Creating Filters are not enough

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Redcap wrote: [...] many have worked for FF well over a hundred hours

Don't even start thinking along those lines. That would ruin all the fun...

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Redcap wrote: Meaning that if we were on minum wage we could have bought the program at least twice.

we shld write a 'how to get your free copy of FF' thread.

first and foremost is quality! quantity counts for almost nothing here, excpet in advertising.

second, advertise, advertise, advertise! blow your own horn! and blow it loudly! all too often we think that folks will just naturally gravitate to and find the best filters and use them. this is a mistake in thinking. you've got to toot your own horn. the competition is growing; the filter list is growing; the threads in the forums are growing. GET YOURSELF SEEN! post in the comments section as soon as your filter is approved. bump the thread shamelessly. POST PICTURES! POST PICTURES! POST PICTURES! dont just post the filter and hope for the best. and dont just post pictures of the filter or effect, post pictures of the filter in use! and, perhaps even more importantly, post on other forums! i regularly advertise my filters on other forums by USING the filter and promoting which filter i used. heck, i even advertise other folk's filters.

it takes time. dont expect a reward on a filter before at least 6 weeks and often more than that. FF is still new. the user base is still relatively small. that means the same folks are probably having to use your filter more than once before you start to really up the usage rate. so, during that time, SEE STEP #2 instant rewards are rare. just at a guess, i'd say the average time before a reward is given is about 3 months.

four, get feedback and do something with it. when someone takes the time to comment on your filter and it's not all 'everything's great', listen to the feedback and attempt to comply by doing an update. you dont have to overwrite the original, just do an additional version, though that may water down the usage. so, that one's a toss-up. i've only done one update on a filter and i did that as a second version. some are going to like the original and some the update. but those that USE your filter are the ones that count, so, listen to them!

ignore the 'critics'. this is different from the last one. a 'critic' here is defined as someone who only has negative comments for your filter. they are the nay-sayers, the vultures, the sources of trouble, the trolls. dont even give them the time of day.

persist. this one goes along with a lot of the others above. persist in demanding you make quality filters, that you persist in advertising and so on and so forth.

dont compromise with your filter. if the vision says it needs 150 controls, then put 150 controls in it. if it requires you have to break down exactly how every single blend mode works, then break down every single blend mode till you know them pat. if the only way you can do the thing is the most convoluted piece of abstract editing one could ever hope to NOT see, do it. make it work.

finish what you're doing. hehe, this is one i tend to ignore rather badly at times, but it's still valid even if i am a hypocrite. starting 10 great ideas isnt nearly as valuable as finishing one mediocre one. there's nothing that says you cant start a filter knowing you're just 'putting it down on paper so you'll remember the idea'. that's fine. i do that a lot. but finishing one filter and getting it submitted is important; far more important than all the 'great ideas' put together.

know the limits of the program. this one can be a tough one. i dont know how many times i've tried to do something only to find out it just really cant be done in filter forge and needs to be done in some other program. this one takes some real study with the program and knowing what it can and cant do.

know your own limits and then break those limits. limits are just that, limits. in a program, they are expected. in a person, there's little reason for them. i've had to expand my knowledge of things related to FF at times just to be sure FF could or couldnt do something. the limit here wasnt the program, but my own understanding.

be daring. one of the best ways to find out how things work is to just try things out. some of my 'multi-filters' were nothing more than an exercise in seeing what would happen if i plugged this into that. i've got one filter that basically tried to use every single curve and curve op possible all in one giant filter. and to use all of them with everything else. the filter may end up being mostly un-workable to anyone else, but i certainly learned somet things.

study other filters besides your own. one can get 'writer's block' when looking to create filters. the BEST way i know of to beat writer's block is to study other works. if you're a song writer and not able to think up a new song, go listen to more music. if you're a writer not able to write, go read more books or go out and live life. ideas come from input from external sources which we then bend or twist or combine with something else. so, if ideas arent forthcoming, then you need more input. sometimes i just start chaining components together until i see something. this is just another way of gaining new input.

getting high use filters is great. it basically validates one on having contributed to someone else's survival and through the rewards system, increasing your potential survival as well, which, when carried further, will hopefully again increase other's survival through using those new filters you make once you have the permanent version. but, as others have stated, it's kind of the wrong focus to just be after the free version. so, dont get too focused on just that part of it. one can, after all, just buy the thing, even if it's a lesser priced version. so, be creative and just a little desparate. one of the things i also do is see how others use textures. games are a great source of this. what would a game require? what textures are being used? what scenes are there in games and how would you create a texture for it?

i'll give you one idea that i've not seen many do here in FF.... clothing. there are a couple of 'fabric' filters, but i've only seen one or two that are truly dedicated clothing filters. clothing and fabrics offer a WIDE variety of possibilities. i mean, take something like shoes. i dont know of any shoe leather filters, though there are a couple 'leather' filters. velvet. who's done velvet? steve has one that is close to satin now and i think i remember one attempt at lace, and one of denim, but that still leaves a rather large variety to do yet. and there's a ton of fabric types out there. there's also a lot of ground textures that can be done.

plastics are still underdone. there's a ton of plastic types out there in the real world.

