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ATPM 5.04
April 1999

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Review: Kai’s Power Tools 5

by Jamal Ghandour, jghandour@atpm.com

excellent

Box ShotProduct Information
Published by: MetaCreations
Web: http://www.metacreations.com
List Price: $199
Upgrades: $99

System Requirements
PowerPC-based Macintosh, Mac OS 7.6.1 or later,
Photoshop 3 or later or 100%-compatible host,
32 MB RAM and 50 MB hard disk space,
24-bit color video, color monitor, CD-ROM drive

Here comes yet another killer version of Kai’s Power Tools from MetaCreations. A program that not only took the creative industry by storm, but also secured its company a very bright future, KPT was originally designed to be a creative new filter for Photoshop; however, its unethical interface and wild creativity made it instantaneously popular. Nowadays, everyone is copying KPT’s ways and even imitating its interface.

So why all the fuss? Simply because these filters not only offer astounding effects but also give results you would expect from a Hollywood Studio—not from your very own desktop Mac. My only regret is that this new version should have been out earlier. Anyway, I am absolutely positive that was worth the wait.

The plug-in is now much faster than its previous releases (but inevitably does require more resources) and supports Photoshop. Here are some few features at a glance:

kpt1

KPT ShapeShifter
Create stunning shapes and objects with refracting glass edges, 3D light sources on beveled metallic
surfaces, soft, curved and lit Web buttons, and text. Resulting elements carry masks with them, which
makes compositing a snap.

kpt2

KPT FraxPlorer
The new, definitive fractal explorer features real-time-fly-through, 1000% larger previews, and never-before-seen fractal styles.

kpt3

KPT Orb-It
Explode a source image into thousands of spheres with variations in size, density, and realistic 3D lighting. Produce fields of bubbles, raindrops, and giant lenses, text effects, and mind-boggling distortions.

IMAGE imgs/X10.gif

Also included are KPT FiberOptix, KPT FraxFlame, KPT Frax4D, and many more...

Verdict: KPT is the ultimate collection of Photoshop plug-ins. If you read this far and can afford it then buy it now!

Ohh, right, I am also supposed to state downfalls? How about that took this much time to be released? :-)

AppleCopyright © 1999 Jamal Ghandour, jghandour@atpm.com. Reviewing in ATPM is open to anyone. Contact reviews@atpm.com for more information.

Reader Comments (8)

Henrik Øgård · January 1, 2002 - 10:00 EST #1
This is the best Photoshop tool, ever! =)
anonymous · March 13, 2003 - 12:28 EST #2
Does KPT run on Illustrator 10.0.3?
Irina Bystritskaya · March 28, 2003 - 09:00 EST #3
Do you have the trial version? I have Mac OS 9.2.2. Will it work with my system?

Irina
Lee Bennett (ATPM Staff) · March 28, 2003 - 10:38 EST #4
Irina - Kai Power Tools was sold to Corel and is now called KPT Effects. I saw that it works for OS 8.6 and above, but I did not find any trial download.
Rizza Nacisvalencia · August 15, 2003 - 09:14 EST #5
Simply amazing! :-)
David c Boyd · August 27, 2008 - 23:51 EST #6
Would anyone have the manual for Kai's Power Tools 5 I have the software but cant find the manual
Thanks
Dave
DAVID ERIC LEICHT · November 15, 2008 - 03:17 EST #7
can anyone tell me if i can run KPT3 or KPT5 on the new CS photoshop????for some reason i can't get mine to download into the plug-ins folder...has anyone run KPT3 or KPT5/6 on the new photoshop CS or CS2??????
Julio A. Silva · June 15, 2013 - 07:52 EST #8
I have KPT5 working in Photoshop 7.0, Photoshop Elements 11, BUT it does not work in Photoshop CS6. It does not recognize KPT5. Any one have any advice?

Thanks.

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