1. Overview

VeBest Artistic Filters software provides users with professional artistic filters collection useful for photo processing.
Collection includes:
- Basic image processing (can be useful for photo/image preparation, such as color balance, brightness, contrast , scale);
- Watercolor (effect of watercolor painting);
- Neon glowing edges (photo will be transformed to neon glowing edges image);
- Cutout (decrease color numbers, effect of old poster printing);
- Extend details (reveal smooth details and adds sharpness);
- Cartooning (image to cartoon conversion).
1.1. System requirements
Operating system - Windows 7/Vista/XP (32bit or 64 with 32bit applications support);
CPU - Intel(R) Pentium III 500MHz or higher;
HDD - 1Gb for temporary files;
Video - any video card at True color 32 bit mode (1024x768 or higher resolution);
Internet connection for software activation & registration.

2. Basic functionality

Application is very easy to use; it is designed to be friendly to user with intuitive interface.
Application supports main image files types - JPEG, PNG, TIFF, BMP and GIF (Only for reading).
Best Artistic Filters software has simple menu - File & Help.
2.1. "File" menu provides standard functionality:
- New (clear workspace);
- Add Image (add/open image for processing);
- Save  As (save currently selected image into file);
- Recent file (recently opened/saved files);
- Exit (Terminate application).
2.2. "Help" menu includes:
- Help (Shows this manual);
- Register (until software in trial mode and not registered yet);
- About (Version and registration information).
2.3. Main window
Application windows consist of title, menu, opened and processed images list (1), filters list (2) with current filter settings (3), image preview (4).

3. Basic information

3.1. Usual workflow
Use 'Add Image' to insert your photos into images list.
Select Image for processing.
If it is required, use basic image processing filters (Scale, Brightness/Contrast, Hue/Saturation, Color Balance) to prepare image for processing.
Select filter for processing.
Tune settings and press 'Ok' to apply processing (or 'Preview' just to look the results without applying changes).
Use 'Save as' from application menu. Or click on image thumbnail by right button of mouse, then 'Save Image'.
Use 'New' from application menu to clear workspace (if required).
3.2. Undo/Redo
Each processing step, applied to photo, will be stored until application is not closed or workspace is not cleared.
User can select any previous step of image processing from image list (it will work similar to Undo/Redo).
3.3. Filter settings
Each filter has its own settings and performance.
As universal approach, filters with high performance have auto-preview functionality. It is necessary to push 'Preview' button in the rest of filters.
All filters will be applied to image only after pressing 'Ok' button.
Each filter has 'Res' button to re-call filter default settings.
Different filters can have different requirements for source image.
For example, 'Extend details' filter is sensitive to image compression artifacts - together with details artifacts also will be revealed. For Watercolor tool high resolution images are not preferred, it will be better to scale down image before watercolor usage. For Neon edge tool low resolution images may produce not acceptable result.

4. Basic image processing

4.1. Scale
Move slider to select required scale, press 'Ok' to apply scale.
Use 'Res' to recall default settings.
4.2. Brightness/Contrast
Adjust brightness & contrast using sliders, after finishing don't forget to press 'Ok' button (to apply changes).
Use 'Res' to recall default settings.
4.3. Hue/Saturation
Hue, Saturation and Lightness can be adjusted using this tool.
As additional option image can be colorized (just mark Colorize option).
There are available pre-defined settings - Gray & Sepia. Press one of these buttons to tune sliders for Gray & Sepia effect, then adjust resulting brightness and saturation (for Sepia only).
4.4. Color balance
Color balance can be tuned by adding/decreasing Red, Green and Blue components.

5. Extend details

Extend details tool provides smooth details revealing and adds additional sharpness.
Two settings available:
- Strength - increase or decrease final filter strength.
- Details size - higher resolution files will require bigger details size settings.

Filter is sensitive to image compression artifacts - together with details, artifacts will be revealed also.

6. Water color

Water color tool uses source photo to create watercolor painting.
Two settings are available:
- Strength - increase or decrease filter strength. Higher strength values will leave fewer details in the resulting image.
- Details size - higher resolution files will require bigger settings of details’ size. Bigger values will combine bigger color regions into one brush stroke.
Better results using Watercolor tool can be achieved, when source image resolution will be not too high.

7. Neon edges

Tool will transform source photo into neon glowing edges image.
User can set glowing size.
There are available 3 different modes:
- Edge (only edges will glow);
- Ext (objects will glow itself near objects edge);
- Int (objects will glow around edges).
Good glowing effect can be provided after watercolor effect (Firstly watercolor effect should be used, glowing edges must be used after it).
High resolution images preferred for glowing.

8. Cutout

Cutout decreases colors effects. Pixels will be united to the same color regions. Effect will turn image into old printed poster.
3 different values can be set to tune resulting image. Each value will provide changes to computation algorithm providing different result.

9. Cartooning

Cartooning is a tool to convert image into cartoon.
Image can be converted to cartoon without edge drawing (mark 'Without edge' checkbox). Edges can be generated using 2 different algorithms (mark/unmark 'Alternative edge' checkbox).
User can tune edge drawing width - 'Pen width' and edge drawing intensity - 'Pen drawings'. Number of final colors can be tuned using 'Final colors' slider.
Image resolution should be low or middle, high resolution images may not provide acceptable results.