and, if you still need ideas, i'm actually quite amazed there arent more paper texture filters. have you ever gone into Staples or some other large office equipment store and just looked at how many paper types there are these days? quite amazing.

and speaking of clothing, have you ever gone into a tie store? good lord, i could spend a lifetime just making tie filters and socks? who's done an 'argyle' filter?

so, hang in there. there's still a LOT of room to grow in yet. go visit texture sites or game sites or other plugin sites. i've seen quite a few plugins that are frankly no longer in my arsenal because FF pretty much blows them out of the water (as i predicted it would quite a while back).

and, if you really do get desparate, you could always blow up your computer and download a new demo version of FF (you didnt hear me say that, though)

Craig,

you just got nominated for writing up the wiki entry "Mysteries of the Editor's Pick Unveiled - A Guide to Filter Authoring"

And there you have it... Thanks.

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BE FUN. =D

Otherwise I am just being not fun... which is not fun

Ahimsa, you can ask FF for a 2 month extention! Just go to the contact link and fill out a brief email saying why you deserve FF for 2 more months, then keep working at FF and your filters will get better and if you keep at it you will become a proud owner of FF.

Note: I think your upholstry Fabric deserves HU

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Kraellin wrote: we shld write a 'how to get your free copy of FF' thread.

Didn't want to put the whole post as a quote..But very well done and written.

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Torley wrote: There are a lot of opportunities I haven't seen taken advantage of: I'd love to see more video tutorials and blogs dedicated to Filter Forge, something which is just beginning to be birthed. (As I noticed in http://www.filterforge.com/forum/read...5&TID=2690 )

+10

Nice thread. very helpful - thanks.

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jffe wrote: Meanwhile, Vlad/FF, can ronviers and redcap use any of my high usage credits toward their copy of FF

I think yes, we can arrange this. I'm not sure if we should make this into an official policy, but for these particular cases, why not?

well, if you didnt, vlad, there's really nothing to stop jffe or someone else from cashing in their rewards and getting the free program and then just sending the program to someone else and letting them register. so, might as well avoid the middle man

I am extremely, extremely glad I started this post

So does that mean Ron and I are in??? Ahhhhh This is the best!!!

Jffe, I wish I knew about FF when it first came out, to be able to help in the beta would have been soooo fun.

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jffe wrote: If Vlad/FF will allow it, as many as 2, of my high usage credits can go toward your free FF.

jffe, did you mean you wanted to give 1 of your credits to ronviers and 1 to Redcap, or 2 to each of them?

As a matter of fact, the thing is it wouldn't be enough anyway -- neither Redcap nor ronviers has any High Rank filters of his own, so if the idea is that they should receive free copies of Filter Forge right now, you need to give 3 of your prizes to each of them.

FYI: You currently have 7 prize-winning filters: Barcode Color Art, Black Light Tint, Color Philosophier 1, Dirty Halo, Intonation, Liqueidescope, Pattern Loom.

I would like to withdraw my name from consideration for this. I was hoping for time to earn a copy not have jffe buy one for me. I will see what I can do with the time remaining on my trial and if I fail, then I fail - simple as that.

It seems this may have been something that should have been dealt with privately. My offer stands, but I'll speak no more of it publicly. Sorry to any who may have felt bad over any of this, I would hope it obvious that it wasn't intentional in that way.

jffe

I think you should accept the off in good conscious.

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I would not rest easy until I got at least 3 HU filters, and I know you wouldn't either

That would be my sincere intention but my situation is not sufficiently stable to allow for a commitment. I could very well disappear at any time.

Hey I'll take one of those credits jffe.. J/K

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jffe wrote: Sorry to any who may have felt bad over any of this, I would hope it obvious that it wasn't intentional in that way

Obvious that your intentions are good!!!

Suggestion.....maybe we could get a group together to donate enough extra high usage to a "Kitty" for Vlad to equally award everyone who has made a significant effort to contribute over the last period.....such as Redcap, Ronviers, RawnArt, Presidio, MysticBlueRaven, ScaryKitty, PogS, etc.....

I think that I have 5 or so extras past my lifetime updates award to donate.....plus many others about to turn which will be of no use to me as far as awards are concerned....

Or, maybe it's time for FF to rethink their demo period restrictions, in that, if they really want new filter makers to develop their ideas, and make better and better filters, it can just take more than 3 months/90 days or whatever. As far as people using FF and not making filters, 90 days is of course insanely long for a demo period. But for people who get sucked into making them ha-ha, well, 90 days is time to do some stuff, but it's probably right about when they are getting their ideas together and about to start making their high usage filters that would earn them their free copy anyways. I don't know exactly how lenient FF feels about those things, but if they are as concerned about having more good filters as they are about selling FF, then they should probably allow filter makers to double their trial period assuming they are active on the forums and submitting filters every week or two (or more often ha-ha). Anyways, just an idea, as I am 90% sure the people you mentioned above there Stevie, are going to earn their copy fairly soon anyways, it's just maybe going to take a bit over 3 months is all, and I'm sure they'd just as soon earn it, and keep working with FF the whole time.

jffe

well, you could always do an 'associates' type program. sorta sounds like what you guys are suggesting.