Brilliance (graphics editor)
Encyclopedia
Brilliance is a bitmap graphics editor for the Amiga
computer, published by Digital Creations in 1993. Although marketed as a single package, Brilliance in reality consisted of two separate (but near identical-looking) applications. One was a register
-based package also named Brilliance. The other was a true color package called TrueBrilliance.
The Brilliance package was one of the major rivals to Deluxe Paint
, the established "killer app" in Amiga bitmap graphics editing. At its launch, Brilliance attracted generally favorable reviews. One commonly noted point was TrueBrilliance' s HAM/true color performance which was significantly faster than that of Deluxe Paint IV. However, despite being faster and easier to use than Deluxe Paint, Brilliance never achieved the same level of popularity. It may be significant that (in contrast to Deluxe Paint) by the time of Brilliance's launch, the Amiga market was already in serious decline.
TrueBrilliance was notable for its ability to edit true 15 and 24-bit color images, even on older Amigas which could only display HAM-6
(pseudo-12-bit color) graphics. In such cases, the image was rendered as a HAM display, but all modifications were performed on the underlying true color image buffer. Even when the final image was intended for HAM display, this had the advantage that successive operations did not accumulate HAM artifact
s on top of each other. Loss of quality could be restricted to a single HAM conversion at the end of the process.
There were two major releases of Brilliance. The original Brilliance package came with a dongle
. Version 2 (released in 1994) dropped this requirement, although some reviewers considered the changes in functionality overall to be minor, given the new major release number. However, the significant drop in price of the new version was positively received.
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
computer, published by Digital Creations in 1993. Although marketed as a single package, Brilliance in reality consisted of two separate (but near identical-looking) applications. One was a register
Palette (computing)
In computer graphics, a palette is either a given, finite set of colors for the management of digital images , or a small on-screen graphical element for choosing from a limited set of choices, not necessarily colors .Depending on the context In computer graphics, a palette is either a given,...
-based package also named Brilliance. The other was a true color package called TrueBrilliance.
The Brilliance package was one of the major rivals to Deluxe Paint
Deluxe Paint
Deluxe Paint is a bitmap graphics editor series originally created by Dan Silva for Electronic Arts .The original version was created for the Commodore Amiga and was released in November 1985...
, the established "killer app" in Amiga bitmap graphics editing. At its launch, Brilliance attracted generally favorable reviews. One commonly noted point was TrueBrilliance
TrueBrilliance was notable for its ability to edit true 15 and 24-bit color images, even on older Amigas which could only display HAM-6
Hold-and-Modify
Hold-And-Modify, usually abbreviated as HAM, is a display mode of the Commodore Amiga computer. It uses a highly unusual technique to express the color of pixels, allowing many more colors to appear on screen than would otherwise be possible....
(pseudo-12-bit color) graphics. In such cases, the image was rendered as a HAM display, but all modifications were performed on the underlying true color image buffer. Even when the final image was intended for HAM display, this had the advantage that successive operations did not accumulate HAM artifact
Digital artifact
A digital artifact is any undesired alteration in data introduced in a digital process by an involved technique and/or technology.-Possible causes:...
s on top of each other. Loss of quality could be restricted to a single HAM conversion at the end of the process.
There were two major releases of Brilliance. The original Brilliance package came with a dongle
Dongle
A software protection dongle is a small piece of hardware that plugs into an electrical connector on a computer and serves as an electronic "key" for a piece of software; the program will only run when the dongle is plugged in...
. Version 2 (released in 1994) dropped this requirement, although some reviewers considered the changes in functionality overall to be minor, given the new major release number. However, the significant drop in price of the new version was positively received.