Tweaking a new algorithm

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

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

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

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

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...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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!

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

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

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

Happy New Year

I wish you a happy new year for 2008!