Boss Emboss
What it does
Boss Emboss does heavy-duty embossing.
How to install
Illustrated installation instructions are online.
To use this software, you need a paint program which accepts standard Photoshop 3.02 plugins.
Just put the plug-in filter into the folder where your paint program
expects to find it. If you have Photoshop, the folder is Photoshop:Plugins:Filters or Photoshop:Plug-ins. You must restart
Photoshop before it will notice the new plug-in. It will appear
in the menus as Filters->Flaming Pear->Boss Emboss.
Most other paint programs follow a similar scheme.
If you have Paint Shop Pro: you have to create a new folder, put the plug-in filter into it, and then tell PSP to look there.
PSP 5 and 6:
Choose the menu File-> Preferences->General Program Preferences... and choose the Plug-in Filters tab. Use one of the "Browse" buttons to choose the folder that contains the plug-in.
The plugin is now installed. To use it, open any image and select an area. From the menus, choose Image->Plug-in Filters-->Flaming Pear->Boss Emboss.
PSP 7:
Choose the menu File-> Preferences-> File Locations... and choose the Plug-in Filters tab. Use one of the "Browse" buttons to choose the folder that contains the plug-in.
The plugin is now installed. To use it, open any image and select an area. From the menus, choose Effects->Plug-in Filters->Flaming Pear->Boss Emboss
PSP 8:
Choose the menu File-> Preferences-> File Locations... In the dialog box that appears, choose Plug-ins from the list. Click "Add", then click "Browse" and choose the folder that contains the plug-in.
The plugin is now installed. To use it, open any image and select an area. From the menus, choose Effects->Plugins->Flaming Pear->Boss Emboss.
Controls
When you invoke Boss Emboss, a dialog box will appear:

Quick start
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If you just want to see some effects quickly, click the dice button
until you see something you like; then click OK.
Using the dice is the easiest way to use Boss Emboss. If you want
to hand-tune your own effects, it helps to learn the controls,
which are explained below. |
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dice |
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Main controls
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Boss Emboss deveopes a 3-D surface from the picture, and shines
a light on it.
The basic result is gray, but you can use glue modes like 'overlay'
to merge the embossing effect with your original image.
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original image

embossed

embossed + overlay
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Height is the altitude of the light source.
Angle is the direction of the light source.
(The mathematically-minded may like to call these controls right ascension and azimuth respectively.)
Relief is the strength of the embossing.
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different light, less relief
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Creasing folds the surface it into sharp-edged V-shapes. It adds life
to flat areas. |
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creased
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Melt blurs the shapes together while retaining some detail. Good to
use if the picture is too busy. |
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melted

melted and creased

melted and creased + overlay
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Unsparkle removes sparkly highlights from the creases. It makes Boss Emboss
run more slowly.
Source chooses whether to use use the grey version of the picture; only
its red, green, or blue color channels; or all three channels
independently. Mostly you will want to use grey. |
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3-channel source
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Other controls
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Dice The dice choose a random effect. Click as much as you want to
see different effects.
Glue mode popup menu Lets you combine the result with the underlying image in various ways. Modes other than "normal" produce special effects. The next-glue button advances to the next glue mode.
Plus, % and minus buttons: These zoom the preview in and out. Drag the preview
to move it.
Load preset Boss Emboss comes with some presets, which are files containing
settings. To load one, click this button and browse for a preset
file.
Save preset When you make an effect you like, click this button to save the
settings in a file.
Undo backs up one step.
OK Applies the effect to your image.
Cancel Dismisses the filter, and leaves the image unchanged. |
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dice

next glue

load preset (top)
and save preset

undo
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Things to try
Use different glue modes like 'luminance' and ' soft light'
to add life to the embossing.
Open a picture and run the filter. Change the angle control
and the height slider to extreme settings.
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Version History
Version 1.1 May 2004
More glue modes. Works with 16-bit-per-component color.
Version 1.04 December 2003
Recordable as a Photoshop action.
Version 1.02 September 2003
Adds more glue modes and the next-glue button.
Version 1.0 March 2003
The first release in this form.
The Furbo Filters were originally developed by Craig Hockenberry. |
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Questions
Answers to common technical questions appear on the support page.
For bug reports and technical questions about the software, please
write to support@flamingpear.com .
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