Diffuse

Graphics editors have steadily grown in power, as more and more computing resources are available for complex image manipulation tasks. What's more, a great number of customized plugins can be used to enhance the standard functionality of any imaging editing suite and Diffuse is just one such practical and easy to use Adobe Photoshop addon.

As the name suggest, the intuitive tool is employed to generate diffusion effects on any source images loaded into the popular graphics editor. A notable feature of the utility is that is completely compatible with several other host programs, including Adobe Illustrator, CorelDRAW, Serif PhotoPlus or PhotoLine.

The lightweight plugin requires no installation and can be unzipped in the 'addin folder' of the host application. Once launched from within the graphics editor, one can use it to easily add diffusion effects to any source pictures.

The process parameters are fully customizable and users are specifically able to adjust the iterations employed, as well as the seeds involved. The tool distinguishes itself from other similar products, by applying effects at the sub-pixel level (fractional diffusion), a feature allowing its outputs to be better integrated into the host image.

Once users have adjusted the input parameters via intuitive sliders, effects are applied to the target image; the duration of the process depends both on the complexity of the source picture, but also on the available resources. It should be noted that the addin supports multithreading operations and will make good use of multiple CPU cores.

All things considered, Diffuse is a practical graphics editor plugin that can be employed to generate diffuse effects to any source image quickly. The program is fully compatible with a wide variety of popular photo manipulation suites and allows its users to customize most of the process parameters.