FotoSketcher 2.60 officially released! 100% free, as always :-)

Hello all,

FotoSketcher 2.60 is now ready for download.
Head to http://www.fotosketcher.com/download-fotosketcher/ to get the latest version.

Here are the main changes in version 2.60:

• a brand new Painting 1 (watercolor) effect (which replaces the previous one)
• a new 'brushstrokes' frame
• a few bug fixes and interface improvements:
• solved the filename bug when dragging and dropping an image (thanks Casey for spotting that one)
• modified the naming convention to MyPhoto_FotoSketcher.jpg (better for sorting files alphabetically in a directory)
• solved a transparency bug with png files
• added a CTRL+S keyboard shortcut when an image is being processed to save an intermediate result
• added a progress bar when creating the new brushstrokes frame (which can take a few seconds)

Here is an example of the new Painting 1 (watercolor) effect (click on image for full-size view):

 

 (original photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/29415407@N00/161436110/)

and here are the parameters used:

As always, you can use FotoSketcher completely for free, even for commercial work.

Enjoy!

Best regards,

David


 

FotoSketcher 2.60 Beta available for testing **updated**

** Post updated on 10/22/2013** Updates appear in red.

Hi all,

A new version of FotoSketcher is now available for testing. FotoSketcher 2.60 beta 2 can be downloaded here: http://www.fotosketcher.com/FotoSketcher_2.60_beta2.exe


The main changes are:
- a new Painting 1 effect (which replaces the previous one)
- a new 'brushstrokes' frame (with preview and 'in progress' icon)
- a few bug fixes and interface improvements (solved the filename bug when dragging and dropping an image, modified the naming convention to MyPhoto_FotoSketcher.jpg, solved a transparency bug with png files, added a CTRL+S keyboard shortcut when an image is being processed to save an intermediate result)

Here is an example of the new Painting 1 effect (click on picture for full view):

 

source image credit: http://photographpainter.de/venedig-hdr/

 and the parameters used:

There are still a few things that need to be polished, but you should be able to test version 2.60 with no problems.
Have fun!

All the best,

David

FotoSketcher 2.60 beta available soon

Hi all,

Just a quick post to let you know that I'm currently putting the finishing touches to version 2.60. There is still a little tweaking and debugging to be done, but I should be able to release a test version soon.

The main change will be a new watercolor painting effect which will replace the current Painting 1 effect that I'm no longer happy with. Here is an example of the new painting filter (click on image for full-size view):

Stay tuned :)

Regards,

David

FotoSketcher 2.50 complete tutorial - warning: long post

Hi all,

Here is a complete tutorial on how to create a painting using two merged effects in FotoSketcher and a custom paintbrush.

Step 1: open an image by clicking on the first icon in the FotoSketcher toolbar like so:

In this tutorial, I have used the following image: http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/849156 (credits Karpati Gabor).

Step 2: Once the image has loaded (as shown below), go to the Edit menu and click on "Automatic contrast and sharpening" (or press CTRL+A). 

 Step 3: The image might be a bit too large, so reduce its size by clicking on "Resize source image..." in the Edit menu (or press CTRL+R).

 Choose for instance 50% of the original size.

Step 4: Now in the parameters window (press F10 if the window is not shown), choose the "Pencil sketch 2" effect, with the following parameters and click on the Draw button to run the effect.

Step 5: Now right-click on the drawing and left-click on "Copy drawing to clipboard" or press CTRL+C. 

Step 6: In the parameters window, choose the "Painting 7 (brushtrokes)" effect and click on the "Load custom brush" 

 

 Here is the brush I used in this tutorial (download the image to your PC if you want to use it as a custom paintbrush):

Step 7: Now run the "Painting 7" effect with the values shown below by clicking on the "Draw!" button. In order to get the MAX value for the number of brushtrokes, you simply click on the number itself (50 by default). This will give you the maximum quality.

Step 8: Once the effect has finished running (might take a few minutes),paste the image that you previously copied to the clipboard (you can press CTRL+V).

Step 9: We're nearly there! Choose the "Merge source and result images" with the parameters below. At that final stage, you can add a frame, texture and some text.

 

Step 10: There is no step 10 ;-) 

Here is the final result (click on image for full size view):

Enjoy!

Best regards,

David

FotoSketcher 2.50 is officially released! 100% free, as always.

