FotoSketcher 4.30 Beta 2 is ready for testing - lots of changes

Hi all,

A second beta of FotoSketcher 4.30 is now available, and it is a significant step up from Beta 1. A lot has changed since then, so here is a full rundown of everything that is new in this version.

- New effects: Circles and Triangles

Two new Stylize effects join the mosaic family introduced in Beta 1. Circles and Triangles use the same space-filling algorithm as Mosaic, but with their respective shapes.

- Cartoon outlines

The Cartoon effect now produces a pure outline drawing when the colour intensity slider is set to 0 - no colour fill, just clean line art. This becomes especially useful in combination with the "Do not erase background" option: apply any effect first, then run Cartoon with colour intensity at 0 and "Do not erase background" ticked. The outlines are drawn on top of your existing result, adding crisp contours to any effect in just two steps.

- Built-in LUT library (LookUp Tables)

The LUTs effect now comes with 18 presets built directly into the application. A new "Select LUT…" button appears in the interface whenever the LUTs effect is active, opening a selector window with a live preview of each preset (right-click n the preview to see the original image):

Architecture · Blues · Cinematic · Cinematic saturation · Cyan skies · Film print · Film tone 1 · Film tone 2 · Golden hour · HDR · HDR natural · Kodachrome · Monochrome artistic · Monochrome balanced · Monochrome vintage · Portrait · Rich colors · Vibrant light

You can of course load your own custom .cube files from disk as well.

- Script engine additions

Three new commands are now available in the script editor:

• ENHANCE - auto-enhances the working image in a single line.
• LUT_FILE <path> - loads a .cube file from disk for the next LUTs effect step.
• LUT_EMBEDDED <name> - selects one of the 18 built-in presets by name (case-insensitive, spaces allowed).

- Auto-Enhance (available in the menu or by pressing 'E')

The auto-enhance feature attemps to optimize the source image. The goal is a clean, natural-looking enhancement.

- Full Reset (clean slate, without having to close and re-open FotoSketcher)

A new Full Reset function clears everything back to the application's initial state in one step - working image, history, LUT, script, custom brushes, and all sliders. To trigger it, simply right-click the exit button (the icon which turns red in the icon bar) or press Ctrl+Shift+N.

- UI improvements

• Thumbnails in the history gallery now show a blue dot to indicate images that have not been modified - making it easier to spot your original source images at a glance.
• Hovering over any thumbnail now displays a tooltip with the filename and file size, which comes in handy when working with multiple images.
  
• Added support for opening .webp images (a format often found on the web).
• Improved Italian and Korean translations. Big thanks to users Roberto and Jaehyung!

- Bug fixes

• The window should now correctly re-scale when moved between monitors with different DPI settings.
• Fixed an issue on macOS Sequoia where the splash screen would reappear on top of the main window after dismissal.
• When the "Erase background" option is off, the Cartoon effect now correctly blends the pre-effect pixels into the output rather than discarding them.

---

If you would like to help test, you can download Beta 2 here: https://fotosketcher.com/beta/FotoSketcher_4.30_beta2.zip

As always, any feedback - bugs, oddities, anything that does not feel right - is very welcome. Please leave a comment below or send me an email at contact@fotosketcher.com.

Happy testing!

David

FotoSketcher 4.30 Beta 1 is ready for testing

Hi all,

The first beta version of FotoSketcher 4.30 is now ready for download and testing. This release brings some new artistic tools, script updates, and a few notable UI tweaks.

Here is what is new in version 4.30 Beta 1:

• Lookup Tables (LUT) Support: Added to the Photo Lab category. This feature allows you to load standard .cube files to apply custom color grading mapping to your images, giving you a wider range of cinematic and photographic tones.

• New "Stylize" Category: I have introduced a new category called Stylize, which currently hosts two brand-new effects:
• Mosaic: Turns your photos into classic tiled mosaic patterns.

• Cartoon: A clean, graphic style with defined lines and solid colors.

• Updated Scripting Engine: The script engine has been fully updated to support LUTs, Mosaic, and Cartoon, so you can now include these new effects in your automated sequences. (Note: I haven't forgotten about providing some ready-made scripts soon!)

• User Interface & Layout Fixes: 

• A blue dot has been added to the thumbnail gallery to clearly indicate which thumbnails are untouched source images.

