Last week the Pixelmator team released version 3.0FX of my favorite pixel pushing application. When I think of the hundreds and hundreds of dollars I’ve spent over the years on other photo alteration apps, I cringe. Version 3.0 adds a liquify feature, which my kids have already used to melt my face off pictures, and layer styles to quickly apply shadows, inner shadeows, gradients, reflections, an similar alterations on a per-layer basis.

The underlying engine also got an overhaul and is noticeably faster. They also opened a can of Mavericks on this version adding support for several new Mavericks technologies including App Nap and Compressed Memory. This is a free update if you’ve already bought it. You can find Pixelmator in the Mac App Store and on the web.

With Adobe’s new subscription model, a lot of people are asking if they should switch to something less expensive. I’ve been using Pixelmator for years and it has a lot more firepower than I need. Since you can buy Pixelmator for $15, which is just a few months of an Adobe subscription, Pixelmator’s looking even better. Michael Cohen at TidBITS did a nice article looking at this very question and came to the same conclusion I did: For most people Pixelmator will get the job done.

Pixelmator, my photo and graphics weapon of choice, just got a really nice update. There are a lot of new features in this update.

• There are shape tools and pallets, with dozens of built in shapes. (Watch the video)

• There is an intriguing new “convert text into shape” feature, to apply apply gradients, shadows, strokes, or even reshape individual letters.

• There is a new paint selection tool to speed up selections with a brush stroke. (Watch the video)

• They’ve also added a light leak effect for retro-illuminated images. (Watch the video)

It’s a free upgrade if you’ve already purchased the app. If not, I recommend getting a copy of Pixelmator. It is a really powerful photo tool for just $15.

∞

Pixelmator has quietly become my photo editor of choice. Their most recent update to version 1.6 adds even more pixel goodness including layer groups, Flickr export, 64-bit support, and the ability to import from my iPhone.