10 Images or Photo Stripes Mix by SpaceRay

Before I had made this filter but then I have seen that there were some things wrong and also you could not move the images inside the stripes to show what you want, and this was bad

Now I have updated this filter and have made it better

1 - Now the images numbers are organized in the same order as it appears on the preset 1, so then you can decide what image goes where and be precisely positioned.

2 - Now you can move the images inside the stripes so you can position exactly the part of the image loaded that want to show.

The offset X (or Horizontal) will move the image sideways.

The offset Y (or Vertical) will move the image up and down, be aware that when doing this, the background will be shown (either a color, empty or image that you have configured loaded in the main image menu), so if you do not want that the background is shown you must go to the color control and go the placement menu and choose either "Repeat" or "Mirror" instead of "None"

Also is important to know that if you do not load a square image you must go to placement menu inside the color control and choose in the "Placement", either "Fill" or "Stretch" instead of "Fit"

3 - Now also you can add an overlay texture using blend modes on the "Texture Overlay" part of the filter

I have optimized and made new presets to show better what the filter can do and different possible options.

Also the Seamless tiling now works better

Here is an example I have done with 10 images

Filter can use a small cleanup. Use available resources instead of making new resources.

Quote
Skybase Filter can use a small cleanup. Use available resources instead of making new resources

When I have been updating the filter as you suggested I found an unwanted problem and did not work as expected, but this is not something bad, because this way I found and unexpected good thing that I like much, and is to have shadows below the stripes and make them stand out and now I will have two options to include in the next update I am making

I also thanks to this I found a possible way to fix the problem that there is with the smoothing of the bands although is not fully fixed yet

Tips for making this example shown in the post above

1 - Make a new image of your choose resolution and choose black color

2 - Load images into the color controls and move the setting Offset Y up or down, be aware that the tiling setting inside color must be kept at "None"

3 - You can also have empty space on BOTH sides of the stripe IF you load a rectangular image and do not change any of the placement settings, this is the default working way of FF. For this to happen must be a real rectangular image, I mean that it must be a good difference between height and width

Today is available the new update with all the new things BUT regretably I think that is done wrongly as I have tried to put many things inside the same filter and now from my point of view is more difficult to use than before, so I tried to submit today a new update to fix it and it was not possible

So I hope that on monday there will be really the day when this filter can be seen and used with the new features BUT in the best and easy way

Also will put the instructions on how to use in the best way on monday.

Sorry for trying to put them all the features in the new update, I have already fixed it and made 3 new filters based on this but with simpler, easier and better way to use the filter, but today is friday and also is not possible to submit it as said.

NEW RIGHT AND WORKING UPDATED FILTER MORE SIMPLE AND EASIER AVAILABLE HERE AT THE END OF THIS POST below in this post as I have not been able to submit to the library and the one available in the library now is not good for working with it fr om my point of view as can be confusing.

Thanks very much Skybase for taking the time to write all this and caring about it

Quote
To me the filter is extremely basic but it's a simple and fun filter that defines certain things. I personally don't think this filter is overly complicated compared to Alphabet Texture Creator Extended (that's off the charts).

Yes the filter is very basic, but with the controls you can do some different things and not just plain stripes, and as the original was very basic, I wanted to add more things and features, but was done wrongly as I myself find it difficult to use it as can be confusing so I have fixed and made a new more simpler version dividing the filter in parts.

I totally agree that Alphabet Texture Creator Extended is really overly complicated and try to make many different inside the same filter, although are different separated parts, and in this one I could not separate them and can be confusing. By the way, because of this I am considering making 2 different versions of the Alphabet filter.

Quote
Skybase But anyway, what's complicating it is the fact that you've added individual controls on a per-image basis intending them to be used as specific controls. FilterForge since 1.0 was never intended to be a hyper interactive tool.

Yes, exactly this is where the confusion enters in this filter, BUT regretably this filter NEEDS this is and is essential to be able to control each one of the stripes separately, BUT must be ONLY simple 2 sliders (X and Y) and not 4 as I have done in the version uploaded to the library (please, see the new updated version here below in this post)

Quote
Skybase It's a question of whether if it's something you would do in FilterForge or not is what I'm asking.

Well I have tried to make this in Photoshop and is very tiresome, boring and dull, and all must be done exactly by hand, and each image must be cropped and positioned, and after all the work you ONLY get ONE design, and for the next you have to REPEAT everything again fr om start.

So this is why I wanted to make it inside FF, as it much easier and better

Quote
Skybase What becomes "design" is something that defines the state of itself. That a filter with too many functions doesn't stand, too little and it's useless, too much and it makes no sense, and it needs to reflect reasoning and logic of function.

I absolutely agree very much with this and I was wrong thinking to put many things inside one filter, when is better to have a good filter that is just the balance point wh ere is not too little or too much.

And also must have easy and logic settings that are easy to use and understand and that you do not have to THINK on how to use use or be careful with them

Quote
Skybase On the technical end, you'll need to do some redesign: No matter how you instruct people, people are going to break your filter. I'm pretty sure you already know wh ere your filter breaks, but you really need to work on those aspects.

Oh, yes I am open to do any redesign if needed, although I do not know how to make it better than the version I have uploaded here in this post. Please, if you know better ways to do this, and fix what is wrong would be good to know how to do it if you want and can show me

Well, the things I know that breaks the filter, are:

1 - As you have shown well, you CAN´T use any NON-SQUARE resolution output, as it will break all the filter, ALL is designed to be working for SQUARE results, but there are available already many filters that do not work with non-square sources

2 - If you move too much the image inside the stripes it could break possibly the design and get unwanted results

3 - Does not have seamless tiling, but I thing is not needed to have it, because as this is an square filter, you can join many squares to get the seamless tiling

4 - You can´t use always the Frame Lines, as they are ONLY working when using the FULL stripes as shown on the first 8 presets, because the way I have done it is always fixed. I mean that you CAN´T change any of the Stripes controls when using this frame lines. The shadow frame and smooth edge works with any stripes.

