Plugin: Akvis Sketch 10 announced

[DannyRaphael]

The following is from the Akvis e-mail notifucation I received today...

Note = = = >: Windows users must remove previous versions before installing this one. Custom presets will not be harmed.

A new version of AKVIS Sketch has been released for Windows and Macintosh! AKVIS Sketch converts photos into pencil sketches (black and white or in color) and watercolor paintings. It can also convert a photo into a drawing in charcoal or pastel styles.

Other features include the ability to add text to an image, apply a canvas texture to the background, as well as background effects which can apply the sketch effect to only a selected area of an image or blur selected areas.

Sketch is available as a standalone application, as well as a plugin to a photo editor.

More: http://akvis.com/en/sketch/index.php

Version 10 includes these new features and improvements (Free update for owners of v.9):

- The new Stroke Direction tool, which can be used to control hatch direction, and a set of parameters that affect the change in hatching when this tool is used (available under Home Deluxe and Business licenses).

- A new parameter in the Edges tab called Edge Strength, which controls how edges are drawn by affecting the intensity of lines and details.

- The Preview Window has been improved. Due to popular demand, in addition to displaying how the photo will appear as a drawing the Preview Window now also shows the effect of applying a canvas, making the selection of just the right texture faster and more efficient.

- Three new presets from AKVIS. Now there are a total of 11 built-in presets available.

- In Preferences it is now possible to choose whether to start the program with the last settings used or to start with the default settings.

- Now compatible with Windows 7 and Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6).

- The Sketch plug-in is now compatible with Photoshop CS4 64 bit and PhotoShop Elements 8.

- A new installation program on Windows. To avoid the problems Win-users must remove previous versions before installing this one.

Attention! Registered users of Version 9 can upgrade to Version 10 for free! If you have an older version you will need to pay for an upgrade to Version 9 first.

Download AKVIS Sketch V. 10 and try all the features within the trial period.

http://akvis.com/en/sketch/download-pencil-drawing.php

[FranS]

Danny,
Thanks for the news about the Akvis update.

Fran

[DannyRaphael]

Originally Posted by FranS

Danny,
Thanks for the news about the Akvis update.

Fran

My pleasure...Always glad to deliver good news when I can.

I've had a chance to try v10 the past couple days.

Regarding the new features mentioned above, I especially like the following:
* New Edge Strength setting adds flexibility.
* The improved Preview Window that now includes the result of selecting the Canvas feature (if selected). Sketch preview is now true "What you see is what you get."
* The Preferences setting that allows one the option of starting the program with the last settings used. This is handy if one is experimenting with a custom setting and is in "fine tuning mode" (apply settings, examine the result, undo, open Sketch, tweak settings and try again). Once fine tuning is complete the settings can be saved as a preseet.

v9 users: The upgrade is free and recommended. Be sure to uninstall v9 before installing v10.

For those who have v7 and earlier, the choice is more difficult: additional cost is required to upgrade. I recommend these folks download and try the v10 demo. Compare results with v7 or earlier in order to weigh additional cost against improved output and additional functionality. (Be sure to follow the technical directions at the Akvis site.)