AmazeKit
AmazeKit is an image rendering library for iOS. Its goal is to retain the performance of using .png-formatted images in UIKit classes, while avoiding the chore of creating these images in Photoshop, as well as the extra download size of bundling the images in the app. Images are rendered according to a collection of “image effects,” ranging from a simple gradient or corner radius to blurs, masks, and inner shadows. AmazeKit also offers convenient UIKit support, automatically using the correct images as your controls change size. Retina displays are supported automatically, and AmazeKit aggressively caches rendered images to maintain optimal performance levels.
Getting Started
The recommended way to get AmazeKit is to use CocoaPods.
TODO: Add instructions for bundling AmazeKit, using a static library, Xcode subproject, and as a Git submodule.
Examples
The best way to see how AmazeKit works is to see it in action. Let’s look at a couple of common use cases and see what they produce:
Rendering an Individual Image
The following code sets up an AKImageCoordinator. This class is responsible for rendering an image into a UIImageView, automatically rendering it at the appropriate size:
// Noise Effect
AKNoiseImageEffect *noiseEffect =
[[AKNoiseImageEffect alloc] initWithAlpha:0.05f
blendMode:kCGBlendModeMultiply
noiseType:AKNoiseTypeBlackAndWhite];
// Gradient Effect
UIColor *beginColor = [UIColor colorWithRed:144.0f / 255.0f
green:144.0f / 255.0f
blue:144.0f / 255.0f
alpha:1.0f];
UIColor *endColor = [UIColor colorWithRed:103.0f / 255.0f
green:103.0f / 255.0f
blue:103.0f / 255.0f
alpha:1.0f];
AKGradientImageEffect *gradientEffect =
[[AKGradientImageEffect alloc] initWithAlpha:1.0f
blendMode:kCGBlendModeMultiply
colors:@[beginColor, endColor]
direction:AKGradientDirectionVertical
locations:nil];
// Color Effect
AKColorImageEffect *colorEffect =
[[AKColorImageEffect alloc] initWithAlpha:1.0f
blendMode:kCGBlendModeColor
color:[UIColor blueColor]];
// Create the image renderer
AKImageRenderer *imageRenderer = [[AKImageRenderer alloc] init];
[imageRenderer setImageEffects:@[
noiseEffect,
gradientEffect,
colorEffect
]];
AKImageCoordinator *imageCoordinator = [[AKImageCoordinator alloc] init];
[imageCoordinator setImageRenderer:imageRenderer];
[imageCoordinator addImageView:myImageView];
This produces the following image output (for an image view with a size of 250 x 100 on a Retina display):
Rendering Button Images
The AKButtonImageCoordinator class is like the AKImageCoordinator class, but it takes two image renderers instead of one. The “off” image renderer is used for the button’s normal control state, and the “on” image renderer is used for the button’s highlighted control state. The AKButtonImageCoordinator takes care of rendering background images for your button and automatically renders them to the correct size. Here’s an example:
// The butons will have a noise effect, rounded corners, and a gradient in
// common.
AKNoiseImageEffect *noiseEffect =
[[AKNoiseImageEffect alloc] initWithAlpha:0.05f
blendMode:kCGBlendModeMultiply
noiseType:AKNoiseTypeBlackAndWhite];
UIColor *topColor = [UIColor colorWithRed:144.0f / 255.0f
green:144.0f / 255.0f
blue:144.0f / 255.0f
alpha:1.0f];
UIColor *bottomColor = [UIColor colorWithRed:103.0f / 255.0f
green:103.0f / 255.0f
blue:103.0f / 255.0f
alpha:1.0f];
AKGradientImageEffect *gradientImageEffect =
[[AKGradientImageEffect alloc] initWithAlpha:1.0f
blendMode:kCGBlendModeMultiply
colors:@[topColor, bottomColor]
direction:AKGradientDirectionVertical
locations:nil];
AKCornerRadii cornerRadii = AKCornerRadiiMake(4.0f, 4.0f, 4.0f, 4.0f);
AKCornerRadiusImageEffect *cornerRadiusEffect =
[[AKCornerRadiusImageEffect alloc] initWithAlpha:1.0f
blendMode:kCGBlendModeNormal
cornerRadii:cornerRadii];
// The “off” state is blue, the “on” state is red.
AKColorImageEffect *onColorEffect =
[[AKColorImageEffect alloc] initWithAlpha:1.0f
blendMode:kCGBlendModeColor
color:[UIColor redColor]];
AKColorImageEffect *offColorEffect =
[[AKColorImageEffect alloc] initWithAlpha:1.0f
blendMode:kCGBlendModeColor
color:[UIColor blueColor]];
// We create two image renderers, one for each state
AKImageRenderer *offImageRenderer = [[AKImageRenderer alloc] init];
AKImageRenderer *onImageRenderer = [[AKImageRenderer alloc] init];
// And we assign the image effects for each.
[offImageRenderer setImageEffects:@[
noiseEffect,
gradientImageEffect,
offColorEffect,
cornerRadiusEffect
]];
[onImageRenderer setImageEffects:@[
noiseEffect,
gradientImageEffect,
onColorEffect,
cornerRadiusEffect
]];
// Next we create the button image coordinator and assign the image
// renderers to it
AKButtonImageCoordinator *buttonImageCooordinator =
[[AKButtonImageCoordinator alloc] init];
[buttonImageCooordinator setOffImageRenderer:offImageRenderer];
[buttonImageCooordinator setOnImageRenderer:onImageRenderer];
// Finally, we add a button.
[buttonImageCooordinator addButton:myButton];
This produces the following image output (for a button that’s 150 x 44 on a Retina display):
Off: 
On: 
The bin Directory
In the bin directory are two scripts: gen_docs.sh and publish_docs.sh. These scripts are meant for me to run as a convenience to publish the appledoc docs. Use caution when running them.
Build Status
AmazeKit was developed in Detroit by Jeff Kelley at Detroit Labs.