If I were to give an overall description of the KPT collection of filters it would have to be fun in a box!! This is an extensive collection of artistic filters that offer the photographer many options to give their images a vast array of different looks for a very reasonable price.

This plug-in or stand alone software is very user friendly. The controls are intuitive and easy to use. The effects are displayed in a preview window in real time, and once they are applied, the software renders those changes very quickly even when complicated effects are being rendered. The documentation supplied for the software is quite helpful in getting you started, but only by playing with the effects and each of the different control options will you discover the full power of each filter.

Each filter has many presets you can choose from to get you started. You can then customize those presets to your liking with the wide variety of options presented to control each filter.

Since there are too many filters in this package to go into detail about, I will highlight the filters that I found most useful to me.

I have found the Scatter filter to give a nice artistic effect to photos by scattering the pixels in any direction you choose. You can also customize the amount of the scatter, and the color and saturation of the final look among other controls that are available. I have found that using scatter on the entire image, then placing a copy of your original image over the scattered version gives the best results. By merging all or parts of your original image with the scattered version you can retain important details while giving your subjects movement and a painterly feel at the same time.

The Goo filter is just amazing to work and play with as it allows you to smear, smudge, twirl, pinch or add noise to an image. The liquid distortion effects made KPT GOO famous. This can be used to add interesting textures to your images as well as distortions that can border on fantasy. Using different brush sizes and effect speeds will allow you to control just how much distortion you want applied!

Use the Fluid filter to treat your entire image as a fluid and create and animate a variety of distortions, including controlling the thickness of the liquid and the size and speed of the brush stroke.

FraxFlame II is great for backgrounds and abstract pictures based on fractal equations. One can also generate attractive patterns to use in other filters.

Gel provides realistic 3D paint tools to synthesize photo-realistic materials, and apply lighting, reflection, refraction and transparency.

The ShapeShifter filter can generate some impressive results. It allows you to create shapes and objects based on your selected mask with refracting glass edges and 3D light sources on beveled metallic surfaces.

I have used Lightning filters in other software. But I feel that the KPT Lightning filter renders more realistic lightning than those and gives you better control over effects by allowing you to easily manage every aspect of the bolt and path, including its color, the number of forks, and attractor and generator points.

I used the Reaction filter to give my images a wide variety of canvas looks. I have found that the filter is more useful on photos if it is applied to the entire image, then merged with a copy of the original image at 50% or less. Otherwise the effect tends to be a bit strong for stand alone use.

There are a host of additional filters that you will have hours of fun exploring!

In closing, this is not a set of filters that you will immediately master and grow tired of. With continued use and your imagination you will find countless ways to apply these effects to your images and create one of a kind works of art!