FotoSketcher News

FotoSketcher 2.25 officially released

2012-01-28T20:01:00.000+01:00

Hi all,

FotoSketcher Version 2.25 is now officially released!
As usual you can download it from the official web page here: http://www.fotosketcher.com/download-fotosketcher/

The main changes in this release are:
- new "Emergence" stylized effect (looks like a mosaic or shattered glass)
- 2 new languages (Hungarian and Turkish, thanks Zoltán and Ufuk)
- some interface improvements (larger menu fonts, prettier trackbars and new background pattern)
- many bug fixes (I guarantee that there are plenty left!)

I hope you'll enjoy creating art with this new version ;-)

All the best,

David

FotoSketcher 2.25 Release Candidate

2012-01-23T19:28:00.001+01:00

Hi all!

I have just uploaded a close to final version 2.25 here: http://www.fotosketcher.com/FotoSketcher_2.25_RC1.exe

If no showstopping bug is found, I will officially release version 2.25 in the next few days. The main changes are the new Emergence effect, two new languages (Hungarian - thanks Zityisoft and Turkish - thanks U. UĞUR), a few cosmetic improvements and some behind the scenes changes.

Here is an example of the new Emergence stylized effect (click on image for full view):

And here are the parameters I used:

Best regards,

David

Bug hunting - Thanks for your help!

2012-01-07T16:43:00.000+01:00

Hi all,

Since making FotoSketcher version 2.25 beta available, some users were reporting crashes when trying to launch the program.
Despite testing on 6 different PCs, I had been unable to reproduce the problem.

Therefore, I added some code to do exception handling and thanks to the help of many users (and especially Peter from British Columbia!) I finally tracked down the problem to some corrupt components. For once, my code was not the culprit! After replacing these components, the bug finally disappeared. The current beta version can be downloaded here: http://www.fotosketcher.com/FotoSketcher_beta.exe

I still have a few changes to make, but I should soon be able to upload a release candidate of version 2.25. Stay tuned!

Thank you very much again for your help,

David

FotoSketcher 2.25 beta available

2012-01-05T20:06:00.001+01:00

Hi all,

I have just uploaded a beta version of FotoSketcher 2.25.
You can get it here: http://www.fotosketcher.com/FotoSketcher_beta.exe

Apart from a few bug fixes, the main new feature is the 'Emergence' effect (an evolution of the 'shattered glass' filter).

As usual, I welcome your feedback and would be glad to hear from you if you find any bugs!

All the best,

David

New shattered glass effect

2011-12-30T23:07:00.000+01:00

Hi all,

Just a quick word to let you know that I am also experimenting with a simple effect that I will probably call "shattered glass" or something similar.

Here is an early example (click on image to view in full size):

Best regards,

David

Season's greetings!

2011-12-24T16:58:00.000+01:00

Hi all,

I was hoping to release a new version of FotoSketcher in time for Christmas, but unfortunately I am running behind. My experiments with a new algorithm did not produce good enough results for me to include a new filter in FotoSketcher. I might even have to abandon the ideas I've been working on lately and start on new ones (no worries, I have lots of new ideas, one of them might even produce something nice, lol).

In the meantime, here is the result of one of my latest experiments (based on a picture of young Sean Connery):

I wish you all happy holidays!

All the best,

David

Working on some new ideas

2011-12-10T18:40:00.001+01:00

Hi all,

I'm currently exploring some new ideas based on the brushstrokes algorithm. I've changed the way the brushstrokes are placed and added a new 'overlap' concept in the code. That way I can choose how much the various brushstrokes are allowed to overlap each other.

It's still early days and the results are not yet completely convincing, but I think I am on an interesting track. Here is an example:

I'll keep you posted as I make progress, so stay tuned!

All the best,

David

FotoSketcher for Mac - proof of concept

2011-11-21T19:37:00.001+01:00

Hi all,

It's been a rather long time since I last updated this blog and I apologize to all my faithful followers. I know that you can't wait to know what's coming in the next release of FotoSketcher ;-)

First of all, I've busy rewriting the official website (http://www.fotosketcher.com/) which was in serious need of an overhaul. To cut a rather long story short, I installed and learned Wordpress, chose a nice, clean looking theme and voila!

Then, after some severe lobbying from Mac users ;-), I decided that I would start looking into Mac development. Fortunately, my programming environment Delphi had just been updated to support Mac OS. So I decided to invest in the latest version (Embarcadero Delphi XE2), purchased a (not so) cheap old Mac Mini with 512MB of RAM and tried to start programming for the Mac. Alas, I soon discovered that I needed to upgrade to Snow Leopard (the minimum for Delphi XE2) and that requires 2GB of RAM!

So, following this great tutorial http://www.methodshop.com/gadgets/tutorials/macmini-ram/index.shtml and miraculously not screwing things up, I finally installed Mac OS X Snow Leopard.

And tonight I set up everything to try compiling a test program on my Mac. It actually worked the first time (I nearly fell off my chair)!! Here is proof of my first program running on a Mac:

The snag is that in order to make FotoSketcher multi-platform, I will need to rewrite the user interface and probably quite a lot of the "under the hood"code. So I'll probably continue updating the current Windows only version in parallel for a while.

Best regards,

David

New version 2.20 officially released

2011-09-03T22:26:00.000+02:00

Hi all,

FotoSketcher 2.20 is now officially released and can be downloaded here: http://www.fotosketcher.com/

What's new in 2.20:

Pen & Ink 2 effect
Manual brush to apply any effect to selected parts of the image
Drag & drop (of image files) to the batch mode window
2 new languages (Greek and Latvian) - thanks Aris and Raufs!
various bugfixes

The new Pen & Ink 2 effect uses an algorithm which mixes edge detection, global and local contrast balancing and despeckle.

Here is an example (original photo credit Martin Schoeller):

Have fun ;-)

David

New beta 2.20 available

2011-08-24T19:33:00.004+02:00

Hi all,

Just a quick word to let you know that a new beta version is now available here: http://www.fotosketcher.com/FotoSketcher_beta.exe

I have tried to iron out most of the bugs related to the new retouch (manual) brush. Don't hesitate to let me know if you still find some bugs though!

