New Mac OS X Photo Editing & Bitmap Graphics Software: Pixelmator

Pixelmator is a brand new (and still in beta) raster image editor for Mac OS X. What seems to set it apart, at least from the descriptions and screen shots on their website, is it’s very Mac OS X-ish GUI (Graphic User Interface). Everything has those cool-looking, smoky translucent windows.

I’m not sure how the all-black interface would flow for me, but I am willing to try it out. Looks like a nice lightweight Photoshop alternative for those out there without full Photoshop needs, without sacrificing some of the must-have Photoshop features like layers, thenow-stamdard tool set, transparency, layer blending and certain retouching & effects.

Coincidentally TUAW has a post today about the first public beta being out, and they have a “first look” review. The prognosis is positive, but they say it definitely needs more work under the hood. There’s also an introductory video to Pixelmator.

I am looking forward to trying out the demo. I am not sure how much of a use I will have for this, being a Photoshop owner and all, but I still enjoy seeing how other software makers solve challenges like layers, filter & effect applying  and other tools. The intro video shows some potentially cool ways to handle gradients.

via Derek Bender

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