Special Effects Tools

The Special Effects button opens the Special Effects Bar.
With special effects you can add emboss, shift colors, warp add mosaic, add lens flare atc.

The difference between Filters and Special Effects is that with the Filters you apply the effect on whole image where with Special Effects you actually paint the effect. Few of the Special Effects have also a whole-page version in Filters.

Swap R-G-B channels. By randomly painting over few times you can create a rainbow texture. Also you can use it to change clothes color...

Create and Aged Photo Effect with all the 1920 scratches, noise and brownish look. And because this si a brush, you can affect only part of the image you want.

If you want to apply the effect on whole image you can use filter in menu
Filters->Stylize->Aged Photo which poroduces also very interesting effects on whole page

Emboss an image where you paint. It could add a texture look to smooth images.

Create Mosaic where you paint.

Create poster like effect with Pastel colors

Create an effect of motion (radial zoom inward) blur from the point from where you click and drag.

Create an effect of image behind the glass

Make funny faces with this tool. Warp lets you grab a part of the image and stretch it. And of course you can use it also for more serious work.

Note: this tool doesn't work across the borders of the tile. At present you can warp only inside the tile.

It creates an interesting neon effects, where edges glow in different colors.

Simulates the Thermovision. However it is a fact that you can use it to reveal some unseen details of image. Such effect is used in the geographic satelite photography. The normal colors are replaced with the spectrum palette.

Add beautiful Lens Flare effects. The Lens Flare is most visible on dark images where it creates amazing light effects.
To add Lens Flare, click on the Flare button and then click on the image where you want to have the center of the flare. Do not release the cursor, instead drag it from the centre, creating the size of the flare. You also control the angle origin of the light streaks.
Click and drag to set the size and origin. It creates amazing space-like reflections on dark background Create flares on sunsets.. You can control the amount of light streaks from the light source (the Sparkle in the middle) with Opacity control on the Brushes Bar

You can add Sparkles the same way as the Flare
Add Sparkles to glass or metal... or anywhere you like them. You can combine 2 sparkles with different streak angle.... ...to create more complex sparkle. Changing You can control the intensity of the light streaks with Opacity slider on the Brushes Bar.

Note: In PhotoSEAM even if you add sparkle directly on the tile border it will became seamless.

This brush paints back the original of the image. It is the same brush as in the Photo Retouch Bar.
The original is defined when image is loaded from the disk (such as digital photography). Original is not defined if you start painting into new document. However anytime you can set or define new original of the image from the menu Image >Set as Original. Also you can paste completely new original with Paste as original in the menu Edit.