***Update (1st sept 2011): a new effect has been added to turn a photo into a black & white drawing. It's called Pen & Ink 2 and here is an example:

All the best,

David

FotoSketcher 2.20 early beta available

2011-07-29T20:10:00.003+02:00

Hi all,

I've just uploaded an early beta version of FotoSketcher 2.20 here: http://www.fotosketcher.com/FotoSketcher_beta.exe

The main new feature is the manual brush, which enables you to apply an effect to a specific portion of the image (with variable brush size and transparency).

I hope you'll like it and I look forward to your feedback :-)

Best regards,

David

Software similar to FotoSketcher for Mac and Android

2011-07-08T11:12:00.006+02:00

Hi all,

In the past months, I have been busy working in partnership with other developers to port some of the FotoSketcher algorithms to platforms other than Windows.

I am happy to introduce you to a very nice app for the Mac, simply called Sketcher, which you can download here: http://neatberry.com/products/sketcher/

Even though it is not free, it is very reasonably priced. Here is a screenshot:

As for Android, there are two versions of the PhoneSketch app.
One is 100% free (but doesn't allow you to save your works of art): https://market.android.com/details?id=com.wimolife.PhoneSketchFree&feature=search_result

The full app is very affordable: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.wimolife.PhoneSketch&feature=search_result

Here is a screenshot:

I hope you will enjoy playing with these apps.

Best regards,

David

Upcoming feature: manual retouch brush

2011-06-15T18:39:00.007+02:00

Hi all,

I'm currently working on a new feature for FotoSketcher: a mouse driven paintbrush which will allow finer control over specific portions of an image.

Let's take the example of the new Painting 8 (expressive brushstrokes) algorithm. If you use too small a brush size, the resulting painting may look too similar to the original photo. Conversely, if you use a larger brush, the painting may look too rough.

The manual brush will allow you to first render a painting with large and rough brustrokes, and then select the areas of the picture where you need finer details.

Here is an example on a photo of Sir Sean Connery (click on the images to view them full size). The brush size was set at around 100:

As you can see the eyes, nose and mouth brushstrokes need to be refined.

In the future release of FotoSketcher (2.20) you will be able to change the different parameters (for instance reduce the size of the brush to 25) and click on the areas you want to retouch (shown in purple):

When you release the mouse, the finer brushtrokes are automatically applied to the selected area. After a few similar retouches, here is the final result:

The possibilities are endless as I intend to make this manual brush available for most (if not all) effects, which means that you will also be able to apply different effects to different portions of your picture.

All the best,

David

FotoSketcher 2.10 is officially released

2011-05-05T16:26:00.003+02:00

Hi all,

FotoSketcher 2.10 is now officially released. As usual, you can download the new version here: http://www.fotosketcher.com/download.htm

If you already have FotoSketcher installed on your PC, there is no need to uninstall the previous version, it will be replaced automatically during setup.

Here are the new features in this version:
- new painting 8 (expressive brushstrokes) algorithm, with custom brush support
- automatic saving of current image directory and custom brushes directory
- 4 new languages (14 languages included now: Afrikaans, Arabic, Czech, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish)
- batch processing now supports also bmp and png formats (as well as jpg)
- various user interface improvements and bug fixes
- optional FotoSketcher browser toolbar (for Internet Explorer or Firefox), with direct access to the FotoSketcher application, homepage or Flickr group
- support for drag and drop of images from the web directly to FotoSketcher (drop an image to the left panel to open it as a new source image)

Thank you to all beta testers who gave me their feedback and also to the translators who help make FotoSketcher a multilingual application.

Here are a couple of examples of the new Painting 8 effect (photo credit stock.xchng):

Best regards,

David

Close to release...

2011-04-20T22:43:00.002+02:00

Hi,

A quick word to let you know that I've finished debugging and tweaking the new painting algorithm (Painting 8 - expressive brushstrokes). I've used a softer brush than previously and have improved the brushstrokes' placement.

As usual, the beta version can be downloaded here: http://www.fotosketcher.com/FotoSketcher_beta.exe

I still have to add some new languages and will then be ready to release version 2.10.

All the best,

David

New beta available

2011-03-20T11:36:00.003+01:00

Photo credit: Sias van Schalkwyk (http://www.seepsteen.co.za/)

A new beta version has been uploaded. You can get it here: http://www.fotosketcher.com/FotoSketcher_beta.exe

The painting 8 filter has been fine tuned and is close to final.

All the best,

David

FotoSketcher 2.10 - early beta available

2011-03-08T19:28:00.003+01:00

Hi!

I've just uploaded a new beta version of FotoSketcher 2.10 if you want to play with the new Painting 8 (expressive brushstrokes) effect. You can download it here: http://www.fotosketcher.com/FotoSketcher_beta.exe

The new effect is very processor intensive, so despite some optimizing it still takes a while to run. I suggest you don't use it on larger images ;-)

Here is an example of the new filter:

Don't hesitate to let me know what you think!

All the best,

David

Upcoming new effect: expressive brushstrokes

2011-02-21T16:28:00.003+01:00

Hi all,

Still working on a new algorithm which uses brushtrokes (like the Painting 7 effect), but with a completely different stroke placement.
I think it gives a nicely expressive touch to the painting. Here is an example (click on the picture to enlarge):

I hope you'll like it.

Best regards,

David

Testing new ideas

2011-02-15T10:32:00.004+01:00

Hi all,

I'm currently experimenting (fooling around) with new algorithms ideas. Here is an example on the famous parrot:
It's early days yet, but I think it could be promising.

All the best,

David

A fun time waster

2011-02-08T18:42:00.005+01:00

As if you didn't waste time enough as it is with FotoSketcher, here is a piece of totally useless fun (crank up your speakers and click on the following image) :

Enjoy ;-)

FotoSketcher tutorial - how to apply multiple effects on the same photo

2011-01-10T17:58:00.012+01:00

Here is a step by step tutorial on how you can apply two different filters on the same image, using FotoSketcher 2.00.

