Create trippy-looking images with Hot Spot Studio

Okay, so maybe Hot Spot Studio is not the best name for an application creating colorful backgrounds using virtual "spotlights". It's kind of a bad name, really -- almost a misnomer, because "hot spots" used to refer to the areas in an image which could be clicked on to generate different actions. This is ancient web technology, but that was the name, and that's the first thing that came to mind when I first heard about this program.

But I forgive the name. Heck, the program is so cute, it's hard not to. The image at the top of this post was made in about three minutes of clicking and playing around. You get a small canvas, on which you place circles. Each circle represents one "spotlight" (again, problematic terminology, because the light cannot be directed -- it just glows in all directions. Maybe in a future version?). You can control the size, the intensity and the color of each light, and also set a special property, "Absorb similar light" -- you can see what that does in the circle in the bottom-right corner, and also near the middle of the image.

You can also set a background color of your choosing, or select an image to doodle over. Once you're done positioning your spotlights, you can click "Render Picture", wait for a few seconds, then marvel at your creation. You can see the source image used for this post after the jump.

Tags: art, background, color, graphics, light, toys