Mac OS X

Pixelmator: The Perfect Complement to Photoshop

Developer: The Pixelmator Team
Version: 1.0
Price: $59
Operating System: Mac OS X
Click here to try Pixelmator.

Photoshop Replacement? Not Quite.

I’ve been dying to put pen to paper for a review of Pixelmator since I downloaded the first beta over a month ago. The program has gotten better and better throughout the two betas, and the full version, 1.0, is a pleasure to use. From Pixelmator’s aesthetics to its performance, the designers really opted for a no holds barred, give the people what they want, kind of attitude - and it shows in every aspect of this hot new raster image editor for Mac OS X.

Pixelmator is an interesting specimen of a program. There are very few pieces of software out there where I can look at a screenshot and instantly tell that this is a program that I can see myself falling in love with. There was just something about those initial screenshots that enticed me, called to me, wanted me to take the program for a spin. When I finally got the chance to, I realized what it was that those screenshots had been trying to tell me all along - Pixelmator was a program that really does look every bit as good as it performs.

Now, if you’ve been a loyal reader, you’ve heard me say this before. Pixelmator does a great job of filling a niche. Normally, I would follow that up with something along the lines of: “but was it a niche that actually needed to be filled in the first place.” But not this time. Despite being the computer for artsy individuals, Apple has been in desperate need of some more image editors and art programs. Look at the art programs for Windows, for example. There’s Photoshop [review] and the Adobe suite of programs, Paint.NET, the GIMP [review], and a few other lesser known Photoshop replacements. Nevertheless, they’re all pretty good. On the other hand, looking at the Mac selection of Photoshop replacements, there seems to be a drought. GIMP makes an appearance, as does Seashore [review] - but GIMP is terribly slow on OS X, Seashore is far too basic, and most of the other, lesser known Photoshop replacements don’t even run on natively on Intel processors. See the problem?

Pixelmator takes advantage of this scarcity by offering a “Photoshop replacement” that was never really designed to replace Photoshop in the first place. Instead, it contains a vast array of tools that are commonly used in Photoshop and none of that other stuff that most people never touch anyway. This creates a responsive and lightweight program that runs complex filters and Core Image effects faster than a cheetah on meth.

But the speed of the program is not all that Pixelmator has going for it. Far from it. There are tons of features packed into this 70MB application. It has support for practically every graphic filetype, it uses layers, it integrates with Core Image, it has a unique selection of filters, it can use levels to modify photos, PNGs can be exported by dragging layers to the desktop, it integrates with the iSight cameras, it can use Automator actions, it will edit a photo’s metadata. And the list goes on at the Pixelmator website.

While this review may be sounding like a lovefest for Pixelmator at this point, there are a few missing features and issues that I have with this Cocoa based image editor. The first is the lack of a curves feature. I don’t know about any of you, but I stopped using levels to edit images a long time ago. While levels work, curves would just be that much better.

Another problem with the program is the gimmicky aspect of some of the features. Some would say that the transparent windows are a gimmick, but I think they add a lot to the program. Instead, I’m talking about the string that connects some filters to the image. They’re a waste of resources and contribute nothing. A simple target or icon of some sort would have done just fine.

Despite these issues, I highly recommend Pixelmator. This program packs an extremely impressive assortment of features and some of the functions make otherwise tedious tasks fun again. I can’t wait to see how the Pixelmator team will integrate various Leopard technologies into this already amazing program. It should be incredible, and I am going to wait to purchase this particular piece of software until sometime after OS 10.5 is finally released. Do yourself a favor and download the demo right now.

Click here to try Pixelmator for yourself.

- Eric Norton