Where do presets come from?

You create Combo presets by choosing (and modifying) a Texture preset and a Shadow preset. But where do these presets come from? Why, a stork, of course! Otherwise… we make them with our Texture Anarchy plugins. This Photoshop suite is a deeper way of working with algorithm-generated, procedural patterns. Of the three filters, Texture Explorer is the one which creates Backdrop Designer's presets.

ABOVE: Texture Anarchy Explorer interface, mixing up a texture.

What is Texture Anarchy?

Like Backdrop Designer, Texture Anarchy is a procedural texture generator. Procedural textures are commonly used to simulate naturalistic effects such as fire, smoke, water, clouds, and marble.

If you look at the fractal patterns creating a Texture Anarchy texture, (below) you'll see that lots of fractal noise textures are used to create one final texture.

You will notice that many of the Texture and Shadow presets in Backdrop Designer are organic or naturalistic looking. This is because, at their core, we have used fractal noise and algorithms. And some creativity!

Which product do I need?

Should you buy just one of these products? That depends upon what your work is. We do offer a discount bundle because they work so fluidly together.

Backdrop Designer is more of a photographer's tool. It lets you customize pre-made textures. It's a tool for the busy photographer who wants to spend most of her time behind the camera, not the computer.

In comparison, Texture Anarchy gives you the opportunity to really manipulate those textures, or even create ones from scratch. This product is geared towards the experimental designer who actually likes to sit behind a computer and play in Photoshop!

Why would you want both? If you're a photographer who enjoys experimenting on the computer. Or if you're a designer who is also a photography hobbyist.