LUCIS PRO IS BACK!!!!!

Wanted to write an update on this blog since it does not appear that the Lucis Pro program is available anymore. I imagine you have all noticed that the direct links to download Lucis Pro are no longer working. I would suggest trying to contact Dr. Gary Gaugler of Microtech who was the last owner of the software as far as I can tell. It seems a lot of Photoshop users would really like to have this program – I still find it so useful. It would be great if enough people contacted him that he would make it available for download again. (Updated 080720)

I was so excited when I found out that Dr. Gary Gaugler of Microtechnics has bought the rights to Lucis Pro – Yeah! Definitely one of the best Photoshop plugins ever made. It is so good and is once again available at a reasonable price. If you already have Lucis Pro 6.0.9, the latest version before the plugin went defunct, the new version 6.1.1 appears to be exactly the same and their website is also very similar. (The Stand Alone editions were apparently updated, but I only use the plugin as a filter in Photoshop. Check out the Support tab if you have trouble loading the Windows version to PS CC2018.) This blog won’t go into a lot of explanation on how the plugin works as I have written about Lucis Pro in past blogs. If you go to the Support tab on the Lucis Pro website, there are PDF manuals that can be downloaded and info which discuss very specific details on how the plugin works. See my recently updated Digital Lady Syd Reviews Lucis Pro 6.0.9 (Now Affordable) and my How to Get a Great Illustrative Effect with Lucis Pro 6.0.9 blogs for more info and examples from me. Below is a short video showing the interface and a little bit about how the sliders change the look of the image. The image above is the finished image started in the video below. I decided not to use the painterly effect and just go with the regular sharper image look, then used my regular workflow to finish it up. (If the link is not available in the RSS feed, go to the actual blog to activate video.)

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All that was done to the image below (which was set to 8-bit mode but it can be used at 16-bit with different settings) was to apply Lucis Pro – checked the Split Channels box with Red set to Enhance Detail 101/Smooth Detail 1, Green 125/1 and Blue 103/1 and the Assign Original Image Color 75% Processed/25% Original. Then just added a little white spotlight effect on the centerpiece and a dark vignette.
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This image is a view of Edinburgh from the Castle. Lucis Pro was run twice to get this final effect. On the bottom duplicated background layer, the plugin was opened and the Split Channels box was checked and set to Red Channel Enhance Detail 191/Smooth Detail 1; Green 173/1; and Blue 107/1 with Assign Original Image Color to 40% Processed/60% Original. The Background layer was duplicated again and placed on top of the first Lucis Pro layer. This time these settings were used in Lucis Pro: Enhance Detail slider set to 233/Smooth Detail 99 – this gave the image a much more painterly look which I wanted for the trees. A black layer mask was added and just the places where I wanted the more sharp lines were painted back, such as the tower and the white house. A Curves Adjustment Layer for contrast and one for exposure were added and a slight dark vignette was used to finish the image. Pretty simple!

The Lucis Pro effect is one of my favorite plugins. It is very easy to use and it can create such clean, sharp lines in an image, especially if the image is a little soft – and the colors can be quite spectacular. I think it is definitely worth the money – I use it in my workflow quite a bit, especially with images that are a bit graphic. It seems to give a lot of definition to these subjects. As I noted before, I do not believe there is a “try before you buy option” at this point so there is some risk. For me I have always liked the look of this plugin since the early 2000’s so I got it in 2016. Anyway, it is something to think about if you like the results.

Have a great weekend!…..Digital Lady Syd