• I have implemented a potential fix to address window positioning issues on multi-monitor setups.

Still on the to-do list: Before the final release, I need to do more testing to weed out any lingering bugs. I am also working on improving both the Italian and Korean translations, thanks to two kind users who have provided updated and corrected translation files.

If you would like to test this beta version and help find any remaining bugs, you can download it here:

https://fotosketcher.com/beta/FotoSketcher_4.30_beta1.zip

As always, your feedback is very welcome. Please let me know how it works on your system!

Best regards,

David 

A quick look at the upcoming FotoSketcher 4.30

Hi everyone,

I am currently working on the next update, FotoSketcher 4.30, and I wanted to share a brief preview of the changes and new features coming in this version.

Here is what you can expect in the next release:

• 3 New Effects:

  • Lookup Tables (LUTs) support: Added to the Photo Lab category, allowing for custom color grading.

  • Mosaic and Cartoon: These two new styles will be available under a brand-new Stylize category.

• Updated Scripting Engine: The script engine has been updated to support these new effects, allowing you to include them in your automated workflows.

• Performance Enhancements: Code optimizations have been made under the hood to improve overall rendering speed.

• User Interface & Bug Fixes: This version will also include various UI refinements, general bug fixes, and corrections to translations.

Work is progressing well, and I will share download links for testing as soon as a stable build is ready.

Thank you for your continued feedback and support!

Best regards,

David 

Experimenting with mosaics

 

Having fun with scripts

Hi all,

I am currently experimenting with different scripts. I will share them here on my blog and will also write a tutorial to help you create your own.

Stay tuned!

FotoSketcher Studio 4.20: corrected version now available 🪲

Hello everyone,

A corrected version of FotoSketcher Studio 4.20 is now available from the same download link at https://fotosketcher.com/download-fotosketcher/
If you downloaded version 4.20 yesterday, please re-download and re-install - the installer will cleanly update your existing installation.

What was the bug?

Some users experienced a crash (the famous"Access Violation" error message) when changing the application language, or sometimes when closing the program after a language change. The error did not happen for everyone, which made it trickier to track down.

What caused it?

FotoSketcher uses a scrolling text animation for labels that are too long to fit in their space. When switching languages, the program updated the label texts while some of them were still inside the containers used for this animation. On certain system configurations, these containers were not yet fully initialized at that point, causing the crash. The fix was to properly clean up the animations before updating any text.

Why didn't I catch this during testing?

On my development machine, the timing was always just right and everything was initialized by the time I switched languages. On other machines - different graphics drivers, screen scaling, or just different timing - it was not. A good reminder that "works on my PC" is never quite good enough!

Thank you

A huge thank you to David Garcia, who not only reported the bug within minutes of the release but also went above and beyond by exchanging emails with me late into the night, testing multiple debug builds, and helping me pinpoint the exact conditions that triggered the crash. His fast and thorough feedback was absolutely essential in getting this resolved so quickly.

Thank you also to Jack and everyone else who took the time to test the beta versions and the release. Thank you also to Roberto who corrected some mistakes I had made in the Italian translation. Your feedback and kind words mean a lot, and they really help make FotoSketcher better with each update.

Now, time to get some well deserved rest before the next round of improvements.

Happy sketching!

FotoSketcher Studio 4.20: A major release is officially here!

Hello everyone,

I am very happy to announce that FotoSketcher version 4.20 is now available for download. A big thank you to everyone who tested the beta version and provided such helpful feedback. Let's be blunt, I am quite proud of the new tools and improvements in this update. Hopefully I did not introduce too many new bugs...🤞

Here is a breakdown of what is new in this release:

- Three new effects As some of you requested, I have ported two classic effects from the old Windows-only 3.98 version: Watercolor 2 and Brushstrokes 2. I have also added a completely new Comic print effect, which is great for giving your photos a classic graphic novel look.

- Advanced Scripting and Batch Mode The new Script Editor is fully up and running. It allows you to write custom scripts to apply a specific sequence of effects. To help you get started, a reference sheet is included, along with a ready-to-use default script straight out of the box that combines three different watercolor renderings. Best of all, the script engine is fully compatible with batch mode, meaning you can apply your custom sequences to an entire folder of images automatically.

