14 DAY TRIAL // Finding the right image processing application might prove to a difficult job, especially if you take into account the large number of image editing utilities available on the market. Most graphics and design apps come filled with a myriad of smart editing and painting tools designed to make your job easier.
Be that as it may, only a handful of them manage to pack everything into a well-designed and intuitive interface like the one featured by Pixelmator.
Pixelmator is a fully featured image editor for the Mac that makes it easy for you to repair images, work with multiple layers, add image filters, paint with customizable brushes, retouch photos, adjust colors and rapidly share your work when needed.
In other words, Pixelmator is a highly versatile piece of software that comes with numerous editing tools capable to satisfy the needs of more experienced users and, at the same time, help out novice artists who are new to the digital image processing world.
Before trying out Pixelmator, you need to make sure your Mac runs OS X 10.9.1 or later and that it has a 64-bit processor. To install the trial version, you just have to download it from our download Pixelmator page and extract it to your Applications folder.
Take advantage of the highly customizable layout and modify the workspace to match your own needs
Pixelmator comes with a simple, yet very easy to reshape user interface, made up of multiple panels, which can be easily summoned or hidden based on your preferences. We found the predefined keyboard shortcuts along with the View menu of great assistance as we worked with and summoned panels for layers, effects, brushes, shapes, editing tools and more.
The features and actions displayed by the top toolbar change based on the currently used tool and, as a result, help you discover and use all sort of functions without the need to consult the Help menu too often.
Right from the beginning, we appreciated the Repair Tool that enabled us to effortlessly remove unwanted objects and fix image imperfections without altering the overall quality of the picture. Our editing job proved to be even easier in Pixelmator with the help of the smart Move and Transform tools that offered us the option to easily move, distort and edit selections, text boxes, shapes and layers.
What is more, Pixelmator helps you make pixel-accurate selections using the Paint Selection, and the Magic Wand, as well as the basic selection tools that include the rectangular and elliptical marquee, along with the simple lasso and polygonal lasso.
It helps you create your own brushes with adjustable parameter
More adept users will also be happy to know that Pixelmator offers a comprehensive set of customizable brushes. Thus, Pixelmator gives you control over the brush stroke style and size, brush tip strength and brush shape.
On top of that, Pixelmator offers you the option to create new brushes using pictures or import new brush sets with a couple of mouse clicks.
Photographers can take advantage of the professional-grade color correction tools and instantly adjust the hue, exposure, shadows, saturation, highlights, contrast, brightness and even replace or combine individual layers’ colors in order to change the look of the photo.
Furthermore, you can explore the long list of great effects that can be easily tweaked and modified until the desired result is achieved. One other worth mentioning feature is the organized manner in which all effects were grouped, a fact that helped us instantly find the effect we were looking for.
It goes without saying that you are allowed to combine multiple effects and adjust their parameters in order to achieve artistic looks. What is more, Pixelmator renders the changes you make in real time and helps you make precise adjustments with little to no effort.
Work with multiple layers and compose images in a non-destructive manner
As mentioned above, Pixelmator features support for layers, as well as layer masks that feature different blending modes. Consequently, you can create stunning, non-destructive image compositions within minutes.
Pixelmator is based on state-of-the-art technologies such as OpenCL, Core Image, OpenGL, 64-bit architecture and Grand Central Dispatch, which deliver impressive performance and responsiveness, as well as smooth image rendering.
Also noteworthy is the fact that Pixelmator’s use of resources is greatly determined by the type and size of the image you are working with. As follows, Pixelmator kept the CPU load under 47% and the RAM usage around 400 MB while working with simple image files with a resolution of up to 1920x1080 pixels.
However, once we start working with a RAW image file, the CPU load spiked well over 100% while the memory required more than 1.4 GB of RAM. Nevertheless, this is to be expected from an application capable to work with photos with resolutions of over 5616x3744 pixels.
We should mention that all provided usage data was recorded on a 2007 iMac with a 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 6 GB of RAM.
The Good
The inbuilt support for almost all popular image file formats along with the customizable editing tools, make Pixelmator one of the best image editing Mac apps available on the market.
The Bad
A great addition would be a built-in photo importer, organizer and management module for keeping one’s photos organized. This improvement could turn Pixelmator into a worthy competitor for Apple’s iPhoto and Aperture, as well.
