FotoSketcher is an application designed to apply hand drawing effects, and a few others, to your photos. Many pixel-based image editors, such as Adobe Photoshop and GIMP, include similar tools within their filters and effects, but FotoSketcher is a stand alone application that concentrates purely on this task. Because it performs a more focused task, FotoSketcher offers a greater degree of fine control within its tools meaning that it can produce some quite impressive results.
Highlights of FotoSketcher
FotoSketcher is an easy to use application with several attractive features.
- Clear and well presented user interface
- Very simple to use
- Preview of effects before you apply them to a photo
- Option to adjust the source image before applying the drawing effect
- Good range of drawing and painting effects
- Add text to the new images
Why Use FotoSketcher
FotoSketcher is the perfect tool for users who enjoy getting more creative with their photos. While many image editors offer a range of painting and drawing effects, FotoSketcher generally offers a greater degree of control. The end results are quite impressive and resonably convincing.
While you wouldn't want to use FotoSketcher to undertake extensive adjustments to a photo, the inclusion of some features for this purpose is useful and helps to ensure a smooth work flow. It does mean that you can make quick, minor adjustments to the source image within FotoSketcher without having to launch a second application.
You are able to save your finished work in JPEG, PNG and BMP file formats, which should be sufficient for most users requirements and they could always be converted to another format elsewhere if required.
Some Limitations of FotoSketcher
On my fairly average laptop with 4GB RAM, I did find some of the effects took a little time to apply, but I guess that is the price to pay for the relatively impressive results. The preview window does allow you get a reasonable idea of how the image will look after the effect has been applied.
While there is an impressive range of control over the various parameters, I did feel that it was lacking an option to adjust the stroke width, particularly with the pencil drawn effects.
Help and Support
Within the main menu of the user interface, there is a button that will take you to the online help. This takes you to the FotoSketcher website where there is a short video tutorial. There is also a link to the blog which includes example pictures and shows the settings used to achieve the end results. The developer has also posted an email address for users to ask questions or report any problems that they have discovered.
You can get yourself a copy of this free application from the FotoSketcher website.