Step 1:
Open a photo and apply your first effect (here Cartoon 1).

Step 2:
Then copy the resulting image to the clipboard (either by right-clicking on the drawing and choosing 'Copy drawing to clipboard', or by pressing CTRL+C or by clicking on the third icon in the toolbar).

Step 3:
Now apply your second filter (here Painting 6 - oil painting, with increased brushstrokes intensity).
Once the painting is finished, paste the previous cartoon image from the clipboard (either by pressing CTRL+V or right-clicking on the first image and choosing 'paste image from clipboard' or click on the fourth icon in the toolbar, as shown here).

Step 4:
The Cartoon image you had created in step 1 is pasted in both panes. Your oil painting has disappeared, but no panic, this is normal.

Step 5:
Just click on the undo icon (as shown) or press CTRL+Z.

Step 6:
Now the cartoon image in on the left and the oil painting is on the right. The final step is to choose the 'Merge source and result images' effect and voila!

The result:
With a frame and texture added.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial!

Best regards,

David

For the New Year... FotoSketcher 2.00 finally released

2011-01-01T19:12:00.004+01:00

Happy New Year to all!

After months of hard toil FotoSketcher 2.00 is finally available for download (http://www.fotosketcher.com/download.htm).

I am especially endebted to all the users who provided me with feedback, suggestions and encouragement.

And also a very special thank you to the people who translated FotoSketcher: Zdeněk, Date, Ari, Josef, Luca, cienislaw, Andrei and Bela.

What's new in v 2.00:

10 languages in all (English, French, German, Czech, Polish, Italian, Romanian, Dutch, Finnish, Russian)
Crop source or drawn image
Lossless 90° rotation
Improved and more responsive interface (12 skins, flicker-free icons, real-time preview of brushstrokes)
One-click automatic contrast adjustment
Check for updates
Automatic saving of language, window size, position and chosen skin
4 new realistic frames
New custom brushes loading for Painting 7 effect
New vintage photo effect (sepia, vignette, old photo texture)

I hope you'll have fun with the new FotoSketcher :-)

All the best,

David

New beta available - FotoSketcher Christmas edition ;-)

2010-12-25T17:14:00.005+01:00

Season's greetings to all!

I've just uploaded a new beta version of FotoSketcher 2.00 (http://www.fotosketcher.com/FotoSketcher_beta.exe).

This version now supports 9 languages. I've ironed out a lot of small bugs and made the interface more responsive.

In Painting 7, if you want to get a much higher number of brushstrokes (warning, this will be slow), you can double-click on the number of brushstrokes (to the right of the slide bar):

Apart from some more work that needs to be done internally on the undo/redo feature, this beta is very close to release. Unless of course, someone finds more bugs!

original photo credit: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1325636

All the best,

David

Calling for a little help (translating FotoSketcher)

2010-12-14T22:41:00.004+01:00

Hi all,

Thanks to some kind users, FotoSketcher will soon be available in English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Polish and Czech (and maybe more).

If you are willing to translate into other languages (or know someone who might) I would be very grateful if you could contact me.

Of course your name would appear in the credits section of the program: you'll be famous ;-)

There are around 180 words or short sentences to translate. If you are courageous enough to undertake this translating task, please don't hesitate to drop me a line at contact@fotosketcher.com

Best regards,

David

FotoSketcher 2.00 early beta available

2010-12-09T16:19:00.004+01:00

Hi all,

As promised I have just uploaded an early beta of FotoSketcher 2.00. Here is the download link: http://www.fotosketcher.com/FotoSketcher_beta.exe

It is still a bit rough around the edges and only supports English and French for the time being. The undo/redo function is also a little bit funny sometimes.

BUT apart from that it is perfectly usable and as far as I know stable.

Now for the goodies! The new features present are:

Crop
Rotate (in 90° increments, lossless)
improved interface (12 skins and flicker-free icons)
one-click automatic contrast adjustment (based on histogram stretch and unsharp mask)
check for updates
automatic saving of window size, position and chosen skin
4 new realistic frames
more responsive preview
new custom brushes loading for Painting 7 effect
new old photo effect (sepia, vignette, old photo texture)

As usual, I would be very grateful if some brave souls were to test this beta version and let me know (either by mail at contact@fotosketcher.com or on this blog) if they find any bugs.

All the best,

David

Loading custom brushes in FotoSketcher 2.0

2010-11-15T18:50:00.004+01:00

Hi,

In addition to the new functions previously mentioned (http://fotosketcher.blogspot.com/2010/10/working-on-fotosketcher-200.html), the next version of FotoSketcher will support custom brushes (in bmp, jpg or png format) for the Painting 7 (brushstrokes) effect.

The user defined brushes can be grayscale images (up to 512x512 pixels) where lighter pixels mean transparent areas and darker pixels mean (yes, you guessed right) opaque areas. Here is an example of a square brush, with a transparent area around it:The Painting 7 effect with this brush can create a kind of mosaic (click on the picture to view in full size):

Regards,

David

Working on FotoSketcher 2.00

2010-10-31T11:26:00.003+01:00

Hi all,

Just a quick word to let you know that I'm busy working on the next version of FotoSketcher (it will be version 2.00). Here are some of the new features you will find:

lots of new interface languages (thank you to all the users who kindly offered their help!)
a crop tool
a rotate tool
improved interface
automatic image adjustment (based on histogram stretch)
check for updates
automatic saving of window size, position and chosen skin
new realistic frames
maybe more...

Hopefully, version 2.00 will be ready in a few weeks. In the meantime, here is one of my 'manual' sketches. It is supposed to represent Steve McQueen :-)

All the best,

David

FotoSketcher 1.98 is officially released

2010-09-24T15:47:00.002+02:00

Hi all,

After a little tweaking (special thanks to user Kempton for his help in spotting a bug), version 1.98 of FotoSketcher is officially released.

