Thread: Image Editing

Onllne image editing has really taken off recently, making this a difficult category to judge because of the number of exemplary image editing web applications available.

There are a few web sites that allow basic image editing: these include Fotoflexer, Lunapic, Picnic and Adobe Photoshop's online version, the disappointingly very basic, Photoshop Express. You can add layers and text to the photos, as well as choose from a large number of preset shapes, frames and objects. Fotoflexer and Lunapic also allow users to add animated overlays to their images.

Then, there is another class of image editor which allows much more control and a range of drawing and image editing tools The shortlist consisted of Pixlr, Aviary Phoenix, Splashup and Sumo Paint. These are all web applications with a lot of functionality, including multi-layer support, filters, image-adjustment and in some cases, even plugins. All these image editors run on the Flash platform.

All the short-listed sites have the same basic layout Along the right, the tools are located. Along the top edge of the screen is the menu bar. Below the menu bar is a parameter bar for tweaking various aspects of the tools being used at any point in time. All these sites are designed following the layout of Adobe Photoshop, so those who have used Photoshop should have a very short learning curve on any of these image editors.

All of them let you start editing images right away. Creating a new image quickly, or opening an image from your hard drive is just a few clicks away. Aviary Phoenix, Sumo Paint and Splashup all allow you to sign up for an account, and create an online space where you can save and share your creations. Pixlr does not have this option, and you cannot sign up even if you want to. Pixlr let's you save images only on your hard drive.

When it comes to opening images though, each image editing tool has its
own set of unique advantages. Sumo paint can open only the basic]PG, PNG and GIF images, and open from a hotlink on the web. Splashup can open lPG, BMP, TI F and PNG, but has an amazing open dialogue box that interfaces with Picasa, Facebook, Flickr, Smugmug and Photo bucket. You can Flickr, Picasa and Facebook.