Learning Filter Forge

learning is going to be different for every person. each brings his own knowledge already accumlated from elsewhere. for some, an art background has been employed. for others, a math background, maybe. so, everyone brings different things to the table.

thus, it boils down to, what do YOU want to do with the program? and that's where you start. what do you want as an end product and then work backwards from there. for me, that end product was mostly in the photo art area, so i wasnt so interested in textures as much as i was different effects on photographs. but, for others, it was ALL about the textures. thus, they may well have started somewhere different than i did.

so, you have two things there so far, what you already know and what YOU want to know.

the third is all about the program. what can it do? and what are the tools available within it? this again is going to be somewhat relative, since again, each person brings his own knowledge and purpose, but NOBODY is going to do very much effective if they dont know the tools. a carpenter trying to hammer a nail isnt going to get very far using a saw to do it. so, you have to know the tools. some folks already know a good deal, being photoshop users, or 3d program users or have other graphics skills and a certain familiarity with the various tool types in FF, but others will have to find out what a 'black point' is and what it does and whether to use a gaussian or normal blur. FF does help with this, though.

FF has a BIG advantage over other graphic programs. it's primarily visual. every component has a visual output where you can see what that component is doing to the overall effect you're creating. this is pretty huge and beats any kind of scripting or text type tool, hands down for learning. when one can instantly see a result of something applied, you learn right there and then. you can see the result instantly.

but, it still helps to know HOW things are done within each component. folks like Crapadilla, ThreeDee, Uber and some others, have a very good depth of understanding of how various components work, much better than myself. i tend to rely on the visual aspect of the components and a bit of a haphazard trial and error method. thus, those other folks can predict much better what a final result is going to look like, where i'm guessing quite a bit and fumbling around trial and error-wise with my way of doing things.

so, what you want, to save time, is prediction. how is somethign going to look BEFORE you ever plug it in? and that takes knowing how things work. the WIKI and help files are fairly technical. so, if you dont have much of a technical background, you're going to find yourself studing all sorts of things to get a handle on how things really work. i could give you an example of this, but it would probably put you to sleep but, suffice it to say, words are going to be key in figuring out how components work and how to predict a final output before you ever start plugging things in.

the help and wiki will give you some of the mechanics, like, why are some 'nodes' green, while others are gray and still others, blue. things like that, a lot of us picked up way back in the original beta test over two years ago. and, because we asked a lot of the same questions anyone else might that picks up this program, you can also find answers in the older pages of this forum. there's actually a LOT of good material hanging out back there on some of these pages.

so, you can work several different ways. you can just start plugging things into each other and see what happens, or, start with pure theory by reading and UNDERSTANDING all of the helps, wiki and forum pages, or, you can do a combo of both, which is probably the best way and the way i prefer in the long run... do, read, do some more, look up something i dont understand, do some more, ask questions on the forum, do some more, post up examples of my work, do some more, ask for some help on the forums, do some more and so on, ad infinitum.

so, does that cover any of what you wanted or am i just blowing smoke here?

ken,

welcome to the forums and "Good Choice!" () on your purchase!

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ken tompkins wrote: As a new owner of FF I am trying to learn how to create filters. I've searched here and looked at the wiki but haven't found much on the PROCESS of creating them.

In a nutshell:





Ok, all kidding aside, I'd recommend the following procedure:

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1) Start with the Filter Library: Open up various filters that interest you and play around with them. Change parameters here and there and observe how this changes the result. Hook up new components, change stuff around, ... 2) Once you got enough of the filter author madness, start a fresh Simple Filter and grab an Image component. Start adding components to the filter tree to modify the Image in various ways. Experiment heavily with map inputs. Don't aim at any usable result, just 'doodle' away and experiment freely without censoring yourself. 3) Rinse and repeat.

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Some tips for analyzing filters: - Examine how the author broke down the 'visual problem' that he faced into smaller and smaller 'visual problem units'. - Try to identify the key 'building blocks' (i.e. functional groups of components). - Examine how the various 'building blocks' are assembled to construct the 'solution' to the 'visual problem'. - If you've got a very messy filter tree layout at hand, try reorganizing it into functional groups. - Examine the order in which the operations take place inside the filter. Did the author have anything in mind using that particular order. What would happen if this order were changed?

An example:


Lounge Lizards

In order to 'solve' the 'visual problem' of 'leather couch', the author had to solve the following smaller 'visual problems':

* How does one make the basic leather bulge?
* How does one construct the seams? Ok, got seams now, but how does one rotate them to fit with the leather bulges?
* How does one create the buttons?
* How does one make the leather crease and crinkle?
* How does one give it all a slight irregularity?
* How does one generate color for that leather surface?
* How does one create different levels of reflectiveness for the leather and the buttons?
* What are the aspects of this texture that the user would want to have control over?

For each of these questions there is an answer inside the filter tree in the form of a component or a component group. If you can look at the filter tree and isolate these functional groups (or 'building blocks'), you're beginning to get into the mindset of a filter creator, and you're beginning to understand the PROCESS behind it...

You'll start noticing that there are certain 'recipes' that are used over and over again in many filters, techniques for solving certain basic visual problems if you will. Some examples of very basic visual problems inside FF would be:

* How do I create a circle?
* How do I create a layer of solid color?
* How do I create an outline for an arbitrary shape?

The best of these techiques are collected in the 'Snippet' category of the Filter Library, and they are used everywhere because they have been proven to be the most optimal solution. Familiarize yourself with these 'recipes' and it'll make your life much easier. No one wants to re-invent the wheel constantly...

First of all, I want to thank those who responded to my query. Your suggestions are a wonderful review of your experiences with FF and I have captured them to my machine so I can read and re-read. It was kind of all of you to post.

Second, there are some excellent suggestions in your comments. For example, I am beginning to look at filters (as Crapadilla suggests) to identify the "building blocks" of various components. I hadn't noticed these groupings before. I'm also trying to see much of this as a visual experience and environment. What am I seeing -- in its parts -- and how might I create these visual elements in a filter?

Beliria suggests multiple saves and I'm adapting that to my work flow.

Most of you suggested "playing" and I'm enjoying pasting components together to see what I get. It's fun.

So, thanks again for your helpful responses. I stand in awe when I review what has been done here.

kt

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I'd like to see some of this information in an introduction to FF in the Wiki. I had a very similar time learning FF and it'd be a great way to stop newcomers from being too scared off by some of the hardcore effects.

+1 for that.