App Review: Tangled FX

Let’s get straight to brass tax with this review. Tangled FX is like ShockMyPic on steroids. You can get very similar effects to ShockMyPic or you can create an image that looks like you spent hours on it in photoshop.

The first screen is the simple instructions that pop up on how to use Tangled FX. When you tap on open, you can open a photo, use the camera, copy an image from the clipboard, or use one of the sample images. The second screengrab is what you see after the image is opened and initially processed. There are 16 presets to choose from ranging from fibers, to the shockmypic look, to extreme processing that makes the original image unrecognizable.

In the options panel, I reommend using the advanced settings with the preview on. The preview size will vary depending on your device. Choose something in the middle for pretty fast rendering. The higher the resolution, the longer it will take for the image to process. With that in mind, you’ll want to fine tune the image on a lower resolution preview image before you process the high res version. In order to switch from the preview image to the high resolution image, you must tap the top middle button that shows the resolution and says “preview.”

I think the presets offer a great start and often times you’ll probably be happy with at least one of them. If you’re a perfectionist, like me, you can fine tune the settings by tapping on the tune button in the lower right hand corner.

The sliders might be hard to figure out at first, but after playing with them a bit you’ll be able to get work with them like you know what you’re doing. I still don’t know how to explain what each slider does, but I’ll try to share what I can at this point.

The effect scale factor is exactly what you think it is…it makes the overall effect larger or smaller. Think thicker or thinner fibers or swirls. I’ve found that the pre sharpen, sharpen size, and post sharpen size all offer better results when they’re under 5%. You can adjust the amounts to get more or less of the sharpening effect. The stroke size is the size of the fiber/brushstroke/swirl. Smudge size is used to smooth out the image and reduce harshness of an effect.

Pros

• You can achieve a wide variety of effects with one app.
• The size! It’s only 6.2MB at the time of this review.
• Being able to adjust your settings on a low res preview image saves a lot of time.

Cons

• I didn’t find the sliders to be the most intuitive.

Examples

Conclusion

I’m a big fan. The effects on animal photos are amazing to me. Since I can use Tangled FX to create a painterly image, a fiberous image, or an extremely edited version of my image, I can see this app replacing a few other similar apps that don’t offer as much variety as Tangled FX. Although this app is optimized for iPhone 5, I didn’t find myself annoyed by long save times or sluggish performance because of the ability to work on a low resolution preview image. Don’t forget to work on the preview image and then tap on the preview button at the top to switch to full resolution before you save! For the absolute best results, run Tangled FX, save your image, then make some subtle adjustments to brightness, contrast, and saturation, in your favorite image editor.

Rating: 5/5 I feel like I give quite a few apps a 5/5, but this one truly deserves it.

Price: 1.99

Requirements: Compatible with iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod touch (4th generation), iPod touch (5th generation), iPad 2 Wi-Fi, iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G, iPad (3rd generation), iPad Wi-Fi + 4G, iPad (4th generation), iPad Wi-Fi + Cellular (4th generation), iPad mini and iPad mini Wi-Fi + Cellular. Requires iOS 5.0 or later. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

***Full disclosure, I did not pay for this app, I asked for a promo code so I could review it. I’m not being offered any compensation for this review. ***

http://www.orangeqube.com/tangledfx/index.html