Filter set like Xaos Tools/Paint Alchemy/Terrazo? [2011]

[craig cheatham]

I have need for some of the effects of Paint Alchemy and especially Terrazo. Does anyone know of an OSX filter set that does what those filters did? I know there was an OSX version available for a while, but now I can't find anything.

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Craig

[Guest]

Ahhh, how sad. What a fabulous set of tools. It is a shame that Xaos Tools was not co-opted in one of the upgrades of Photoshop.

I looked and waited for an OSX version and I never saw one released. Perhaps they developed one that on a pre_Intel chip and gave up .I just spent a few hundred dollars retooling my old Quicksilver just to use Xaos Tools and the old Kai's Power Tools 3.2 and 2.1.

The kaliedescope feature is the best I ever saw. Honestly it is worth the pain to switch back and forth from OSX>classic>OSX to create the beginnings and definitions and finishes of the kind of art that I am interested in exploring......but.....

Is someone sensing an opportunity here?

Old-Tyme Photoshoppe Filtre Set for the Discerning and Erudite Designer.

Permanent victims of digital nostalgia.

What ever happened to Angie Jones from Atari?

[alansky1]

Almost all the links on the tesselation.com website are hopelessly out-of-date. Perhaps some enterprising iPad developer will stumble across this thread and see an opportunity.

[garyhoov1]

Kali and others are still available thru the links to Jeff Webb's website. You may find more if you google tessellation.

Gary

Date: Tue, 28 Jun 2011 09:59:52 -0600

From: forums@adobe.com

To: garyhoov@msn.com

Subject: Filter set like Xaos Tools/Paint Alchemy/Terrazo?

Almost all the links on the tesselation.com website are hopelessly out-of-date. Perhaps some enterprising iPad developer will stumble across this thread and see an opportunity.

>

[Tom_Gore]

Filter Forge is a Photoshop plugin tool that allows you to create your own filters or lets you download ones written by others and posted to the Filter Forge site.   You could download the trial version and see if it does what you want.

This page gives examples that do things very similar to what Xaos' Terrazzo used to do. 

http://www.filterforge.com/filters/search.html?q=kaleidoscope&h=r

Many of my pictures use tools from Filter Forge and while I miss Terrazzo, I found it very lititing.  In addition to the floppy disks I also got the Xaos t-shirt!

Tom Gore | Photographer

[personal info removed]

[modgirl23]

I have the original Xaos Tools Disc for Windows. It works only with Photoshop 7 since the company stopped updating and then finally just went

out of business.

here's the link to download. the link is only good for a couple of weeks.

http://www.yousendit.com/download/ZUd2TkFnNDQ1bmhFQlE9PQ

it contains the Serial Numbers too so you can use the full version of it.

Dee Dee

[craig cheatham]

Hi Dee Dee,

Thanks for the link.

I'm not on Windows and I'm not running it in emulation either. Also,

I don't know if I could even get PS 7 on either platform.

But thanks for trying to help.

It's too bad, I really liked the filter set.

Craig

[modgirl23]

Ok, I have put the  Total Xaos filter set in a folder that should not expire. it includes the Terazzo filter.

send me thank you notes

[personal info removed]

Dee Dee

[idiotype]

Hello All

     I was co-founder of Xaos and author of original PaintAlchemy ( any many other) agorithms. I no longer have any ownership of the Xaos Tools software base ( which is, of course, quite obsolete) That being said, I would be interested in hearing about what would be the appetite for Paint Alchemy-like software today, especially on new platforms like the iPad. I have a number of extensions of the original concept as well as clean-room implementations. Although I am involved in another venture, if there were sufficent interest out there, something might be possible.

     Unfortunately, I was not responsible for the Terazzo code base - so cannot be of any help there.

best - Michael Tolson

[Will F.]

Hi,Thanks.  But I'm not much of painter and so didn't take advantage of Paint Alchemy when I had it, just Terrazzo.  I wish you good luck on your ventures.

Will

[tobiwon]

As an avid user (and former beta tester) of many of Xaos' tools, I still keep an old SGI box gathering dust in our studios just so I can use Pandemonium for some cool dissolves and effects. I also keep an older mac alive for using Terrazzo and Paint Alchemy. I think the effects that these packages generate are still unique and very flexible, and still look great today. So my vote would be to modernize the interfaces a bit and re-release these packages under OsX, (which seems to be finally gaining the market share it mostly deserves).

Paint Alchemy and its animatable cousin Pandemonium would be my strong choice for resurrection.

