Filterit 4.2 Plugin Review
FILTERiT plugin offers a range of different cool effects for illustrator. Some of the effects like live trail and radial wave which might take some time to create, can now be easily done with this plugin. Below is a list of functions that can be found in FILTERiT4.2 plugin.
Tools
(List of tools: AlignPoints Tool, Broom Tool, Craft Tool, Lens Tool, MetaBrush Tool, Roughening Tool, Trail Tool, Warp Tool, Wave Tool)
FILTERiT adds a few more tools to the tool palette after installing. It has a large list of different types of Warp Tools that you can use to distort a shape/text and the best thing is that you can easily control the point of distortion. Much easier to use that the Warp Tools in illustrator. Another interesting tool is the Broom Tool, you can use it to sweep away a floor of dots and it will scatter away from the broom.
3D Transform
(Types of 3D Transform: Arc, Cylinder/Cone, Screw, Simple Rotation, Sphere, Spiral, Torus(Donut), Twirl, Twist Wave(H/V), Wave(Radial), Wave(Z))
FILTERiT offers a series of 3D Transform tool useful in achieving some cool effects. Here I use Twist to twist a filmstrip and the interface makes it easy to rotate the filmstrip in 3D space to change the direction I want. Using the Torus(Donut) effect, I can create a donut effect style as shown below. If you are looking into creating a ripple effect, you can use the Radial Wave effect to create the ripple easily.
Live Effects
(Live Border, Live Circle, Live Cutout, Live Emboss, Live Explosion, Live Frame, Live Galaxy, Live Generation, Live Neon, Live Reflection, Live Shadow, Live Tiling, Live Trail)
With Live Effects you can fully edit objects after you have applied the effect. Below is a couple of effects done using Live Trail, Live Neon and Live Emboss. Using Live Trail, it helps to create a series of the same object and you can twist it in an angle with different tints, sizes and color properties. Some other effect you can try is the Live Cutout to give a paper cut out and pasted on artboard effect.
Conclusion
FILTERiT offers a large range of nice effects, however most of them you will rarely use. Some tools might be helpful to speed up your work and you might find it useful if you work in illustrator frequently. There are days you might need to do some effects like a 3D twist which FILTERiT might come in handy. Or days you might need to create abstract background images with Radial Wave and Broom Tool. Why not see what FILTERiT can do for you by downloading a 30 days free demo before deciding whether to buy.
Download fully working 30 days demo
FILTERiT homepage
About The Author: admin
Hi. I'm the founder of Vector Diary. Illustrator is my passion and I have written numerous tutorials on illustrator helping people learn illustrator. My most popular tutorial on learning illustrator in 30 days has been a hit. It makes learning illustrator so easy and has benefited more than 20,000 people worldwide. Also, I've revealed some of my secret techniques in the premium tutorials. So don't forget to check it out!
- Day 22: Creating Special Effects
- Day 24: Distort using Warp Effects
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- Learn Illustrator CS3 in 30 Days
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