FotoSketcher MacOS and Windows: Progress Report & Beta News

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! :)