Eye Candy is a plug-in set of filters for Photoshop and compatible software that is aimed much more at graphic designers than photographers, though I think many photographers will also find uses for it.
It has two groups of filters: Text & Selections and Textures. As the names imply, Text & Selections work on small objects within a larger image, such as parts of the logo or text. Textures apply to the current layer.
The Text & Selections filters include:
- Backlight
- Bevel
- Chrome
- Corona
- Drip
- Extrude
- Fire
- Glass
- Gradient Glow
- Icicles
- Motion Trail
- Perspective Shadow
- Rust
- Smoke
- Snow Drift
The Textures are:
- Animal Fur
- Brick Wall
- Brushed Metal
- Diamond Plate
- Marble
- Reptile Skin
- Ripples
- Squint
- Stone Wall
- Super Star
- Swirl
- Texture Noise
- Water Drops
- Weave
- Wood
While some are obviously more useful than others, all work well and offer a large degree of control so you can get the exact look you want. Different people will like different filters, depending on the sort of work they do. And some of the filters, while on first look do not appear overly useful, will reward some perseverance in giving them a good try out. In fact it is worth doing a couple of mock projects where you go completely over the top to get a feel for how they work. Personal favourites are chrome, glass, corona, squint, brushed metal and diamond plate.
For graphic and web designers the uses are obvious in logo design, buttons and controls for websites, graphic flourishes for print documents like brochures and backgrounds. Photographers who do some graphic design or web design will also find them useful, as will some photographers for things like virtual image frames and some special effects.
Alien Skin has always been great for plug-ins and the latest version of Eye Candy is no exception. Well recommended.