ImageStone

ImageStone is a lightweight programming toolkit designed specifically for image manipulation purposes. This C++ class library comes with support for loading, saving, and editing tools, as well as all sorts of special effects. Plus, you can make use of the library across multiple platforms and employ it as a DIB wrapper class.

The programming package includes an HTML file that reveals important tips about how to set up your source code. An example is also included in the toolkit for helping you get an idea about the application’s photo editing capabilities.

The example which is delivered via an executable file can be opened directly on the host computer without having to go through an installation process. Plus, you may keep it stored on pen drives or other portable devices.

ImageStone offers you the possibility to drag and drop photos directly in the main window. You may also preview the imported files and apply various special effects which are grouped into different categories, such as Art (e.g. Emboss, Posterize, Texture, 3D grid), Distort (e.g. Shift, Twist, Illusion, Wave), Light (e.g. Sunshine, Blinds, 3D Frame), and Color (Threshold, Solarize, Old Photo).

The editing adjustments can be previewed in real time directly in primary panel. What’s more, you are allowed to undo or redo your actions, zoom in or out of the image, and copy the photo to the clipboard so you can paste it into other third-party programs.

Other notable options worth being mentioned enable you to alter brightness and contrast, adjust hue and saturation, configure the color tone, apply black and white effects, show glowing effects, create soft portrait effects, as well as automatically tweak the contrast and enhance the output image.

ImageStone lets you resize files, mirror or flip items, rotate pictures to different angles, add shadows, enable blurring and sharping effects, generate an ASCII painting, export the edited images to BMP, JPG, GIF, PNG, or TIF, print photos, as well as preview the files before printing them.

ImageStone proves to be a reliable programming toolkit that comprises several handy options for helping you edit pictures, and is suitable especially for advanced users.