Here is a quick progress report as I move closer to the next major milestone: the Beta release!
I am happy to report that Painting 8 has been successfully improved and ported to the new platform. To date, the development version of FotoSketcher includes:
- 11 Artistic Effects: 3 Pencil Sketch, 3 Pen & Ink, and 5 Painting effects.
- 2 Photo Filters: Orton and Vibrance/Sharpen.
New Features Finalized
I have also wrapped up work on several essential tools:
- Full menu system & clipboard support.
- Drag-and-drop functionality for source images.
- Text and Frame tools (including custom frame loading).
- Texture loading and application.
- Printing support.
- Split view mode (Source on the left, Result on the right).
- Crop, rotate, and "Use result as source" (F12).
Technical Updates
- Transparency: Alpha channel support is now active for most effects.
- Custom Brushes: Brushstroke-based effects now support loading custom brushes (transparent PNG images, usually converted from Photoshop .abr files).
Next Steps Before Beta Launch
Before releasing the public beta for Windows and macOS, I am focusing on:
- Minor UI improvements.
- Better thread management (to prevent concurrent processing issues).
- General stability improvements.
The Roadmap Ahead
Looking further into the future, my roadmap includes layer management (merging effects), scripting support, new effects, and a new mobile UI for potential iOS and Android ports.
Stay tuned for exciting updates in the near future! :)