Hi all,

FotoSketcher 2.50 is now available for download.
Offical website: http://www.fotosketcher.com

Here are the main changes in this new release:

• New "Linear halftoning" effect (b&w or colour)
• Added Serbian translation (thank you Nikola)
• Resizing or pasting a new source image no longer erases the destination image (if the image sizes are the same). This is particularly useful for merging two images.
• The last effect used is now displayed at the bottom right of the window (useful when using the undo/redo buttons to keep track of what effect was being used).
• Minor interface changes (trackbar increments, manual brush trackbar focus rectangle removed, some window Z-order bugs corrected, visual cues added when parameters can be maxed by clicking on their value).
• Removed optional browser toolbar in the setup version. 

Here is an example of the new Linear halftoning effect on the famous Sean Connery portrait (click on image to view full size):

Have fun!

Best regards,

David

New 2.50 beta available - close to release version

Hi all,

I've just uploaded a new beta version of FotoSketcher 2.50. If no show stopping bug is found at the last minute, this beta will be close to the future release version.

You can download the executable here: http://www.fotosketcher.com/FotoSketcher_2.50_beta2.exe

Here is a quick rundown of the changes in FotoSketcher 2.50:

• New "Linear halftoning" effect.
• Added Serbian translation.
• Resizing or pasting a new source image no longer erases the destination image (if the image sizes are the same). This is particularly useful for merging two images.
• The last effect used is now displayed at the bottom right of the window (useful when using the undo/redo buttons to keep track of what effect was being used).
• Minor interface changes (trackbar increments, manual brush trackbar focus rectangle removed, some window Z-order bugs corrected, visual cues added when parameters can be maxed by clicking on their value).

Have fun!

David

FotoSketcher 2.50 beta 1 available for testing

Hi all,

I've just uploaded a beta for FotoSketcher 2.50, with the new linear halftoning effect (plus various improvements).
You can download the executable here: http://www.fotosketcher.com/FotoSketcher_2.50_beta1.exe

As usual, I would be grateful for your input should you find any lingering bugs :-)

All the best,

David

Cross-hatched linear halftoning... wow, that's a mouthful!

Hi all,

I'm currently putting the finishing touches to version 2.50 of FotoSketcher. A stable beta should be available soon, so stay tuned...

I have added a new effect (linear halftoning) which works quite well on portraits, even if I say so myself :-)
With a script (which I'll provide with the beta) it's easy to create a cross-hatched image like the example below (click on the picture to view full-size):

The new algorithm can also work in color:

In version 2.50, I will also add a new language, Serbian (thanks Nikola!).

All the best,

David

FotoSketcher 2.45 is officially released

Hi all,

FotoSketcher 2.45 is now officially released. As usual you can download either the full version (with setup, uninstall and optional community toolbar) or the portable version here: http://www.fotosketcher.com/download-fotosketcher/ Both are 100% free.

What's new in version 2.45:
- improved brushstrokes placement in Painting 7 (brushstrokes) to give a more painterly effect.
- added a new stylized effect called Emergence 2, based on calculating an approximation of the source image using shaded triangles. The result is different from Emergence and can look a bit like knife painting.  
- solved a bug in the custom brush code used for Painting 7 and 8 effects.
- solved a few bugs in the script (F5) code

In Emergence 2 you can double-click on the number to the right of the slider for the number of iterations (80 by default) and this will change it to MAX. This provides maximum quality for the effect, but is very slow. 

Default value:

MAX value:

I have also made available some scripts for FotoSketcher. You can download the zip file here: http://www.fotosketcher.com/scripts.zip
Simply unzip the files to your hard drive and open them in the scripts window of FotoSketcher (press F5).

Here is an example of the updated Painting 7 effect (click on image for full view):

and here is an example of the new Emergence 2 effect (click on image for full view):

original photo credit Sias van Schalkwyk (http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1181840)

Have fun!

David

FotoSketcher 2.45 beta available

Hi,

FotoSketcher 2.45 is almost ready. I just need to test it thoroughly before releasing it. If you want to try it for yourself (and don't hesitate to let me know if you find any lingering bugs), here is a stable beta version: http://www.fotosketcher.com/FotoSketcher_2.45_RC2.exe

What's new:
- improved brushstrokes placement in Painting 7 effect to give a more painterly effect.
- added a new stylised effect called Emergence 2, based on calculating an approximation of the source image using shaded triangles. The result is different from Emergence and can look a bit like knife painting. 
- solved a bug in the custom brush code used for Painting 7 and 8 effects. Any image can be used as a brushtroke template (must be dark pixels on a white background)

Here are some digital paintings made with FotoSketcher 2.45:

Painting 7 with new algorithm

Original photo credit Pierre Hanquin: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pierrehanquin/7170104717

Emergence 2

Original photo credit: http://www.shorpy.com/node/11302

Have fun with this new version of FotoSketcher :-)

Regards,

David