Best - Toby Welles www.wowhouse.net

[alansky1]

I totally agree with you, but who is going to update these apps? I called the folks at Xaos many times over the years to encourage them to update their apps; but in the end, they simply closed up shop. What to do? To this day, I've never found another app to replace Terrazzo. I still have an old 12" powerbook G4 that I keep primarily to run Terrazzo and Adobe Type Manager.

[tobiwon]

Yes, I too have tried many times to light a fire under their underzealous butts, but apparently the code is gone, so they would have to start afresh. but hell with a template of the pre-existing software they have a head start. Please, Dave Tolson take up the baton and run with it.

- Toby Welles

[Rrrroza]

Hello! I just wanted to register my own plea for resurrection of Terrazzo. I really miss it, and if it came back I would talk it up to all my contacts.

~Louise M

[eblawler]

"I was co-founder of Xaos and author of original PaintAlchemy ( any many other) agorithms."

I just came online looking for information about these filters which were among my favorites way back in the times of PS3. Yeah haha. idiotype I probably met you at a MacWorld once upon a time.

[eblawler]

You know what I'd also love to see is Second Glance Chromassage, but maybe I'll start another thread on that topic.

[iamb]

I have Xaos Tools with Paint Alchemy and Terrazzo 2 working in PSCS4.. I remember I ran into an email address on a forum many years ago for someone selling the upgrade to work with OSX... It was odd, it was a gentleman's name ( I wish I would have kept it). I believe I did to to the Xaos site to download tho..Not sure... The date on my software says 1996  .It was not being advertised at the time and I was so surprised by that. But it is still working in CS4 Mac OSX 10.5.8   I haven't upgraded to an intel machine yet, about to, so not sure if it will work on an intel.

[Rrrroza]

Just occurred to me that I still have a functional pre-intel Mac. I wonder if I still have the Terrazzo disk around anywhere...

[acresofgreen]

Would someone like to post a small sample of what these plug-ins can do?  (Just curious)

[craig cheatham]

I threw together a quick, small, crappy (old PS automated), gallery of some Terrazzo tiles.

http://www.pacificimageworks.com/terrazzo_gallery/

These are all downsampled from larger images. The original tiles have quite a lot of detail, part of what I like about Terrazzo.

I can't post the original images but some of the tiles are from landscape photos, some are from photos that I hammered pretty hard with filters (including Paint Alchemy), and some are from close-up shots of a Dual 741 turntable that I photographed to help sell on eBay.

I hope you can get a sense of the Terrazzo functionality. I'm still able to run it if I launch PS CS, any newer version won't work (in my experience).

Craig (OP)

[Rrrroza]

These are pretty wonderful, Craig; thanks for posting them. They make me even more determined to find a way to still use Terrazzo.

~~Louise M

[acresofgreen]

craig cheatham wrote:

I threw together a quick, small, crappy (old PS automated), gallery of some Terrazzo tiles.

Thank you for posting these!  The examples range from realistic looking floor tiles to kaleidoscope-like reflections of recognizable objects - very impressive!  Now we non-Terrazzo users know what we are missing

[alansky1]

The real power of Terrazzo is realized when you tile these kaleidoscopic reflections into elaborate patterns. Here's one example. I wouldn't know how to do this kind of work without Terrazzo. I've held onto my old powerbook G4 solely for the purpose of running the last version of Photoshop that is compatible with the last version of Terrazzo. I find it hard to believe that there is nothing even remotely similar out there in this day and age; but if it exists, I haven't seen it.

[acresofgreen]

Thank you for posting your example!  There's a free plug-in that creates simple kaleidoscopic images (for Windows, apparently not for Mac), but it doesn't have too many options to change the design: http://www.mehdiplugins.com/english/kaleidoscope.htm

Example before and after view:

[tobiwon]

Hi All,

Craig has posted some fine Terrazzo images, Thanks Craig, so I'll post some Paint alchemy images: http://web.me.com/twelles/Site_3

I just grabbed a random image that was on my old old mac that has been hibernating for many moons. I'm really just scratching the surface with these images. I used to use this plug in primarily for doing artwork of backgrounds for other imagery. Once you learn how it works it's addicting. I just can't believe how I used to be happy on a machine that slow though, Wheww, I almost started taking up knitting to pass the time. A fuller description is on the quick site I put up for this.

Check out these apps if this is a realm that interests you. They are both very cool.

Vectoraster  http://www.lostminds.com/content/show_product.php?id=vectoraster4

Studio Artist http://synthetik.com

Toby Welles

[acresofgreen]

tobiwon wrote:

Hi All,

I'll post some Paint alchemy images

Thank you for this and for the other links!