- History Gallery Upgrades I have added a new circular magnifying glass preview for the history gallery. This makes it much easier to inspect the fine details of your different image versions before saving. You can also now set any image directly from a thumbnail in the history gallery as your new source or result image, giving you a lot more versatility in your workflow.

- Menu and Workflow Additions The main menu is now more complete. I have added a "Combine source/result" option (F11) to easily merge or blend your images, and a convenient "Check for update" function directly in the menu so you can easily stay on the latest version.

Other improvements

• The Watercolor 1 effect now works much better when the "Erase background" option is deselected.

• After weeding out the last few bugs, this version also includes various UI tweaks and stability improvements under the hood.

You can download FotoSketcher Studio 4.20 for free here (Windows and MacOS): https://fotosketcher.com/download-fotosketcher/ 

I want to sincerely thank everyone who continues to support the project. Whether you test early versions, share your artwork, or support the software with a donation, it is always greatly appreciated and helps keep FotoSketcher completely free.

Have fun with the new version! 

FotoSketcher 4.20 beta 2 now available

Hi all,

A new beta is available for testing. You can download it here: https://fotosketcher.com/beta/FotoSketcher_4.20_beta2.zip

I've corrected some UI issues when the height of the main form was too small to accomodate all components and have added a comprehensive reference sheet for the new script engine.

Have fun!

FotoSketcher 4.20 Beta 1 now available for testing

Hello everyone,

I am happy to announce that a beta version of the upcoming FotoSketcher 4.20 is now ready for testing. I've been working on porting some missing features from the older versions and adding a few new tools, and I would love to get your feedback before the official release.

Here is a summary of what is new in version 4.20:

• Three new effects: As mentioned in my previous post, I have ported two classic effects from the old Windows-only 3.98 version: Watercolor 2 and Brushstrokes 2. I have also added a brand new Comic print effect.

• Magnifying glass preview: I've added a completely new, circular magnifying glass preview for the history gallery (you can see it in the screenshot below on the bottom left). This should make it much easier to inspect the fine details of your different image versions.

• Expanded menu: The main menu is now more complete. I have added "Combine source/result" (F11) and a "Check for update" option directly in the menu.

• Script engine & Batch mode: The new advanced Script Editor is up and running. To help you get started, it includes a default script straight out of the box that you can try right away, which combines three different watercolor renderings. The script engine is also fully compatible with batch mode, meaning you can write your own custom scripts and apply a specific sequence of effects to an entire folder of images automatically.

• UI improvements and bug fixes: As always, this version includes various UI tweaks and fixes under the hood.

Since this is a beta version, there may still be a few bugs hiding! If you would like to help test it, you can download the beta release here:

https://fotosketcher.com/beta/FotoSketcher_4.20_beta1.zip

Please let me know if you encounter any issues by leaving a comment below or sending me an email (contact@fotosketcher.com), so I can fix them before the final release.

I want to sincerely thank everyone who takes the time to test these early versions and provide feedback. I also want to thank those of you who support the project with a donation via PayPal or on Patreon - it is greatly appreciated and helps me keep FotoSketcher completely free for everyone.

Happy testing!

A Quick Look at the Upcoming FotoSketcher 4.20

Hi everyone,

I'm currently working on the next update, FotoSketcher 4.20, and I wanted to share a brief preview of what's coming. This version brings back a few familiar features and introduces some workflow improvements.

Bringing Back Classic Effects I am currently porting some of the last missing painting effects that were previously only available in FotoSketcher 3.98 (Windows-only) . While bringing them over, I've also made a few under-the-hood improvements to refine the results.

New Comicbook Print Effect Version 4.20 introduces a new comicbook print effect, which gives your photos a classic, halftone graphic novel look.

Advanced Script Mode For users who want more control over their processing, I am adding a new Advanced Script Mode. This will allow you to chain effects, combine images, add textures and frames, and more...

Batch Mode Integration To make the new script mode as useful as possible, I've made it fully compatible with Batch Mode. You will be able to build a custom script and run it automatically across an entire folder of images.

I'm currently putting the finishing touches on the code and fixing a few remaining bugs, but version 4.20 should be ready to download soon ;)

Thank you as always for your continued support and feedback.

Stay tuned!

All the best,

David