FotoSketcher 3.50 for Windows official release

Hi all,

If you haven't already downloaded the latest version of FotoSketcher, you can do so here: https://fotosketcher.com/download-fotosketcher/

The main new features are:
- A new Painting 4 effect, which uses a brand new brushstroke placement algorithm. Custom brushes can be used (transparent black & white .png images). I suggest you check out the very thorough tutorial by power user Steven Friedman here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Meexejr0koU (thanks, Steven!)
- Some minor bug fixes and speed enhancements
- A transparency slider for the text tool, which allows to add subtle signatures or watermarks

Here is an example of the new Painting 4 effect (photo taken a few years back in the beautiful region of Tuscany):

A note to Mac users: I have been unable to get FotoSketcher 3.50 to run successfully using WineHQ, so for the time being, please continue using version 3.40. I'm working on finding a solution.

I hope playing with FotoSketcher will help you pass the time during the lockdown. Enjoy and stay safe!

All the best,

David

FotoSketcher 3.50 beta available for testing *** updated 15th March ***

Hi all,

I've just uploaded a new beta version of FotoSketcher 3.50. You can download it here: https://www.fotosketcher.com/FotoSketcher_3.50_beta_2.0.exe


The new Painting 4 effect now supports manual brushes. The format for these brushes can be any transparent black & white .png file and for best results should be as rectangular and filled as possible.

Here is an example brush which can be used:

And here is an example made with the new effect (source photo taken yesterday in the French Alps):

The new algorithm is quite computer intensive and still requires some optimizing, so you will need to be patient to get good results :)

Have fun!

David

Early test version of FotoSketcher 3.50

Hi all,

Just in time for the holiday season, I've uploaded an early test version of FotoSketcher 3.50. You can download it here: https://www.fotosketcher.com/FotoSketcher_3.50_alpha_1.0.exe

I have replaced the old Painting 4 effect (which was really dated) by a brand new painting effect. Here is an example (source photo credit Christopher Alvarenga on Unsplash):

The code is not optimized yet, so processing times can be really long. Also, this is still a proof of concept and the final effect might look somewhat different.
In particular, the brushstrokes are still a bit crude and I will try to make them more realistic in a future release.

However, I have had fun testing the new algorithm and on some images the result looked rather good, so I wanted to give you a test version for you to play with.

I wish you all a Merry Xmas and happy holidays!

Best regards,

David

Update on the upcoming FotoSketcher 3.50

Hi all,

Just a quick word to let you know that it has taken longer than I expected to fine tune the new painting effect for the upcoming version of FotoSketcher.

The proof of concept looked promising, but the rendering times of the new effect were far too long and optimising strategies either did not speed things up enough or lowered the quality too much.
So it's back to the drawing board (pun intended)!

In the meantime, here are 3 examples with the same number of brushtrokes, but with 3 different quality settings (increasingly accurate stroke placement):

- example 1 - low quality (relatively fast):

- example 2 - medium quality (slower):

- example 3 - high quality (slowest):

I'll continue to keep you posted here as I make progress.


All the best,

David

Back to the Windows version of FotoSketcher: new 3.50 release in the works

Hi all,

I'm taking a break from porting FotoSketcher to other platforms and I'm currently experimenting on a new algorithm for the upcoming 3.50 version for Windows.

Here is an example of the new painting effect that will be added (click on image to view in full size):

 source image: https://www.freeimages.com/photo/new-york-2-2-1207696

Disclaimer: this is a work in progress and the released effect might look different.

I'll keep you posted when a beta version is ready for you to play!

Best regards,

David

Watercolor made with a development version of FotoSketcher for Android

Hi all,

 

The Android version of FotoSketcher is still under development and one of the first effects I have ported is the Painting 9 (watercolor) filter. 

The following image was made on my phone in roughly 10 seconds (texture and border where then added with the help of FotoSketcher for Windows). The photo was taken by me in my hometown of Lyon in France (the bridge is the Lafayette bridge on the river Rhône).