Here are the new features and changes in this release:
- Two new cartoon effects
- Full undo/redo function
- Improved interface (with twelve different skins)
- New application and toolbar icons
- German language added (translation by Josef KASPARBAUER)
- Full PNG support
- Bug fixes

As usual, FotoSketcher can be downloaded from the official website: http://www.fotosketcher.com/

Best regards,

David

FotoSketcher 1.98 release candidate

2010-09-23T11:38:00.004+02:00

Hi!

At long last, after a lot of debugging and 'behind the scenes' coding, I have finally completed the latest version of FotoSketcher.

If you want to test it before everyone else, you can download it here: http://www.fotosketcher.com/FotoSketcher_beta.exe

Here are some of the changes:
- 2 new cartoon effects
- 12 different skins
- full PNG support (load and save)
- full undo/redo
- new application icon and splashscreen
- German language support

I would be very grateful if you could let me know if you find bugs (I'm bound to have let some in)!

All the best,

David

Still working on version 1.98...

2010-09-08T19:11:00.003+02:00

Hi all,

I'm still busy working on version 1.98. On top of the previously mentioned new functions, there will also be one or two new effects and some improvements to the interface. Here is an early screenshot of the main form:

Stay tuned for more news soon!

Regards,

David

FotoSketcher 1.98 early beta: full undo/redo and German language

2010-07-22T18:53:00.003+02:00

Hi,

I've just uploaded an early beta version of FotoSketcher 1.98 (as usual, you can download it here: http://www.fotosketcher.com/FotoSketcher_beta.exe).

So, what's new? Well, no new effect yet, but a full undo/redo function (up to 255 steps!). Also, a kind FotoSketcher user from Germany, M. Josef Kasparbauer has translated all the terms into German.

Here is a screenshot with the German language selected:

If you are willing to test the new beta version, please don't hesitate to send me your feedback either on this blog or by e-mail (contact@fotosketcher.com).

Best regards from the beautiful city of Lyon,

David

FotoSketcher 1.97 officially released

2010-06-24T18:50:00.004+02:00

Hi all,

FotoSketcher 1.97 is now officially released and can be downloaded from http://www.fotosketcher.com/

The new feature in this version is the "Oil Pastel Sketch" effect. Here is an example (original photo credit www.sxc.hu):

And here are the parameters I used:

Have fun :-)

David

FotoSketcher 1.97 beta ready for download

2010-06-22T14:23:00.005+02:00

Hi all,

If you want to try the new 'oil pastel sketch' filter, you can download the latest beta version of FotoSketcher here: http://www.fotosketcher.com/FotoSketcher_beta.exe

Here is an example of the new effect (original photo credit stock.xchng) :

And here are the settings used :

Best regards,

David

Working on new pencil sketch filter + some real drawings

2010-06-11T22:23:00.005+02:00

Hi all,

I am currently tweaking a new pencil sketch filter. Here are two examples (click on the images to view them in full size):

I have also started taking drawing lessons and I like sketching portraits. It gives me ideas for new algorithms for FotoSketcher. Here are a couple of my early attempts:

Best regards,

David

New beta version for multimonitor users

2010-06-08T14:41:00.003+02:00

Hi all,

Some users have reported issues when using FotoSketcher on multiple monitors and I have been able to reproduce the problem on my configuration: some windows tend to open on the wrong monitor or half on one monitor and half on the other...

If you have experienced this bug, you can download a beta version of FotoSketcher which should hopefully correct this: http://www.fotosketcher.com/FotoS ketcher_beta.exe

I would be grateful if you could let me know whether this has solved the problem for you.

All the best,

David

P.S. Nothing to do with the bug fix, but here is portrait of late actor James Stewart (original photo credit Baron/Getty Images). I used the pencil sketch 1 filter (with maximum contrast), then used as source (F12) and applied the painting 7 (brushstrokes) filter:

FotoSketcher tutorial on makeuseof.com

2010-06-03T17:16:00.002+02:00

Hi all,

I am currently busy working on a rather ambitious and time consuming complete rewrite of FotoSketcher. I have already completed the new user interface and I plan to add undo/redo capability and support for layers (more info in the following weeks).

In the meantime, here is a nice FotoSketcher tutorial found on the popular website www.makeuseof.com.

Best regards,

David

FotoSketcher 1.96 officially released

2010-03-20T13:38:00.005+01:00

Hi all,

After lots of testing (thanks to the 200+ users who were brave enough to try the beta version) FotoSketcher 1.96 is now officially released.
As usual, you can download it from http://www.fotosketcher.com/

So, what's new?

First and foremost, the new Painting 7 effect, which uses an algorithm to automatically place various size and shape brushstrokes on the canvas. There are now 35 different brushstrokes used in this filter. Beware, the algorithm is greedy and the filter can take a long time to finish, especially on large images. Still, I think the result is worth the wait. Oh, and it's fun to watch FotoSketcher paint for you.
Due to the computer-intensiveness of the new effect, I've had to add a progress bar to the preview. Also, when clicking on the Draw it! button, it sometimes takes a second or two before processing starts.
At any time you can interrupt the running process.
At the request of many users, I've added the possibility to open PNG files, as well as JPG and BMP. Sorry, no saving in PNG format yet.
If you wish to save in uncompressed format (if JPG produces too many artefacts for you) you now have the ability to save in BMP format (large file sizes).

Here's an example of the new effect:

Original photo (credit www.sxc.hu):

FotoSketcher painting (click on image to enlarge):

Parameters used:

Have fun with FotoSketcher!

Best regards,

David

FotoSketcher 1.96 new beta version available

2010-03-18T21:32:00.005+01:00

Hi all,

After quite a bit of tweaking, optimising and debugging, FotoSketcher 1.96 is now almost ready. You can download the latest beta version here: http://www.fotosketcher.com/FotoSketcher_beta.exe

The new painting 7 filter (brushstrokes) has been improved and now uses 35 different brushstrokes to give a more realistic result.
Also, FotoSketcher can now open PNG files, either directly from the open menu or by dragging and dropping a PNG image onto the first panel. However, FotoSketcher cannot save in PNG format though, but I have added a 'save as BMP' function if you don't want compression artefacts from JPG.

