The Plastic Wrap effect alters an image to appear to be wrapped or coated in shiny plastic, accentuating the surface detail of the image. The parameters of the effect can also be set to create images that appear to have been made from Polaroids that have been scratched and textured by hand.

Highlight Strength
Move the slider to the right to increase the strength of the highlights in the resulting image, and to the left to decrease the highlight strength.

Detail
Move the slider to the right to have more detail from the original image used to create shine in the resulting image, and to the left to show less detail.

Smoothness
Move the slider to the right for an overall smoother image, and to the left for a less smooth image.

Tip

*In addition to the surreal shine that the Plastic Wrap effect adds to images, the effect can also be used to emulate other experimental approaches to photographic image manipulation.

When Polaroids are artistically altered by hand, they are often scratched from the back with a sharp instrument. This leaves a white mark, often along the edges of the image, and sometimes drags the colored pigment along with it.

To create an effect reminiscent of this sort of treatment, the Plastic Wrap effect should be applied on the image with a high Highlight Strength setting and a fairly low Smoothness setting. The idea is to have just the right amount of detailed, white lines in the image and avoid large areas of flat, white reflections.

When the right amount of white lines have been added, apply the Ripple effect (Classic Art, Volume 1) to the image at low distortion settings (Ripple Magnitude and Ripple Size), to slightly shift and jiggle the white scratch marks and the associated image areas.

As Polaroids tend to be highly saturated in color, increasing the Brightness and Contrast of the image in the host program may be beneficial. Slightly blurring the image in the host program either before applying Plastic Wrap or as a final step may also be useful in simulating the altered Polaroid look.

©1993 Aldus Corporation; portions ©1989-1993 ImageWare Research and Development, Inc. All Rights Reserved. US Patent 5,063,448. Other Patents Pending. Version 1.0