FotoSketcher 3.20 is officially released

Hi all,

FotoSketcher 3.20 is now officially released. As usual, you can download it here: http://www.fotosketcher.com/download-fotosketcher/

This version has better Windows 10 support, improved memory management (Pencil Sketch 1 and Linear Halftoning), a new popup window previewing each effect and various bug corrections.

Tip: If you wish to hide the new popup effect, simply edit the FotoSketcher.ini file (found in C:\Users\"username"\AppData\Roaming) and change True to False below the [Preview] line.

Original photo copyright ASSOCIATED PRESS / MATT SAYLES

Have fun with FotoSketcher!

David

FotoSketcher is 100% free for personal and commercial use,
but if you feel overly generous, you can buy me a nice cup of coffee ;-)
 

FotoSketcher 3.20 beta 1 available

Hi all,

Thanks to the feedback of many of you I believe I now have a stable version of FotoSketcher 3.20.
Here is beta 1 which should be close to the final release (unless a last minute show stopping bug is found of course): http://www.fotosketcher.com/FotoSketcher_3.20_beta1.exe

This version adds a popup preview window next to the drop down list of effects, improves Windows 10 compatibility and memory management and also solves a number of bugs.

All the best,

David

FotoSketcher 3.20 alpha 5 - for testing purposes

Hi all,

If you like to be on the bleeding edge, here is an early version of FotoSketcher 3.20: http://www.fotosketcher.com/FotoSketcher_3.20_alpha5.exe

I have tried to improve compatibility with Windows 10 and reduce occasional window flickering. There is also a new preview window next to the drop down list of effects as shown here:

I have also optimized Pencil Sketch 1, which can now process larger images than before without giving an out of memory error (I have successfully tested on a 7000x4000 pixels image).

I have tested this version on a Windows 10 PC and on a Windows 7 virtual machine, so I would be grateful if you could let me know if you encounter any bugs on your PC.

As a small bonus, here is a script file: http://www.fotosketcher.com/Painting9and10.zip. Unzip the file and open it in FotoSketcher's script window (F5). This is the output (source: Wikimedia commons):

All the best,

David

FotoSketcher 3.10 is officially released.

Hi all,

FotoSketcher has just been updated to version 3.10. As usual, you can download the official version (with setup or standalone) here: http://www.fotosketcher.com/download-fotosketcher/

This is a maintenance release, with quite a few bug fixes, optimizations and interface improvements. Here are some of the changes:

• the DPI default value has been set to 300 for better printing quality.
• although transparency in PNG images (alpha channel) is not supported by FotoSketcher, transparent pixels will no longer appear black. They will now be converted to white pixels (much prettier!).
• the donation screen (coffee cup icon) has been simplified and will lead to a unified PayPal screen.
• when using JPG images, the compression quality has been improved for fewer artifacts (save to PNG or BMP if you want maximum image quality).
• a visual bug with the Emergence 2 effect has been corrected. Sometimes the preview image would be pasted to the main result image in the top left corner.
• some z-order problems have been solved.
• a memory leak has been hunted down and solved.
• when running a script (F5), FotoSketcher will be automatically minimized until the end of the process. If you wish to see the script running, just click on the FotoSketcher icon in the Windows task bar. 

Have fun with FotoSketcher!

David

Working on FotoSketcher 3.10

Hi,

Just a quick word to let you know that I've been working on a new version of FotoSketcher which will solve a few problems. This will be a simple maintenance release, with bug fixes and performance enhancements (correction of memory leaks, default of 300 dpi instead of 72, interface improvements, etc.).
I'm also making progress on a new effect, but it's early days yet, so I will probably add it in a further release.

Regards,

David

FotoSketcher 3.00 is officially released. 100% free as always.

Dear all,

FotoSketcher 3.00 has been a bit long in the making but your patience is now rewarded :-)

You can download the official version (with setup or standalone) here: http://www.fotosketcher.com/download-fotosketcher/

New features and changes in version 3.00:
- New Painting 10 (brushstrokes) effect
- New "invert colors" function (in the Edit menu or CTRL+I shortcut)
- Integration of the "invert colors" function in the script mode (F5)
- Improved Painting 4 responsiveness
- Cosmetic changes to the user interface (especially when the program is maximized)
- New keyboard shortcuts (left, right and up keys) to move the divider between the left and right panes. Works when the main window is focused, even if an effect is running.

Here are a couple of examples of the new effect:

Original photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kevsyd/6300148573/

Have fun with FotoSketcher!

David

FotoSketcher 3.00 Release Candidate

Hi,

FotoSketcher 3.00 is finally almost ready to be released officially. You can download a stable beta version here: http://www.fotosketcher.com/FotoSketcher_3.00_RC1.exe

Here are the main changes :
- New Painting 10 (brushstrokes) effect
- New "invert colors" function (in the Edit menu or CTRL+I shortcut)
- Improved Painting 4 responsiveness
- Cosmetic changes to the user interface (especially when the program is maximized)

Example of the new Painting 10 effect (click on picture to view full size):

Original photo credit: Vincent MARTIN

As usual, I welcome your feedback :-)

Best regards,

David

FotoSketcher 3.00 early preview *** updated ***

Dear all,

If you like to be at the bleeding edge, here is an early alpha version of FotoSketcher 3.00, with a brand new painting effect: http://www.fotosketcher.com/FotoSketcher_3.00_alpha3.exe

The new effect Painting 10 (brushstrokes) is functional and nearly finalized. I have not had time to integrate it in the script engine or the manual brush* yet, but if you only use it from the main drawing screen, you should be fine.

Here is an example of the effect:

original photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidstella/4281825293

Have fun :-)

Best regards,

David

* as of 02/22 the manual brush is now functional with Painting 10
* as of 02/23 the code for Painting 10 has been optimized (33% faster) - still a bit slow ;-)

New example:

Original photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/12570475@N08/6249210862/

Upcoming painting effect in FotoSketcher 3.00

Hi all,

I am currently working on FotoSketcher version 3.00, which will include a new painting effect. Brush placement still needs some tweaking (for now too many details are lost in salient areas), but I think the result holds promise.
Here is an early example on the FotoSketcher parrot.

Best regards,

David

Happy New Year!

Dear FotoSketcher users,

I wish you all a very Happy New Year!

I am hard at work on version 3.00 and I hope to have a working beta version for you to test sometime in 2015!

All the best,

David