Here are a couple of samples from the new algorithm (original source images from www.sxc.hu). Click on the following images to view them in real size:

As usual your feeback is much appreciated.

Best regards,

David

Are you brave enough...

2010-03-08T23:50:00.003+01:00

...to test the beta version of FotoSketcher 1.96?

If you are, here is the direct download link: http://www.fotosketcher.com/FotoSketcher_beta.exe
Just a word of caution: the new effect (Painting 7 - oil Pastel) is very computer intensive (who said poorly coded?!).

Here's an example made with this new effect:photo credit: Stock.xchng.

Here are the parameters I used:

All the best,

David

A thousand monkeys...

2010-02-28T19:50:00.005+01:00

I'm currently working on a new algorithm which reminds me of the infinite monkey theorem (cf. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinite_monkey_theorem).

The idea is to position different size brush strokes on an image to try and produce a kind of painting. The main idea is that the brush strokes are randomly (hence the monkeys...) positioned on the resulting image but are only kept if they produce a result closer to the original. Therefore if you run the filter long enough, with smaller and more precise brush strokes you should hopefully get a pleasing image. Well that's the theory anyway...

Here is an early example (just click on the picture to view full size), based on a photo of the city of Porto Venere (credits Stock.xchng):

The algorithm still needs a lot of tweaking, but I hope you'll like it.

Cheers,

David

FotoSketcher 1.95 officially released

2010-01-03T21:54:00.003+01:00

Hello all,

After a few modifications (thanks to Kempton and Diane for their beta testing!) I have finally released FotoSketcher 1.95 (available from http://www.fotosketcher.com/).

I hope you'll like the new version.

Here is an example from a HDR photo found on Stock.xchng (thanks to John Nyberg for making it available for free):

The worflow is as follows (I have mostly kept the default parameters):
- Pencil sketch 3 + merge source and result image
- F12 (to use the drawing as source image)
- Watercolor + merge source and result image
- F12 (to use the drawing as source image)
- Vivify photo + merge source and result image + triptych frame + texture 1

Best regards,

David

FotoSketcher 1.95 beta available!

2010-01-02T19:43:00.003+01:00

Hi all,

As promised, a beta version of FotoSketcher 1.95 is now available for download. The direct download link is: http://www.fotosketcher.com/FotoSketcher_beta.exe

I would be grateful if you could let me know if any bugs are still lurking in the shadows... I have tested in Windows 7 and everything seems all right to me. Don't hesitate to contact me (contact@fotosketcher.com) if you encounter difficulties in XP or Vista.

There are quite a few changes from 1.9, but here are some I can think of:
- two new stylised effects (squares and dots)
- two new miscellaneous effects (vivify photo and alphablend source and drawing - only enabled if the source and result images are the same size, ie no frame)
- larger preview for source image retouch
- faster load time
- new realistic frame
- new triptych frame

Best regards,

David

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T22:58:00.002+01:00

Happy New Year to all Fotosketcher users!

Version 1.95 should be ready very soon now. I will probably release a beta version in the next few days.

In the meantime, I'm still experimenting with sunflowers ;-)

Here's an example of multiple effects combined:

All the best,

David

FotoSketcher 1.95 - Progress report

2009-12-30T21:55:00.003+01:00

Hi!

Here's a quick update on the development of FotoSketcher. I'm currently experimenting a new abstract algorithm called 'coloured circles', which turns a photo into thousands of different sized... coloured circles!

The following is a test image I've produced with this new effect + a new 'vivify photo' filter + the triptych frame:

Photo credit : stock.xchng (thanks to author Mike Korn).

Happy holidays everyone,

David

Testing the new 'triptych' frame

2009-12-10T20:41:00.003+01:00

Hi!

Here's a quick preview of the new 'triptych' frame which separates an image into three equal sized panels (border size is user-defined):

This new frame will be added in the next release.

Regards,

David

Windows 7 compatibility

2009-11-24T18:42:00.004+01:00

Hi all,

FotoSketcher 1.9 is almost 100% compatible with Windows 7. However, while doing some tests I have noticed that there is a small problem with the Destktop Wallpaper function:

When you right-click on a drawing and choose 'Set the drawing as wallpaper (ctrl + w)' the FotoSketcher image correctly appears as your wallpaper, but next time you start Windows 7, it will have disappeared.

I have already fixed the problem and the next release of FotoSketcher will not have this issue anymore.

By the way, I'm currently busy working on version 2.0, but I still have some work to do before releasing it. As usual, I'll keep you posted on this blog.

In the meantime, here are a couple of images found on Stock.xchng (thanks and credits to the original photographers) and processed in FotoSketcher:

All the best,

David

FotoSketcher group on Flickr.com - show us your art!

2009-08-28T17:49:00.002+02:00

Hi all,

A FotoSketcher user (thanks *Haibar) has kindly created a group on Flickr, where you can showcase your creations: http://www.flickr.com/groups/843301@N24/

If you have a Flickr account (you can create one for free) you can easily join the group and upload examples of your 'FotoSketcher artworks'.

I look forward to seeing some of your creations.

All the best,

David

FotoSketcher tutorial (Youtube video)

2009-07-26T21:13:00.002+02:00

Hi,

I have just uploaded a video tutorial on Youtube, which will show you the basics of FotoSketcher.

Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVOFCKzV2b8

You can watch the tutorial in HD.

Best regards,

David

Official release of FotoSketcher 1.9

2009-07-25T19:46:00.004+02:00

Hi all!

FotoSketcher 1.9 is officially released and can be downloaded from http://www.FotoSketcher.com/

Here is an example of the new oil painting effect (photo credit Stck Xchng, as usual):

What's new in version 1.9:
- New watercolor effect
- New oil painting (impasto) effect
- Better dropdown list of filters
- Reset a drawing parameter by double-clicking on its name (eg 'Colour intensity')
- When using a lined frame, easily swap colours with a new button
- Some bug fixes, of course (and probably some new bugs added...)

Enjoy!

