DOWNLOAD FREE TRIAL SOFTWARE. Looking for FREE stuff? Enjoy a full featured GRFX Studio Pro Photo Editing experience with your free trial download. Now featuring over 1,275 Effects! GRFX STUDIO PRO TRIAL - FREE FOR 15 DAYS. Aug 26, 2014 All my 32 bit KPT plugins work, except for KPT2 32bit Texture explorer. KPT3 works, but Photoshop looses focus and will not work until I click on its icon in the taskbar. KPT 2 32 bit texture explorer just brings the whole thing down. I was considering using Win7, but have not because I am sure most of these plugins will stop working.
Kai's Power Tools special effects filters were once considered a must-have plug-in suite for Photoshop-compatible graphics software. In 1999, Corel bought Kai Krause's popular effects filters from MetaCreations and soon released a new set of effects under the title Procreate KPT Effects. Building on the classic special effects from KPT 5, KPT 6 and KPT 7, Corel added nine new filters to expand creativity. Later, Corel combined all the classic effects along with the new effects into one complete collection—The KPT Collection—with 24 filters in all. In time, The KPT Collection, a 32-bit plug-in, became a free download for PaintShop Pro owners.
Corel no longer develops or sell The KPT Collection. In time, The KPT Collection, a 32-bit plug-in, became a free download for PaintShop Pro owners. But with the growth of 64-bit computing, the KPT Collection became obsolete.
Filters in the Collection
Some of the more popular filters in the collection include:
- KPT Channel Surfing, which splits an image into RGB and HLS color channels and lets you apply effects such as blur, sharpen, contrast and value shift to one or all channels.
- The KPT Fluid filter applies liquid-like distortions that simulate dragging a brush through fluid. The controls allow you to adjust the thickness of the liquid, brush size and velocity.
- KPT FraxFlame II creates and explores flame fractals that resemble colored light. Customize the effect by choosing from seven styles, editable gradients, and infinite genetic mutations.
- Use KPT Gradient Lab to design complex color blends and gradients by mixing shapes and colors in multiple layers with advanced blending and precise positioning.
- KPT Hyper Tiling transforms images into intricate tiling effects. Choose from five styles and customize the effect with transparency, advanced blending, and precise positioning.
- KPT Ink Dropper simulates liquid ink on a surface to create water spots, smoky swirls, and stains. Options allow you to customize the ink color and drop settings such as diffusion, movement, and dispersion.
- The KPT Lightning filter creates lightning bolts with complete control over position, size, forkiness, glow, and color.
- KPT Pyramid Paint uses the Lab color mode to reduce and separate the colors in an image to resemble a painting. Users can adjust individual color components, saturation, hue, contrast, and lightness.
- KPT Scatter distributes particles over a source image in a variety of ways with control over placement, color, and shadow. Any transparent image can be used as a particle.
What We Like
- Fast rendering of effects
- Unique and sophisticated assortment of filters
- Custom settings can be saved as presets
What We Don't Like
- Nonstandard interface
- Could benefit from on-screen tool tips
- Limited preview sizes
- 32-bit
- The KPT Collection is available only as a PaintShop Pro 32-bit plug-in.
You can change the look and feel of your Adobe Photoshop images with these free Photoshop filters, and improve your working environment with free Photoshop plugins. They're a great way to easily and quickly customize your Photoshop experience.
The Photoshop filters are image effects or settings used to change the way a picture looks, and the plugins are extended features like rulers or guide lines, that aren't included with Photoshop by default.
You can also use free Photoshop actions, templates, shapes, brushes, and textures to change your Photoshop images.
How to Install and Use Photoshop Filters
Once you've downloaded a Photoshop filter, you'll want to copy the 8BF file into Photoshop's Filters folder to install it. This is usually C:Program FilesAdobeAdobe Photoshop (version)Plug-insFilters.
Installed filters can be accessed from Photoshop's Filter menu.
However, some Photoshop filters are installed through an EXE file so that it installs like a regular program. In those instances, you don't need to copy any files into any program folder; just open the EXE file like you would any application.
How to Install and Use Photoshop Plugins
Photoshop plugins are ZXP files that must be installed using Adobe Extension Manager (unless it downloads as an EXE program file). Just choose Install to browse for the ZXP file.
Installed plugins can be accessed from Photoshop's Window > Extensions menu.
Some of the websites below will explain that they are offering plugins when really they're installed under the Filter menu in Photoshop, and vice versa.
Adobe's Free Photoshop Plugins
What better place to get free Photoshop plugins than Adobe's own website? You can sort the resources by title or rating as well as by newest added or most popular.
Not only plugins and filters are on this page. You'll find extensions, actions, and other things as well.
Adobe's Photoshop plugins are installed a bit differently than the others in this list. You must have a free Adobe account and the Creative Cloud program installed to use the plugins.
To find just the free Photoshop plugins at Adobe's website, be sure to choose Photoshop from the filtering area on the left, and then on the right, sort the results by Price (Low to High).
What We Like
- Many are rated, from one to five stars.
- Easy to search for and find what you need.
- Enormous variety.
What We Don't Like
- Requires free Creative Cloud program.
- You must create an Adobe account if you don't already have one.
Mehdi's Free Photoshop Filters
Mehdi has dozens of free Photoshop filters. Each download page has a thorough explanation of the filter as well as screenshots.
Kaleidoscope, Projection, Sorting Tiles, Blots, Weaver, and Contrast Balance are just some of the free filters you can download here.
What We Like
- Thorough explanation of each plugin with examples.
- Dozens of plugins available.
- FAQ page and ability to contact Mehdi for support.
What We Don't Like
- Dated but useable interface.
- Windows only; not for MacOS.
The Plugin Site's Free Photoshop Filters
Harry's Filters (formerly VideoRave) is a download at The Plugin Site that lets you get around 70 image effects for Photoshop in one download.
The Plugin Site has other downloads as well, such as Photoshop actions.
On the download page, scroll past the commercial downloads to find the free options. When you're ready to download something from this website, you'll need to fill out the download form, where you'll get the download link in your email.
What We Like
- Single download saves time.
- Fast access without layers of menus.
- Easy to use.
What We Don't Like
- No MacOS version.
- No updates since October 2017.
Lokas Software's Free 3D Shadow and Photoshop Filter
Lokas Software has only one free Photoshop filter, and it's called 3D Shadow. I include it in this list because while Photoshop has its own text shadowing feature, I find this one to be much more useful.
You can adjust the blur, axis and offset angle, perspective, and color, as well as select a preset shadow effect, such as Cast in Front, Flat Faint, and Rear shadow.
What We Like
- Broad range of shadow effects.
- Easy to use.
RichardRosenman.com's Free Photoshop Plugins
RichardRosenman.com has one page of free Photoshop plugins. Some of them include ones called Diffuse Glow, Box Fitting, Pinch, 3D Sphere, Pixelate, and Solid Border.
The plugins you'll find at RichardRosenman.com have a short description and sample picture to show you what the plugin does.
What We Like
- Easy to browse through available plugins.
- Thorough explanation of each plugin’s function.
What We Don't Like
- Windows only.
- No new releases since April 2015.