5 - Using the "next variant" gets you mostly weird, unusual and useless combinations UNLESS you change the settings inside randomizer settings

6 - Using the stripes controls will break the original stripes design, but this is something intended and is not wrong.

Quote
Skybase To the average user, the output is unexpected or "broken". Most people don't read at all so I wouldn't bother instructing people for "best results". You might as well have a filter that always generates "best results" considering what people would do anyway.

Yes, I know, that from seeing what happens in the forum, and although I could give the instructions on how to use it on the comments page, most of them will just download and use it without reading the instructions.

NEW RIGHT AND WORKING UPDATED FILTER MORE SIMPLE AND EASIER TO USE

Here below you can download a version that ONLY has a vertical version with all the new features, but made simpler and easier to use. I will upload also another Horizontal version, and then a Radial version and another for blending stripes.

10 Images or Photo Stripes Mix V.2.0 Vertical.ffxml

Thanks for all your suggestions and comments and are good to have them and I appreciate that you take the time to write about this and try to help

Quote
Skybase Make templates in Photoshop. Use a bit of masking, a bit of alignment tools, and once you make a systematic template, you'll never have to do tedious / boring manual work.

Well I have not used Photoshop templates in this way, and only have used some mock-ups with smart objects templates I have found where you only replace the original images with others (very similar to the color controls inside FF)

I can learn and try to make Photoshop templates, BUT in anyway I think that all the templates are totally FIXED and you CAN´T the "settings" of them without manual work, I mean in an easy way as you can do with the FF sliders, although I may be wrong.

Quote
A lot of things can be automated right in Photoshop. In this case you don't even need actions or scripts. I can show you all that I guess somewhere else

Yes, I know that in Photoshop there are a lot of alternative ways to do things through templates, mock-ups, actions, scripts, aditional apps, extensions, additional custom panels that will let you do other things, etc.... But I have not used yet this much and I should start learning and using all these.

Quote
In the end, this filter is kinda hindered by FilterForge. You're basically making FilterForge do what it's technically and perfectly capable of. It's just that FilterForge isn't providing the expected environment for the type of things this filter wants to accomplish.

Well, I know that FF has some problems and limitations because of the way it works and is built, but there are sometimes ways to find a workaround, or know how to use the filter based on the FF possible limitations, as it is not always possible to make it perfect in the best way.

There are many filters in the library that also has these limitations and still used much.

Quote
Skybase Another thing: when you reposition something, you need to wait for the render to clear up before you see it in the position you want.

Although this is true, in my filter (and in my computer) this happens very fast, so this is not a great problem, and you can change any setting before it finishes the upd ate of the previous changed position.

Quote
Skybase So to be frank, the filter stands being clearly something doable in FilterForge, something simple and cool, but falls into it being novelty over practical. I think it's a great idea, but the filter needs to ride over some of the technicalities and offer something "FilterForge can do that you can't in Photoshop easily" and that is extremely vital to a simple filter like this

Sorry to say that I do not see where is the real problems with this filter, and I still think is useful and practical in some way, as you do not need to have pixel-perfect position of the images behind the stripes, and I do not find difficult or complex to use the offset sliders to position the images

Also is not really needed that it works with non-square output resolutions, as the stripes are fixed and limited in size (at least in the first 8 presets) so there is no point in making them non-square, although I have added a new se tting to change between square and non-square output for MULTIPLE stripes designs (many more than 10)

Now that I have made a new optimized version that is more easy to use and with less options and features that could be confusing, I think is better to use and better done than before.

Quote
"FilterForge can do that you can't in Photoshop easily" and that is extremely vital to a simple filter like this.

Well I do not think that you CAN do with photoshop ALL the many different possible combinations that you can do with this filter EVEN with the basic version and will take much more time to make something similar even when using templates, and would need probably to build actions or scripts for each one of them.

I tried the filter and I like it very much with the default settings. I can imagine using it with pretty design images (like ones that Skybase's Gradiant Circle filter creates) to use as a decorative border. I also like the option to quickly select a color to use instead of a photo. If you just want colored stripes you needn't load a photo at all. Thanks for providing this filter!

Finally is available the latest upd ate I have made to this filter

1- Seamless Version

2 - Organized Settings and separated with lines and capital letters for the name of the group

3 - Fixed some problems I found and some errors that was there

4 - Added Background color so it does not depend on the main image source

5 - If you may want to use Non-Square results I have added a possible fix or alternative with the first Slider "Image Bounds" or also known as "Non-Square Output" with 3 options, 1 is fixed, 2 is maxi-size, 3 is image bounds specific for non-square.

6 - Have modified and created new better presets specially made for this basic version

This is now a Seamless version, and you can activate it if you want to see how it looks with tiling

I have changed the name after the EAdams example and added some color stripes examples too, and decided to go back to a new better, fixed and optimized basic version with better organized se ttings and new better presets because I am making 3 other alternative filters derived from this one so is much easier to use and get the right result faster.

Please download also the new other versions (Vertical, Horizontal and Radial) when available, thanks.

Please read the about tab inside the filter

After so much time I have though that I could extend and make some more variations using these 10 stripes mix

Here is using the bomber in radial distribution in small sizes