Levels

Phantasm Levels is a live effect/filter that allows adjustment of the black, white, and mid-point gray input levels and output levels of artwork, similar to Photoshop’s Levels dialog. As a live effect, it is accessible through the main menu, under Effect > Phantasm > Levels. It can also be applied directly from the Appearance panel using the “Add New Effect” button at the bottom of the panel, or through the Phantasm panel (see Phantasm: Panel).

After applying the live effect using the menu item (or when clicking on the existing effect in the Appearance panel to edit it), the parameters dialog will appear:

Phantasm Levels Dialog

1. Channel Menu

Specifies which channel or channels the current levels settings apply to. For CMYK documents, this includes the composite four process colors (CMYK) as well as each individual color. For RGB documents, this includes the composite three primary colors (RGB) as well as each individual color. In both cases, individual spot colors will also appear in the list, as well as Image Alpha, which affects the alpha channel in images with transparency.

2. Input Levels

Sets the levels for the shadows (0 to 253), midtones (0.1 to 9.99), and highlights (2 to 255). The shadow and highlight levels are absolute values, while the midtone value is always relative to them.

3. Histogram

Shows the levels of the tints of the selected channels within the targeted art as a histogram. Due to plugin limitations, if the Levels live effect is applied to multiple targeted art objects, a histogram of only one of them can be displayed (a warning will be shown). Histograms that cannot be displayed, such as for Image Alpha, will show a “Null” symbol (a circle with a slash through it). The slider thumbs under the histogram reflect the current input levels, and can also be dragged to adjust them.

4. Output Levels

Sets the tonal range that the adjusted art will assume. The shadow level can be brought to the right of the highlight level, in which case the levels will be inverted.

5. Output Level Slider

The slider thumbs reflect the current output levels, and can be dragged to adjust them.

6. Warning Area

Displays warnings, such as when the effect is being applied to multiple targeted art objects, or when a spot color is present in the artwork.