I found out about Aviary Tools earlier this year on TV. There are a ton of great tools to use and the best part is they are all free. The tools are integrated into the browser and you can share and collaborate with a myriad of other artists. While most of Aviary’s tools are not as advanced as well known tools such as Adobe Photoshop, each one packs a punch and conveniently stores everything online.
If you have ever used Adobe Photoshop or Gimp, Phoenix will be a walk in the park. Images can be uploaded and edited right on the spot or selections can be made from the vast user library on Aviary.com. Phoenix is also equipped with Layers, filters, masking and blending styles. One of the most interesting features is the capability of importing custom filters for altering images and creating effects. Overall, Phoenix will be a quick solution for work when having to be re-located to another computer that doesn't have Photoshop installed.
I was able to spend some time playing around with Peacock’s features and I have to say it's pretty advanced for a free online tool. The node based structure for building effects is intuitive and quite enjoyable. Peacock allows you to explore your imagination as you tweak various settings to get exactly what you want. The speed of uploading images and adding effects is quite fast and although I did experience some bugs, I was still impressed by it's user interface and usability. One of the things I noticed was a tight integration with all the other image editing programs from Aviary. This was also a feature in Phoenix, but I didn't notice it until I loaded up Peacock. Although I wasn't able to explore everything Peacock had to offer, I will definitely be adding this to my arsenal of graphic programs at work and at home.
I haven't always been too keen on using the print screen key on Windows nor have I enjoyed other methods of taking screen shots, except on the Mac. After using Talon, Aviary’s solution for speedy screen shots, I will never go back to using print screen again. At work, I am always capturing screen shots and occasionally run unto the issue of Photoshop not being able to detect the contents of the clipboard. This is when I open up Microsoft Paint. Yes I know, how silly. It's fast though, but not as fast as Talon. Hands down, it's effective and will speed up my work flow while at work. Talon can save to the clipboard, desktop or your online account for added convenience later on.
Raven was a real treat. It's not often you get to see a vector editing program within your browser with full functionality. Now it doesn't really stand up against programs like Adobe’s Flash or Illustrator, but it does have the potential to fit into a work flow. Personally, I have always been more of a Flash geek for drawing and editing vector designs, but Raven has brought a new form of convenience that cannot be ignored. Like all of Aviary’s tools, the user library is positioned within reach and anything can be imported from that library or from your computer. One thing I was disappointed with was the lack of options to import vector data like Illustrator files or EPS files, but I think it's trace bitmap function helps to make up for that tiny flaw. Overall, it's another tool to add to my work flow for creating vector images.
Falcon is a blessing in disguise. The intuitiveness is brilliant and it's capabilities for editing objects is astounding. My favorite is the arrow. I have to make so many arrows at work for training purposes and can sometimes be extremely tedious. Falcon will cut that time in half and will actually add a spark of entertainment to my work flow. Besides it’s awesome arrow tool, it can also use boxes and squares for marking up images and has other features such as cropping and marquee selections. To the naked eye, Falcon doesn't seem to offer much, but once you start experimenting with it you will know it's true potential.
Color is important in design and in computer based training. Toucan provides a simple clean interface for keeping track of colors and storing the settings online. Besides storing color swatches online, you can also import swatches from other users in the Aviary.com community. This tool will definitely be of use when working with colors at work or at home.
Myna is one of a kind when it comes to browser based waveform structuring and editing. It's features are somewhat limited, but powerful enough to conquer any task thrown it's way. You can record, edit, adjust volume and panning with automation, and add audio effects. At the bottom of Myna is an Aviary.com community library of music styles and music loops that can be placed anywhere on available audio tracks. The work flow of audio editing actually reminded me a lot of Pro Tools, which I used to use a long time ago for audio creation and editing. Like the other tools from Aviary, Myna can store and share final projects online and throughout the Aviary.com community. For professional purposes though, Myna will probably not be in my toolbox for preferred applications, but it will be a tool of choice for quick tasks at home.
Roc is a new tool that mainly focuses on the sequencing of sounds to create music. This tool is packed with many different simulated instruments and sounds and the sequence is completely controlled by the user. Sounds can be placed on any audio track and each sound has been licensed to use commercially with creative commons. Like most of Aviary's tools, Roc is extremely intuitive and a pleasure to work with. I can see this tool coming to the rescue for various music needs at work instead of having to pay for licensed music.
All in all, Aviary's tools are extremely useful and intuitive. Some of the tools also have advanced features that can become available if your free account is upgraded. So go ahead and go to Aviary.com today and start creating!
I know your post is about the Aviary tools, which are awesome by the way, but I am BLOWN AWAY by Animoto. Crazy. So I went to the Animoto site and watched their 60 second clip and I can’t wait to try it out. My next class video is definitely being made by Animoto. I’m going to show it to my class as well and have them all make a video.
Alright, Aviary tools. Never heard of them until now (I must have been hiding under a bush or something), but I’m anxious to try them. Having CS5 makes me less enthusiastic about trying them out, but it is a pretty cool perk knowing that all of my files are safely stored online. The music editor looks great though. I’ve been dying for a great music editor tool that allows precision editing (garageband simply doesn’t do all I need).
Well thanks for sharing your finds. These were great.
VERY cool find, Josh. My classes abound with artistic types lacking Photoshop, etc., and boy will they be excited when I integrate Aviary tools into their next project. Including a graphics element to final products definitely inspires students to exert the extra effort to create a final product that is, in all aspects, a superior effort.
Excellent review. It took me 2 or 3 times of visiting your blog before I realized you were not reviewing a bird watching program. I never heard of this set of tools as well and looks like I have a great deal of exploration to do before I fully realize all the features of what looks to an excellent suite of tools. Thanks!
I got my bachelors degree in computer graphic arts and went into a career in courseware development. I have been creating graphics, flash and 3D animations, videos and other types of training media for 6 years now. Apart from courseware development and graphic design, I also write music in my spare time.
3 comments:
I know your post is about the Aviary tools, which are awesome by the way, but I am BLOWN AWAY by Animoto. Crazy. So I went to the Animoto site and watched their 60 second clip and I can’t wait to try it out. My next class video is definitely being made by Animoto. I’m going to show it to my class as well and have them all make a video.
Alright, Aviary tools. Never heard of them until now (I must have been hiding under a bush or something), but I’m anxious to try them. Having CS5 makes me less enthusiastic about trying them out, but it is a pretty cool perk knowing that all of my files are safely stored online. The music editor looks great though. I’ve been dying for a great music editor tool that allows precision editing (garageband simply doesn’t do all I need).
Well thanks for sharing your finds. These were great.
VERY cool find, Josh. My classes abound with artistic types lacking Photoshop, etc., and boy will they be excited when I integrate Aviary tools into their next project. Including a graphics element to final products definitely inspires students to exert the extra effort to create a final product that is, in all aspects, a superior effort.
Excellent review. It took me 2 or 3 times of visiting your blog before I realized you were not reviewing a bird watching program. I never heard of this set of tools as well and looks like I have a great deal of exploration to do before I fully realize all the features of what looks to an excellent suite of tools. Thanks!
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