David

New beta version is available - with watercolor and impasto effects

2009-07-19T22:04:00.004+02:00

Hi all,

After long months of researching, coding, debugging, optimising (then debugging again of course), a new release of FotoSketcher is near. Thanks to all who bought me some well needed coffee!

If you wish to test the beta version, you can download it directly here: http://www.fotosketcher.com/FotoSketcher_beta.exe

I have added two new painting effects: watercolor and oil paint (or impasto). Both are based on the same segmentation algorithm, which breaks down an image into regions of similar color and then adds brush strokes textures (sounds simple, does it not?).

Here is an example painting:

Have fun with FotoSketcher!
As always, I welcome your feedback.

All the best,

David

Advanced tutorial - painterly or cartoony effect

2009-05-21T11:51:00.008+02:00

Hi all,

Here is a step by step tutorial showing you how to achieve a painterly effect by combining two different FotoSketcher filters.

Step 1: Open your source image (keyboard shortcut CTRL+O) - You can resize your image if you wish (keyboard shortcut CTRL+R)

Step 2: Press F10 to bring up the drawing parameters screen and choose the "Painting 3" drawing style (with the values listed in the following screenshot). Make sure you deselect "Soften edges", "Add a frame" and "Texture". Then click on the "Draw It!" button.

Step 3: Once the rendering is done, press F12 (to use the resulting image as your new source image). Then choose the "Pencil sketch" effect and use a value of 0 for "Edge threshold" (drag the corresponding cursor all the way to the left). This is very important!
Then click on the "Draw It!" button.

Step 4: Once the rendering is done, press F12 again (to use the resulting image as your new source image). Then press F9 to modify source image and choose the parameters shown in the following screenshot). Then click on the "Apply changes" button.

Step 5: Now add a texture and a frame, by pressing F10 and choosing the "Frame and texture only" drawing style. Don't forget to tick the "Add a frame" and "Texture" boxes as shown in the screenshot below. Then click on the "Draw It!" button and finally save your work of art (keyboard shortcut CTRL+S).

And voilà!!!

I hope this tutorial was useful to you.
Note that on some images, the same combination of effects can give a nice cartoony style to your pictures.

Best regards,

David

P.S. The source image I have used for this tutorial was found on Stock Exchange (http://www.sxc.hu/) , a great repository for free images. Credits and thanks to the original author of the photograph (Steve Woods).

Some user interface tips

2009-03-07T22:14:00.003+01:00

Hi all,

I still haven't found time (or mustered the motivation) to write a proper help file. But I have actually found a justification for not doing it: it forces me to create a user interface as intuitive as possible so that no user manuel is needed!

Having said that, here are a few tips for you:
- you can modify the size of the window panes by dragging the vertical separation between both windows.
- if you double-click that separation, each pane regains its original size.
- if you want to zoom rapidly to a specific value, simply click on the percentage and enter a number between 5 and 1000.
- you can also right-click on all three magnifying glass icons.
- right-clicking on the middle one will automatically zoom the image to best fit its window.
- also, if you double-click on an image (either source or painting), a full screen preview will magically appear!

A picture being worth a lot more than my prose, here is a screenshot:

Have fun,

David

Version 1.85 is officially released

2009-02-28T16:50:00.004+01:00

Hi all,

This release is mainly a bugfix, but there are also a few changes in version 1.85:

- I've added a couple of new realistic frames
- as stated in my previous post, you can now also colorize some frames
- the first sketch effect has been improved, with the ability to change contrast
- also, if you untick the 'Soften edges' box the pencil strokes become more visible

As usual, go to http://www.fotosketcher.com/ to download the latest version.

Here's a quick example (photo credit Stock Xchng) of the improved rendering:

Best regards,

David

New beta available (v 1.85) - update

2009-02-25T15:22:00.002+01:00

Hi,

Version 1.85 is almost ready. I've uploaded a release candidate, which you can download here: http://www.fotosketcher.com/FotoSketcher_beta.exe

The main change apart from the sketch effect improvement is the addition of coloured frames. Here's a screenshot:

Best regards,

David

New beta available (v 1.85)

2009-02-19T11:38:00.003+01:00

Hi all,

If you like to be on the bleeding edge, you might want to try the latest beta version of FotoSketcher, which you can download here: http://www.fotosketcher.com/FotoSketcher_beta.exe

This beta version corrects quite a number of minor bugs, adds two new frames and improves the original Sketch effect.

As usual, your comments or suggestions are most welcome!

Best regards,

David

Official release of FotoSketcher 1.8

2009-01-05T16:35:00.005+01:00

Version 1.8 of FotoSketcher is finally available. You can download it for free at http://www.fotosketcher.com/

Here are some of the new functions you will find :
- 3 new effects (sketch 2 - black & white, sketch 3 - colour and painting 4)
- resizeable left and right panes (move the mouse to the separation line)
- right-clickable magnifying glass icons (the center one sizes the image to best fit the pane)
- the zoom percentage value is editable (just click on the value)
- the source image modification functions are now on one screen, with a preview window
- a link has been added to an online help page (which will be available in the future)
- a better text function (you can move the text with your mouse better than before), with the possibility to add a shadow
- if you move the images around fast, they will continue to move in the same direction for a while (useful on large images or if you zoom a lot)

Here are some example images produced with version 1.8 (original photos courtesy of Stock Xchng):

Black & white sketch 2:

Colour Sketch 3 (first version):

Colour Sketch 3 (second version - with different parameters):

Painting 4:

Best regards,

David

Tweaking a new algorithm

2008-12-05T23:25:00.003+01:00

Hi all,

I'm working on yet another rendering style (new b&w or colour sketch). Here are a couple of examples (click on images to view full size):

Best regards,

David

Experimenting a new painting style

2008-11-07T23:46:00.004+01:00

Just a quick word to let you know that I'm already working on the next version of FotoSketcher.

Here are a couple of "paintings" made with a new algorithm that I'm currently experimenting (click on images to view full size):

Images credit Stock.xchng.

