly using the EC7 trial I experienced Xara DPX occasionally "locking up" and sometimes crashing.

Seems to happen when layering effect on effect and then trying to edit one effect in the stack. Or when "unlocking" a locked effect where the object has been repositioned or resized.

Have you ever experienced similar?

I really love the look and feel of the EC7 UI though. My heart says yes.... but do I really need it? Probably not but I'll treat myself for Christmas :0)



Thanks for your help,


Mike.

[gwpriester]

Thanks Adam.

[adammhaile]

Thanks Adam.

I believe you are referring to the post I submitted about doing a custom install, but looks like it didn't actually show up...

[gwpriester]

Ah, it was probably moderated because you posted a link in a first time post. But it has been approved and is now visible to all.