specific plugin request

[drewgm]

I'm pretty new to Photoshop, but there's something specific I need to do, and my Photoshop Elements software doesn't have the filter I need. The 'facet' filter comes close, but isn't sufficient.

What I'm trying to do is create a template that can be used to make a 'paint-by-number' type of image, so this filter needs to do two things. First, it needs to limit the number of colors used to a specified number of colors. Secondly, it must not create any continuous region smaller than a specified area. I can reduce the number of colors used pretty easily, but when I do this, the transition from one color to the next is 'blended' by varying the pixel density of the two adjacent colors.

Does anybody know if such a filter exists, preferably for free? I imagine I'm not the first person to want to try such a thing.

Thanks.

[HaraldHeim]

Try the free Simplifier from http://photoshop.msk.ru or the commercial Buzz Pro from http://www.fo2pix.com