The latest significant update to Mac image editor Pixelmator Pro has built on its recent video editing features, plus revamped its Shadows and Highlights tools.
Notice the difference left and right of the model as the new Pixelmator Pro removes a solid background color automatically
Pixelmator Pro's previous update in December 2022 added limited video editing capabilities. Users could import, open, or drag in video files just as readily as they could images, and perform adjustments on them.
Now as part of the new Pixelmator Pro 3.3 Mosaic release, that element has added a Remove Color tool. It's really a feature that will let users select any color on an image and then remove it from throughout the photo.
But it's chief use is for video and specifically for removing green screen, as the company shows in a video.
Beyond that key new feature for video, there has also been a potentially significant update for users working in images. Previously, Pixelmator Pro could open practically all image types and let users work on them, but the edits were destructive.
A user could make edits in Pixelmator Pro and then export the document in any supported image format , but they couldn't later change their mind. The best they could do before was keep the original image safe, and also separately save a Pixelmator Pro document that contained all of the edits.
This is still true, this is still an option, but Pixelmator Pro 3.3 Mosaic adds a feature called sidecar. Now when a user saves, say, a JPEG, a second file called a sidecar one is also saved.
That sidecar file contains all of the details of the edits, so they can be added to or undone by loading the image and sidecar file back into Pixelmator Pro.
Pixelmator Pro's extensive tools include a new Clarity option
New adjustment and stroke tools
The new Pixelmator Pro update has added a feature called Clarity and Texture sliders, that was previously introduced in the same company's Pixelmator Photo app. It's a "texture-aware" feature means it's been designed to understand how humans perceive light, shadows, and colors," so image edits look natural.
There are also improvements to Pixelmator Pro's Shadows and Highlights tools. It means "you can now recover much more detail from images that are too dark or too bright," says the company.
As ever, the new Pixelmator Pro remains a free update for existing users.
For new users, the update is now available in the Mac App Store where it costs $49.99.