You know how most image editing apps have a “paint” filter that supposedly makes you photo look like it was actually made with oils or watercolors? And you know how they all – ALL – suck? Then Waterlogue is going to utterly amaze you, as it’s the first app I’ve seen that gives results that really look like a watercolor painting.

Then again, as the app comes from the folks behind Popsicolor and Percolator, it’s not that surprising that it’s so damned good.

Last week saw popular photo-editing iPhone app FX Photo Studio go free for a day. MacPhun, the app’s developer, then extended that free day indefinitely — a result, they say, of the app’s overwhelming popularity as it’s blown through a million new downloads since going free.

Now the developer’s doing the same thing with the even-more-fantastic iPad version of the app, FX Photo Studio HD. Only this time, they say the app will be free until it hits 10 million new downloads. Since this is such a stellar app, ten million is not nearly as steep as it seems.

There’re few photo apps better than MacPhun’s FX Photo Studio for the casual photographer. It’s got a pretty interface, it’s super-simple to use and it’s stuffed with way more filters than any other iPhone app at the App Store (pretty sure this is true; if you think you know of one with more filters, let me know). Normally the app is $2, but today it’s free.

If you thought that all apps that turn photos into “paintings” and “drawings” were total gimmicky junk, you’d be dead right. Applying a “find edges” filter and desaturating the result into grayscale doesn’t make a picture look like you drew it. It looks like you’re a dummy for even using it.

But things have changed: Glaze is an iPad app which actually makes faux paintings that look good.

Bored of your iPhone’s default unlock animation? I was after about three minutes. But thanks to a new jailbreak tweak called iUnlock, you can customize your unlock animation yourself with awesome effects and sounds. 

We’ve waited patiently for this little gold nugget of a photo processing app to land at the Mac App Store, ever since developer Nevercenter teased us with CamerBag 2‘s beta a few months back. Wait’s over: It’s here. And today only it’s on sale for $19.

Autodesk makes industry-leading software for animators, architects and industrial designers, so maybe the fact their Pixlr-o-matic  app is a stunning, gasp-worthy photo-effects tool for the iPhone (and iPad) shouldn’t be surprising; what is a surprise, though, is that it’s free.

Everyone wants to be an amazing photographer now days. That’s the reason why Apple updated the iPhone’s camera right? Unfortunately, taking breathtaking photos isn’t as easy as buying the new iPhone 4S and taking random pictures of the sun behind trees changing colors with the season. Don’t worry though, Cult of Mac is here to help you take your photography skills to the next level.

Whether you’re wanting to make a serious dent in the photography universe, or just trying to impress your friends on Instagram and Facebook, we got three amazing apps that will pour life into your photos. Best of all, the Mac Photo Effects FamilyPack Bundle gives you five licenses of FX Photo Studio Pro and five copies of ColorSplash Studio so you can spread the joy and give a couple copies to your friends so their pictures can look great too.

So what all is in this bundle worth $215 that you can get for $35?

I can only guess how much explosive glee AutoDesk Motion FX — a new free app from AutoDesk, the developer behind AutoCAD and the SketchBook line of apps — would have engendered in me as a little kid, because I fostered a deep yearning to run around with a flaming hand or fire leaping from the top my head like some Ghost Rider clone. Good thing my parents kept me well away from matches and gasoline.