Best regards,

David

FotoSketcher for Linux users

2008-11-05T14:17:00.003+01:00

Hi all,

Even though FotoSketcher is being developed (in Turbo DELPHI) primarily for Windows PCs, I had been wondering for a time whether it would run in Linux using the famous and free emulator WINE.

A Linux user (hi Alexis!) has just confirmed that FotoSketcher runs fine under WINE.

This is great news, so if you want to use FotoSketcher in Linux, just grab WINE from the official site: http://www.winehq.org/

I am also told that Mac users can run WINE (and therefore FotoSketcher), but I don't know how to proceed. Don't hesitate to respond to this post if you have any success.

Cheers,

David

Release of FotoSketcher 1.7

2008-10-30T17:15:00.004+01:00

This new version adds quite a lot of new features and improvements.

Here is a list of things added or changed from previous versions:
- brand new interface (clearer and more responsive), with icons
- batch processing function
- load and save drawing parameters
- drag and drop image file on the application icon
- drag and drop image file on the source image pane
- optimised median filter (painting 3 rendering is now twice as fast)
- small bug-fix in painting 2 and 3 algorithms
- realistic frames
- add text function
- possibility to cancel an operation
- faster 'increase colour saturation', 'simplify source image' and 'increase contrast' algorithms
- smooth resize source image to any size (with better dialog form)
- drag images with the mouse
- keyboard shortcuts to most functions
- added a donation button for those who wish to support the development of FotoSketcher

Here is a screenshot of version 1.7:

As usual, don't hesitate to send me your remarks and suggestions at the following address: contact@fotosketcher.com

Best regards,

David

FotoSketcher 1.7 beta is available to download

2008-10-23T17:57:00.003+02:00

Hi all,

I wish to thank the selected few who tested the beta version of FotoSketcher 1.7 so far (Jérôme F., Henrik L. and Petr A. for instance) and I've decided to make the beta version available to all.

You can download a stable and standalone version (no setup) here : http://www.fotosketcher.com/FotoSketcher_beta.exe

Please let me know if you find any bugs!

Also, you might want to check a nice photo blog called Photo Infos, which mentions FotoSketcher. The address of the blog is http://photoinfos.blogspot.com/

Best regards,

David

Example of the new 'realistic frame' feature - available soon...

2008-10-01T14:52:00.005+02:00

Hi all,

Here are three examples of paintings made with the soon to be released version of FotoSketcher 1.7.
The realistic frames are added with litterally one click.

The original images were found on http://www.sxc.hu/, my favorite place to find free photos. Thanks to their authors for making them available.

Best regards,

David

New features in upcoming version 1.7 of FotoSketcher

2008-09-23T19:00:00.002+02:00

Hi all,

I've been busy working on version 1.7, which will be a rather major update. It is not quite ready yet, but here are some of the new features you will find:
- brand new interface (clearer, prettier and more responsive), with icon bar
- batch processing
- load and save drawing parameters
- drag and drop image file on the application icon
- drag and drop image file on the source image pane
- optimised median filter (painting 3 rendering is now twice as fast)
- realistic frames
- add text to the drawing (signature, date, description...)
- possibility to cancel an operation
- no more freezes
- faster 'increase colour saturation' algorithm
- smooth resize source image to any size
- drag images with the mouse

Best regards,

David

Preview of FotoSketcher 1.7 - new user interface

2008-08-12T16:56:00.002+02:00

Hi all,

The look and feel of FotoSketcher is about to change a bit, to make it even easier to use. I've used lighter colours, icons, soft shadows, etc...

Here is a 'work in progress' screenshot:

Let me know if you have any suggestions!

Best regards,

David

Advanced Tip #2 - How to combine multiple effects

2008-07-31T19:46:00.003+02:00

This tip takes advantage of the new clipboard support introduced in version 1.6.

I will show you how to combine two effects (pencil + painting 3) and also some source image improvements to produce a new style of painting.

1- First step
Open an image and choose 'Pencil Sketch' rendering and untick all three boxes 'soften edges', 'add frame' and 'Texture'.

Click on the 'Sketch It!' button to produce a coloured pencil sketch with some dark edges as shown below:

2- Second step
Press CTRL-C to copy the sketch then CTRL-V to paste it as a new source image (you can also use the menu items 'Edit|Copy drawing to clipboard' and 'Edit|Paste image from clipboard').

You now have your pencil sketch as a source image:

3- Third step
Now in the drawing parameters, choose 'Painting 3 (median + bilateral filter)' and click the 'Sketch it!' button:

4- Fourth step
Now press CTRL-C and CTRL-V again, and go to 'Edit|Modify source image|Increase contrast' and 'Edit|Modify source image|sharpen source image'.
Then in the drawing parameters choose 'Frame and texture only' and tick all three boxes 'soften edges', 'add frame' and 'Texture'.

5- Final step
Now click on the 'Sketch It!' button to produce an image like the following one:

Hope you like it!!!

Best regards,

David

New website - with sample images gallery

2008-07-31T19:34:00.003+02:00

Hi!

The homepage of FotoSketcher has been redesigned and now sports a gallery of pictures made with the latest version.

Here's a screenshot of the 'about' page:

FotoSketcher 1.6 is released

2008-07-23T16:24:00.005+02:00

Version 1.6 of FotoSketcher is now ready for download (at http://www.fotosketcher.com/).

(photo credit : Stock Xchng)

Here are some of the new features in this release :
- more options to improve source image (resample to desktop size, simplify, increase contrast...)
- new rendering : painting 3 (median + bilateral filtering)
- full screen preview (by double-clicking the drawing)
- clipboard support (copy and paste)
- optimized painting 2 rendering (almost 40% speed increase from version 1.5)
- set as wallpaper function
- colour frames: if a white frame is chosen, a cutout effect is applied. If a different frame colour is selected, a white edging is applied.

Best regards,

David

Experimenting a new painting effect

2008-06-26T15:27:00.003+02:00

Hi all,

I'm currently testing a new algorithm which seems rather promising, especially when used in conjunction with the "Painting Type 2" effect.

