Vancouver, BC August 24, 2008 -- AKVIS Software Inc. releases version 6.0 of its photo collage plug-in AKVIS Chameleon. The program is a true breakthrough in photo collage creation. In most cases it does not require precise selection of the objects and now even the pasted fragment can be adapted to the color range of the target picture to provide a natural photo montage. The new version offers one more mode to expand your possibilities and make photo collage creation fun to do. Also there is improved compatibility with Vista SP1 and Photoshop Elements v.6.0.

Creating photo collages with AKVIS Chameleon is fun! This ingenious software makes the process easy and entertaining. Earlier one had to thoroughly select an object for pasting into a new background; with this software this tedious part of work is no longer necessary. You can concentrate on being creative and forget about complicated selection techniques.

In "Montage" mode, for instance, you can take a rectangular part of the source image and then use two pencils - red and blue - to roughly indicate the parts that should appear on the resulting photo collage - for instance, a figure of a person, and the parts that should blend away - the rest of the background and irrelevant objects.    

The other two modes were available in the earlier version of Chameleon and it is thanks to them that the program received its name. In "Chameleon" mode the plug-in pastes an object into a picture in such a way that the object adapts to the new color range and blends with the background, as chameleons do. In this way you can add clouds to a clear sunset landscape and the clouds will adopt a red tint. Or you can paste a new nose into a face and the nose will acquire the complexion of the "receiving" face.

Version 6.0 of Chameleon presents a new "Emersion" mode, in which images can be combined to create a seamless photo montage. In contrast to the other modes, in Emersion Mode the pasted fragment does not overlay the background, but embeds into the background so that only certain parts of the fragment are visible. In this mode it is possible to make collages with difficult objects (trees, or apply a graffiti to the wall, etc).

The tool can be helpful to home users who are not experienced in image editing. You can create customized postcards for your loved ones; make a wedding album using all kinds of photos and backgrounds; correct closed eyes (by implanting open eyes from another photo of the series), change the appearance of a person, etc.
Check the Tutorial page at http://akvis.com/en/chameleon-tutorial/ to get a dozen of original ideas.

Designers will appreciate this tool as it allows them to combine images with entirely different color ranges or to create the effect of drawing on a texture surface (crumpled paper, wood, etc), and all that with only a mouse-click.

AKVIS Chameleon is compatible with Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements, Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo, PhotoImpact, and other popular software. AKVIS Chameleon V. 6.0 for Windows runs on Microsoft Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista and the Macintosh version runs on the Mac OS X platform.

For a free trial, AKVIS offers 10 days of fully functional use. The users who tried the previous version of Chameleon and have their version expired, now have the opportunity to test the software again.

AKVIS Chameleon sells for $75 USD, downloadable from http://akvis.com . Home users can enjoy the full line of AKVIS plugins in the AKVIS Alchemy bundle (Enhancer, Chameleon, Stamp, Retoucher, Coloriage, Noise Buster, Decorator, Sketch, LightShop, SmartMask and ArtSuite) for USD $325 USD. For business licenses consult the official web-site. One license key will activate the software on two computers, for example, on a desktop and a laptop.