 

 

My goal is to have a multi-platform version of FotoSketcher which will run on Windows, MacOS, iOS and Android.

 

By the way, I have been told that some apps on the Apple, Google or Microsoft stores use the name FotoSketcher. These apps are usually not free and seem to be pretty low quality. In no way are they made by me. Unfortunately, this is blatant plagiarism and parasitism.

 

The official FotoSketcher homepage will always be: https://www.fotosketcher.com

 

But enough of that, what's truly important is that you have fun playing with the real FotoSketcher!

 

Kind regards,

 

David

FotoSketcher 3.40 is now officially released

Dear all,

FotoSketcher 3.40 for Windows is now available for download (for free, of course, as always). Head over to https://fotosketcher.com/download-fotosketcher/ to get it.

Change log:

• Brand new Painting 2 (brushstrokes) effect
• Slovenian translation (thanks to Jadran Rudec)
• The red bar (located in the progress bar at the bottom of the window) to stop an effect early is now compatible with batch processing
• Various small bug fixes
• 64bit version is now the default (32bit version is still available at www.fosshub.com)

Here are some examples of the new "Painting 2" effect (click on the images to view in full size):

 

 

 

 

Enjoy!

Best regards,

David

P.S. FotoSketcher is 100% free, even for commercial use. However, if you like FotoSketcher and feel generous, you are welcome to offer me a nice cup of coffee by clicking on the Donate button.

FotoSketcher 3.40 beta 3 available **updated**

Hi all,

Curious and adventurous souls, trend setters and hipsters, cutting edge and impatient testers, here at long last is an available beta for FotoSketcher version 3.40: https://www.fotosketcher.com/FotoSketcher_3.40_beta3.zip

There are still a few minor tweaks and optimizations that I'm working on, but you should be able to enjoy the new Painting 2 effect (which replaces the outdated bilateral filter).

Here is an example of this new effect (click on image to see full size):

Small caveat: at present, the preview image is a bit different to the finished result, so I still need to work on that. Better now as of beta #3.

Also, a new translation in Slovenian was kindly done by user Jadran Rudec. A warm thank you to him for helping FotoSketcher become even more international!

As always, don't hesitate to let me know if you find any bugs in this beta version, so I can iron them out before the official release.

Best regards and have fun!

David

New painting effect - work in progress

Hi all,

Just a quick word to let you know that I'm making progress on a new painting effect, which will use a brand new algorithm for brushstroke placement.
Early days yet, but here is a test image to show the new effect in action:

And another test image, with added curvature to the brushstrokes:

Best regards,

David

Tutorial: turn a photo into an illustration with FotoSketcher

Hi all,

A new version of FotoSketcher (version 3.40) is in the works and should be available soon.
In the meantime, here is a short tutorial on how to get an illustrated look with FotoSketcher 3.30.

1 - Open your source image in FotoSketcher. In this example, I have used this photo: https://www.freeimages.com/photo/blue-water-sailing-1-1437302 (credits Julie Tijerina).

2 - Reduce the size of the source image to 50% of the original size (press CTRL-R to bring up the resize window).

3 - Choose the Pen & Ink Sketch 2 effect with the parameters shown below and click on the Draw! button.

4 - Press CTRL-C to copy the sketch into your clipboard (we will use it later)

5 - Choose the Painting 9 (watercolor) effect with the parameters shown below and press the Draw! button.

6 - Swap the left and right images by pressing the F12 key (the watercolor will now appear in the left panel and will be used as source).

7 -  Choose the Painting 1 (watercolor) effect with the parameters shown below and press the Draw! button.

8 - We are nearly there! Now press CTRL-V to paste the sketch image we created in step 3.

9 - Choose the Merge source and result images with the parameters shown below and press the Draw! button (you can optionally add a texture and frame).

10 - Save your illustration (press CTRL-S) to your hard drive and you're  done :)

And here is the final result (click on image to see in full size):

All the best and have a great summer,

David