Create a new folder in your plugins folder. Call it AAA.

UNZIP all the downloaded files into this folder.

The plugin will show up on your plugin menu under AAA Filters.

Files includes are:

    ablender.8bf
    DevIL.dll
    sample masks and textures

***** Please note that if you get an error message that reads "Unable to load DLL" you can copy DevIL.dll to the Windows/System32 folder. That should solve the problem.

Put all your mask and texture and grunge files in here too. You can even place them in subfolders to keep them organized. You can download these mask and texture files from the Internet. Thousands of them are available. It's best to use large mask files. BLENDER will autmatically downsize (or upsize) them to fit your image. Masks look much better downsized than upsized.



BLENDER controls:

  1. Open Layer

    This will display the AAA BLENDER folder so that you can open a layer file. You should set the folder for thumbnails so that you can see the masks and texture images. Double click on the thumbnail to open the layer.

    BLENDER opens .jpg, .psd, and .bmp files only. Most texture files you find on the Internet will be in jpg format.

  2. Make Layer Negative / Make Layer Positive

    You can make the layer you load negative or keep it positive. This is fun to experiment with grunge, texture and paint masks. This button toggles between positive and negative.

    Grayscale or black and white border masks should be white at the borders and black at the center when using Add or Subtract blending. If yours is black at the border instead, just click the Make Layer Negative button to make the mask modes work on the border instead of the center. You can Make Layer Positive with the same button.

  3. Lightness

    This control lightens and darkens the blending layer. It's worth testing all blends at lighter and darker settings.

  4. Layer Saturation

    You can remove 100% of the saturation or add to it by 100%. This allows you to use color layers even if you don't want the color—just set the slider to zero. When you set the saturation to -100, you can use the image as a grayscale mask. See below for more information on masks.

  5. Blend Modes

    There are three controls that will allow you to choose among 30 blend modes. The Blend Modes button allows you to quickly access 8 of the most useful blend modes. For the other modes, select from the dropbox control.

  6. Mask Modes

    There are two blend modes to use with grayscale masks. These are Add and Subtract. For quick access this button toggles between the two modes. Screen and Multiply also work with masks. Lighten and Darken work as well, but they introduce gray pixels instead of blended pixels.

    As mentioned above, border masks should be white at the borders and black at the center, at least for Add and Subtract blending modes.. If yours is black at the border instead, click the Pos/Neg button to make the mask modes work on the border instead of the center.

  7. RGB (Red, Green, Blue) Channel Sliders

    The RGB sliders are especially useful with black and white masks. When used in conjunction with black and white border masks, these sliders change the color and opacity of the mask. You will need to experiment to find effects you like. Try these sliders with border masks in Add or Subtract mode. They will add bright colors in Add mode and dark colors in Subtract mode.

  8. Frame Size

    Select a Frame Size to apply Blender to only the outside pixels. You select the number of pixels. This will allow you to use the file you open as a frame or a matte.

    Load the black, gray, or white file that comes in the download zip file, then select a frame size and experiment with the RGB sliders. You can get a solid border of any color this way.

  9. Stroke

    When Stroke is checked, you will get a black stroke on the inside and outside of your frame. Move the slider to the right to change the shade of the stroke from black to gray to white.

  10. Reset

    Resets the RGB sliders to zero, the blend mode to Normal, Layer Saturation to the default 0, and the image to Positive.

  11. Opacity

    You can fade the opacity of any mask to allow more of the original image to show through. If you have applied a mask effect for a white border, you can fade to allow some color into the border. Use this control for texture and grunge effects too.

  12. Zoom/Fit

    This button controls the preview window. It toggles between a 100% (pixel per pixel) view and a view of the whole image fit into the preview window. If you have selected a frame, Zoom will take you to the upper left corner of your image. Otherwise Zoom takes you to the center of the image. There is also a zoom control at the top of the filter dialog that allows you to get intermediate sizes in the preview window.

  13. Expand / Reduce

    Click on Expand and the filter face expands to give you a much larger preview. Click the same button to Reduce the filter to its original size.

Virtual Layers

Even in an image editor that lacks layers, you can get a wide range of layer blending effects with AAA BLENDER. Save an image (using a new name) in any state of progress with a SAVE AS command. Work on the image some more. Now you can use the saved image as a virtual layer whenever you want it. You can even open the original image as a layer and then fade the opacity to diminish the effects you have applied.

FREE INTERNET DOWNLOADS

Border Masks
http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/freedownloads/l/blframesmain.htm

Textures
http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/freedownloads/l/blframesmain.htm
http://www.textureking.com/
http://www.grungetextures.com/gallery/

Paint Layers
paint.zip   These Paint Layers were contributed by Bethany Wilson. Thank you, Bethany!


Download AAA Blender here.

***** Please note that if you get an error message that reads "Unable to load DLL" you can copy DevIL.dll to the Windows/System32 folder. That should solve the problem.