StaneeRae Loc: Lincroft, NJ USA

I just got an email from Mediachance:
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Speaking of Ai, If you've noticed a strangely increasing flood of gorgeous fantasy images from all corners of the internet in recent months as if everyone suddenly became a massive artistic talent, there are two possibilities here.

You either don't know what things such as Dall-E, Midjourney or Stable Diffusion are, or you've already read/watched a million articles about them (and probably tried them yourself).

In a nutshell, you type text and the AI generates an image for you.
While it may have appeared to be just a curiosity a year ago, I argue that is no longer the case.
…
But, here is a segue toAi Photo and Art Enhancer (and probably DAP 7 as well).

Whatever you think of these new image-generating tools, Ai Photo & Art Enhancer is a fantastic way to enlarge such images. I've tried it. It works.
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StaneeRae Loc: Lincroft, NJ USA

Sign up for JixiPix emails, as they have sales at various times. One is over Black Friday - Cyber Monday. Sale prices are usually 40% or 45% off.

But last year, their 12 Days of Christmas event had the best deals. Each day, one app was featured at a discount. The Desktop daily apps were 45-60% off.
iPad apps were just $5 each (reg. $20), whereas they were $11 or $12 each over Black Friday.

Sentinel4

Sentinel4

I enjoy using Snap Art 4.
Sentinel4

mrgarci Loc: Albuquerque, NM

Good to know, thanks for the tip!

mrgarci Loc: Albuquerque, NM

Another one I hadn't heard of, thanks for the reference!

Laramie Loc: Tempe

There are other options not yet mentioned. For example, Darktable, RAWTherapee, and the dreaded Gimp. All, I believe, open source.,

Drbobcameraguy Loc: Eaton Ohio

Affinity Photo has a plethora of creative tools and abilities.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

StaneeRae ... said in part: Dall-E, Midjourney or Stable Diffusion are, or you've already read/watched a million articles about them (and probably tried them yourself). In a nutshell, you type text and the AI generates an image for you.
Consulting my Baptist minister... he said that these were the work of the Devil, were unholy to the sanctity of SOOC.

Stan: "While it may have appeared to be just a curiosity a year ago, I argue that is no longer the case."
I Agreed. My first experience was with Googles DeepDreams... wow insanity AI... The text to photo programs will get more and more refined as the photo database expands and the algorithms refined. I oftensay at 86.5 y old, that I was born 30 y too soon as the old cartoon series said with a jabbing smile.

I have sniffed the fringes of Word to Photo programs but not bitten into them yet. I downloaded Mediachance Art and Photo AI, $34. Played with it a bit... looks promising... I have used DAP, Dynamic Auto-painter fro years. JIXIPIX has some interesting photo mod programs... some of them I have gotten for free on giveawayoftheday
Of course my toolbox is full of Topaz accumulated over the years.

As with E-Cars vs ICE [gas cars] some of the smaller budget companies will not afford to convert and are late to the table. Same with software, convert to AI or they will parish. We live in a revolutionary period of time... GM had the E-Car Tiger by the tail in 1990s and the Exon Tiger... convinced them that they should scrap the E Car Technology... they did and now are teetering on bankruptcy playing survival to the Hi-Tech Tesla E-Car, Robotics, Energy Company. Bob Dylan's song... "Times are a Changin' " says it well.
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=lyrics+times+they+are+a+changin+bob+dylan

rwm283main Loc: Terryville, CT

I interpret from your post that you’re looking to apply some artistic design to an already post processed (Lr, Ps, etc) image. I’ve also been interested in doing this sort of thing myself but haven’t really looked into it with much effort so I’m looking forward to hearing what others have used.
Your topic piqued my interests so I googled “photo artistic software” and saw one that looks like it would be something that is up my alley. Has anyone used “BeFunky” and if so what are your thoughts.

JBGLADSTONE Loc: Oregon

ON1 2023 has the state of the art AI software. Take a few minutes and review the power of ON1 2023. So simple to use but totally controllable. Level adjustment at various levels brings your creativity into play. New AI in masking is a winner. AI for soft focus correction. AzI for noise reduction, and the list goes on.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

Be Funky... time to go sit in the closet and bump ones head against the wall.So much AI fun stuff... brain saturation.

"BeFunky's all-in-one online Creative Platform has everything you need to easily edit photos, create graphic designs, and make photo collages."
https://www.befunky.com/

mrgarci Loc: Albuquerque, NM

Thanks for all the input and great suggestions!

FYI, I just noticed this YouTube video by MeredithImages, which seems to be focused on alternatives to Topaz Labs Studio 2! I'm sharing for those that are interested and also might be looking for alternatives as I am. I haven't yet viewed the whole video as it just came out, but here's the link:

https://youtu.be/OSmzdA96J0Y

jcboy3

I'd rather these guys poo-poo Adobe and spend all their time and money trying out a bunch of wanna-be software.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

There IS something to say about competition. It keeps Adobe improving the product.