As I like to live dangerously, I took the risk to install this new version of Sketch Drawer (its previous giveaway now giving me the choice between "buy now", "close" and "register"), knowing that there was a very big chance that it would deactivate SoftOrbits Photo Stamp Remover, given away here recently, which I like better and which, by miracle, was still working. And guess what? It DID deactivate it! You have been warned, but don't worry, I won't rant again about this recurrent issue with SoftOrbits, I have already done it enough, here and in the forum. Instead, I seize the opportunity of enjoying at least one working SO program to test it against FotoSketcher, for me the reference in this niche.

Maybe it would have been different with another photo, better with other predefined settings, I don't doubt I could have obtained much better results taking advantage of all settings and sliders in Sketch Drawer, but... Oh well..judge by yourself:

http://diaporama.archive-host.com/df2/Diaporama.php?id=lxazjr1A7d1cdtdgdcyX

The second creation of FotoSketcher is a painting, not a sketch, so it cannot compare with what Sketch Drawer does, I just did it for fun. In both programs, I only used predefined styles, which I chose after what I saw in the little preview windows, and didn't move a slider. The textures and brushstroke edges are not available in Sketch Drawer, optional in FotoSketcher (which doesn't texture the margins though, so I did it in another graphics software). Under each drawing, I give the names of the style and presets, so that anybody can reproduce my results.

ouialaraison  –  8 years ago  –  Ritieni questo commento utile? sì | no (+18)

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Some results: first a original and after that some results.
The strokes lengths: smaller gives a better result in my opinion:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/10366431/_GOTD/SketchDrawer40_20160517-voorbeelden/index.html

Ootje  –  8 years ago  –  Ritieni questo commento utile? sì | no (+18)

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Like many others on GOTD who have encountered this ongoing SoftOrbits deactivation debacle.

Renaldo mentioned FotoSketcher which is developed by David Thoiron over at fotosketcher[dot]com which is a fantastic hassle free and 100% freeware alternative to turn your photos into art. The developer only asks for a donation for a cup of coffee if you like his software. Worth checking out.

Thanks GOTD Team for your daily efforts, but I will be passing on all SoftOrbits software. I had been a SoftOrbits supporter for many years.

On a side note, not sure how this software has received 81% positive ratings.

Very Concerned User  –  8 years ago  –  Ritieni questo commento utile? sì | no (+16)

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PRO:
* Presets
* Customization
* Fast license email

CON:
* The 'preview' square CANNOT be resized, or even moved. Not all photos have a subject right in the center.
* The 'preview' square does NOT preview the final result -- like the bird does during preset selection. What is its use then?
* Tools / Options only has language settings. As such, it could be a cascading menu item, not a separate dialog box.
* Takes sooo long on a i7-4700MQ x64 with 16 MB RAM with a 640x480 test image.
* Crashes!!! (with the same 640x480 image.)

TD  –  8 years ago  –  Ritieni questo commento utile? sì | no (+15)

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As mentioned by a couple other people, installing this deactivates other Soft Orbits software. This issue has been mentioned for a long time, and ever since I found out about it and verified most of my older Soft Orbits software no longer works because I installed a new Soft Orbits program, my solution is to completely avoid all Soft Orbits software. I will find alternatives from other companies who do not take away software they claimed was yours to keep. It seems rather dishonest to me.

The company Soft Orbits is as good as dead to me unless Soft Orbits someday fixes this problem so we can keep our prior Soft Orbits software. I don't know of any other company that does this. The problem has existed for too long for it to be a bug.

Sam  –  8 years ago  –  Ritieni questo commento utile? sì | no (+14)

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