ColorBlast! Review

Our Review by Chris Nitz on January 12th, 2011
Rating: starstarstarstarblankstar :: EASY BREEZY
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Adding color to black and white photos could not be easier.

Developer: East Coast Pixels
Price: $0.99
Version: 1.0.8
App Reviewed on: iPad

iPad Integration Rating: starstarstarstarblankstar
User Interface Rating: starstarstarstarblankstar
Re-use Value Rating: starstarstarstarhalfstar
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarblankstar

Turning photos black and white and then adding color to specific items used to be a task for only those skilled in the use of Photoshop. Things have come a long way since those dark times. Now achieving this task is as simple as pulling an app like ColorBlast! to your iOS device and painting with your finger. It does not get much easier than this.

ColorBlast! expands on the idea of adding color to a black and white photo. First, you are not restricted to just black and white. There are several color options ranging from antique like oranges to cold blues. It maybe a small addition, but it really helps with the creative process when putting color back into a photo.
The next big thing is in the brushes themselves. Two common brushes are a roller and spray can. The roller slaps color wherever you drag your finger. The paint can does roughly the same thing, with the exception that it looks more like the color is spray painted on as opposed to just slapped back in.

There are two additional brushes that really struck me as being really useful. These brushes essentially only paint a specific color into the photo. For example, if you have red berries on a green vine that you want to bring color back to. Choose the correct brush, and start coloring the berries. Only the red of the berries is brought back into the photo while the green vine stays whatever color the backdrop is. This makes it nice and easy for those wanting to quickly bring back color to one specific item.

A few more features take this above the stand apps of this type. You can adjust exposure, hue, and saturation of your selected area. This is great for highlighting something, or just changing something from blue to orange. Easy to understand sliders make this creativity easy and quick.

It is not all rosy red happiness with this app though. It would be extremely useful if you had a circle outlining your working area. If you are trying to do some fine detail work, you have to zoom in close and watch the individual pixels change. An outline of your working area would greatly speed up the working process. It would also cut down on the need to paint, erase, paint, erase, and so on until you are happy with the results.

ColorBlast! is a magnificent app that really makes adding color to a monochrome photo fast, easy, and enjoyable. Despite the lack an outline on your working area, the interface is quick and easy to grasp. If you are in the market for this type of photo app, this one is one of the best. Try the free version and see just how well it works. There is also an iPad version for those with a need to go big.

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