Here's is an example output (click on image to view in original size) :

(Original photo credit : Stock.xcng)

Best regards,

David

Working on version 1.6

2008-05-23T19:56:00.003+02:00

Hi all,

Just a quick word to let you know that I'm busy working on version 1.6 of FotoSketcher.

Here are some of the new features you will find :
- improved and faster painting algorithm (40% speed increase)
- smooth resize of source image (useful for desktop wallpaper)
- set as wallpaper in one click
- copy to and from clipboard
- improved appearance
- full screen preview
- etc...

In the meantime, here's a quick painting (photo credit cuteoverload.com) :

Bug-fixed version 1.5 uploaded

2008-04-22T11:09:00.000+02:00

The printer-related problem some users experienced with FotoSketcher 1.5 should now be fixed.

I have uploaded a corrected version on http://www.fotosketcher.com/

Thanks for your feedback!

Here are some new "paintings" (photo credit Stock.xnchg) :

New feature/bug (!!) in FotoSketcher 1.5

2008-04-21T18:09:00.001+02:00

Despite rigourous testing by a hugely dedicated team (me) it appears that the new version of FotoSketcher (1.5) may actually cause problems to some users...

In fact, if you have no printer installed on your system (or if the print spooler is not started) then you will get a 1722 error code (and you will need to frantically press ctrl-alt-del to stop the FotoSketcher process).

Thanks to Dod for pointing out the problem (and finding the cause!).

I will address this problem ASAP.

Best regards,

David

Version 1.5 is released

2008-04-12T22:53:00.000+02:00

Hi all!

Version 1.5 of FotoSketcher is now ready for download at http://www.fotosketcher.com/

The new features are:
- multilingual setup (English and French)
- multilingual application (English and French)
- ***new painting algorithm***
- ***printing function, with preview***
- a few bugfixes
- a few new bugs (I hope not!!!)

Have fun!

Work in progress - new painting algorithm and printing

2008-03-31T11:40:00.000+02:00

I'm already working on a new and improved version of FotoSketcher, which will include (at last some will say...) printing capabilities. Here is a preview of the French version:

I have also added a new painting algorithm. Here's an example output:

Best regards,

David

New version 1.4 is finally out!

2008-03-10T22:45:00.000+01:00

Hi all!

After weeks of late night programming efforts (thanks to everyone who offered me coffee and biscuits...) the new version of FotoSketcher is finally out.

The most important new features are the pen & ink sketch and painting algorithms. Try them out, they might surprise you (hopefully in a good way).

You can download the English version of FotoSketcher here: http://www.fotosketcher.com

Don't hesitate to let me know what you think, I'm always glad to read your comments, ideas and suggestions.

Best Regards,

David

New rendering : paint

2008-03-03T09:58:00.000+01:00

Hi all!

I'm currently testing a new algorithm to turn photos into paintings. Here are some of my first tries :

I hope you like them.
Any comment is welcome of course.

New logo : any help would be appreciated!

2008-02-07T18:53:00.000+01:00

Hi all,

As I'm working on an ambitious new version of FotoSketcher, I would like to have a professional looking logo for the program.

My artistic skills being close to zero, I would be extremely grateful if anyone would help me design the new logo. As a reward, the name of the artist would appear prominently in FotoSketcher!

Here is my latest try:You can send me your ideas by mail at contact@fotosketcher.com or post them here.

Best regards,

David

Tip #1 : moving the preview image

2008-01-23T19:08:00.000+01:00

Did you know that you can move the image that appears in the preview window?

Simply click on the preview image (the cursor changes to a hand) and drag it wherever you want!

Peek preview of Version 1.4

2008-01-07T18:21:00.000+01:00

I'm working on version 1.4 of FotoSketcher, which will add quite a few new features...

Happy New Year

2008-01-02T09:40:00.000+01:00

I wish you a happy new year for 2008!

New FotoSketcher 1.3 is released!

2007-12-22T08:39:00.000+01:00

Hi all,

The new version 1.3 of FotoSketcher is finally out, with lots of improved bits in it!

The new features included are :

Resize window (view full screen)
Access to FotoSketcher homepage from within the program (about menu)
Better edge rendering
Improved parameters window
Correct bug where some text was not displayed in full
Better save dialog
Fully functional real-time preview!!!

Only the English language version has been released at this time. You can download it here : http://www.fotosketcher.com/

I hope you enjoy FotoSketcher, the easiest and totally free program to turn your photos into sketches.

Regards,

David

New FotoSketcher 1.3

2007-12-17T19:38:00.000+01:00

Hi all!

The new version of FotoSketcher is almost ready.
Some new features I'm working on :

Resize window (view full screen) -> done
Access to FotoSketcher homepage from within the program -> done
Better edge rendering -> in progress
New parameters window -> done
Correct bug where some text was not displayed in full -> done
New pen & ink rendering -> code working, needs to be incorporated
Better save dialog -> needs to be done
Quick and dirty preview -> needs to be done
Correct bug when memory runs out on very large images -> needs to be done

I hope I can release the new version by christmas...

So stay tuned and check http://www.fotosketcher.com/ regularly!

Best regards,

David

This is FotoSketchaaaa!!!

2007-12-07T19:43:00.001+01:00

First post

2007-11-28T16:02:00.000+01:00

Hello world!

Welcome to "FotoSketcher News", the main place to find information about the freeware program FotoSketcher.

Here you will find information about future releases of FotoSketcher, tips and tricks, examples, tutorials and everything I might think of which is remotely connected (or not!) to FotoSketcher.

As you probably know, FotoSketcher is a standalone program for all flavours of Windows (tm) which automatically turns your photos into nice pencil drawings (black and white or colour sketches).

The homepage of FotoSketcher is http://www.fotosketcher.com/

If you wish to download a 100% free copy of FotoSketcher just go there.

Here is a sample image produced with version 1.2 of FotoSketcher :
Have fun with FotoSketcher!

Should you wish to drop me a line, please do so at the following address : contact@fotosketcher.com

Best Regards,

David - author of FotoSketcher