Thursday, October 24, 2013

FotoSketcher 2.60 officially released! 100% free, as always :-)

Hello all,

FotoSketcher 2.60 is now ready for download.
Head to http://www.fotosketcher.com/download-fotosketcher/ to get the latest version.

Here are the main changes in version 2.60:
  • a brand new Painting 1 (watercolor) effect (which replaces the previous one)
  • a new 'brushstrokes' frame
  • a few bug fixes and interface improvements:
    • solved the filename bug when dragging and dropping an image (thanks Casey for spotting that one)
    • modified the naming convention to MyPhoto_FotoSketcher.jpg (better for sorting files alphabetically in a directory)
    • solved a transparency bug with png files
    • added a CTRL+S keyboard shortcut when an image is being processed to save an intermediate result
    • added a progress bar when creating the new brushstrokes frame (which can take a few seconds)

Here is an example of the new Painting 1 (watercolor) effect (click on image for full-size view):

and here are the parameters used:



As always, you can use FotoSketcher completely for free, even for commercial work.

Enjoy!

Best regards,

David


 

10 comments:

Casey said...

Fantastic work!

Feedback:

Thank you... thank you SO very much for doing that with the file names - it keeps the painted image in the same group as the original - you can flip back and forth in Irfanview to see the effect full size.

http://i.imgbox.com/aduOFHY7.jpg

.....

Drag n drop naming just saves as "FotoSketcher image.jpg" rather than the dropped file name - maybe that's more of an issue with drag and drop? Maybe it opens the file without passing through the file's name?

(I tried it twice and had to name the second one "FotoSketcher image 2.jpg")

.....

That new painting style makes a beautiful watercolour effect!

http://i.imgbox.com/admn0Krg.jpg

.....

The border effect - SWEET! It seems a little scrappier now - did you enhance that effect? It's great, it looks like a little out-of-the-image brushwork.

AND!!!! It doesn't cut into the image, you've made it so it ADDS to the image = no picture portion lost (I take it that is why it does take a little longer to work its magic - credit for the progress/working bar).

(sorry, got a little excited there) (I got may name in lights!! Well.. on the news page.. hehehe)

Fotosketcher keeps getting better and better!

David said...

Hi Casey,

Thank you for your feedback :-) I'm glad that you like the new version. I did indeeed tweak the new border (you can see the brushstrokes more clearly than in the beta and it no longer eats much into the picture). As for the dropped file (BTW did you know that you can also drop an image from the web?) FS does not capture the filename, which is why I use "FotoSketcher image" as the default filename.

All the best,

David

Casey said...

" (BTW did you know that you can also drop an image from the web?)"

Mind = boggled!!!

I feel foolish asking this... but how long has FS been able to do that?

It works!! And from Opera browser (most drag n drop things don't like Opera)!

*bows respectfully in your direction*

David said...

Hi Casey,

I don't remember exactly when I added this drag & drop feature from the web, but it's been available at least since v2.10 :)

Cheers,

David

Peter, BC, Canada said...

Salut David,

Fantastic Watercolor tool! Here's a sample of what I did:

http://i.imgbox.com/adeQK6C6.jpg

Thank you for your tremendous generosity!

Casey said...

I made a script, it's a lined sketchy drawing.
I've been trying to find somewhat of re-creating a sort-of "quick hand drawn sketch" for a book I'm writing.

It's meant to be the 'hero' drawing things he sees.

http://i.imgbox.com/acdTx776.jpg

(safe image)

The FSS file

http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?file_id=15043269542840550711

It works best on areas of mid tone and higher - it tneds to block-up on dark areas.

Casey said...

I know I'm being a pest, by now, but I forgot to ask:

Is there any chance you could add a feature to open a mask file to overlay a frame edge?

(That slightly NSFW girl bum picture I sent before used that method, a grey scale mask overlay)

Maybe an option down the bottom "Overlay external image" - that would also allow people to overlay a signature image too.

David said...

-> Peter: very nice "nature morte"!

-> Casey: thanks for the script. It works very well :-)
The "Overlay external image" is a good idea. It could be used for watermarks, signatures or frames. I'll definitely look into it.

sara said...

If you do decide to include an "overlay external image" feature, it would be interesting to also have the option to apply the image with different blend modes (Multiply, dissolve, Dodge, etc). What about the same blend options when merging source and result images?

David said...

Hi Sara,

Thank you for your suggestion. I will probably keep the overlay function simple (just an adjustable blending parameter), but I have been thinking of 'muscling up' the merge effect. It already has a multiply option, but I will probably add dodge and burn (or other options) in the future.

Regards,

David