Akvis has released Akvis AirBrush 1.0. The Mac OS X compatible software makes photos look as if they're airbrush paintings made with a special airbrush tool.

The program is designed to help users create a piece of art out of any picture. Akvis AirBrush is available in versions for Mac OS X (10.4 and higher) and Windows, and can be used as a standalone program and as a plug-in to photo editors.

Airbrushing is a painting technique based on the use of a special tool called an air brush or spraying gun. Since it’s a touch free technique, it allows the painter to add light strokes, minor details, and blurry edges.

Akvis AirBrush is equipped with 40 presets to help you get started. They can be applied "as is" or can be modified. The software lets you save your favorite photo-to-painting settings as a preset and use them further. It's possible to import and export your presets. You can share your favorite settings with other fans of this technique. What's more, the software offers a batch processing feature that lets you automatically process a series of images.

As a plug-in, AirBrush is compatible with Adobe Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Corel Paint Shop Pro, and more. A full-featured free evaluation download of Akvis AirBrush 1.0 is available for download at http://akvis.com/en/airbrush/download.php .

AirBrush costs US$49 for the home version (either plug-in or stand-alone, all features except color changing), $69 for the home deluxe version (either plug-in or stand-alone, all features included), and $89 for the business version (either plug-in or stand-alone, for commercial use). One license key allows activation of the software on two computers.