Tutorial: AKVIS Sketch

Workspace

AKVIS Sketch can work independently as a standalone program as well as a plug-in to a photo editor.

To call the AKVIS Sketch plugin select the menu item Filter -> AKVIS -> Sketch in Adobe Photoshop; in Corel Paint Shop Pro select the menu item Effects -> Plugins -> AKVIS -> Sketch; in Corel Photo-Paint select the menu item Effects -> AKVIS -> Sketch.

To launch the standalone version of AKVIS Sketch follow these instructions:

• On a Windows computer:

  - In the main menu: press the button Start and select from the pop-up menu the command AKVIS - Sketch.

  - Using the program's shortcut on the Desktop: put the cursor on the icon of the program AKVIS Sketch and double-click it with the left mouse button.

• On a Macintosh computer:

  - Using Finder: select the folder Applications on the side bar of the Finder window, select the application AKVIS Sketch and double-click it.

The workspace will be arranged according to the editing mode chosen in the Control Panel: Express or Advanced.

In Express mode, the program's interface is extremely simplified. It has the minimal set of parameters needed for a user to quickly obtain a satisfactory result.

Workspace of AKVIS Sketch (Express)

In Advanced mode, the full functionality of the program is available: all parameters, under the relevant tabs Sketch, Background, Text, Canvas, as well as the toolbar.

Note: All features and parameters work in Express mode. Some are hidden and use default values or those of a chosen preset.

Workspace of AKVIS Sketch (Advanced)

The left part of the program's window is taken by the Image Window with two tabs - Before and After. The Before tab shows the original image, the After tab shows the resulting pencil sketch. To switch between the tabs and compare the original and the resulting images, just left-click on any point of the image.

In the upper part of the program's window you can see the Control Panel and the following controls:

• The button opens the home page of AKVIS Sketch.
• The button (only in the standalone version) opens an image for processing. The hot-keys are Ctrl+O on Windows, +O on Macintosh.

  Right mouse click on this button displays the list of recent files. You can change the number of recent documents in the program's preferences.

• The button (only in the standalone version) saves image to the disk. The hot-keys are Ctrl+S on Windows, +S on Macintosh.
• The button (only in the standalone version) prints the image. The hot-keys are Ctrl+P on Windows, +P on Macintosh.
• The button (only in the standalone version) opens the Batch Processing dialog to automatically process a series of images.
• The button exports presets (user settings for the image processing). You can save any number of presets to a separate file with the ending .sketch.
• The button imports a list of presets (from the .sketch file).
• The button saves the guiding lines to a file with the .direction extension.
• The button loads saved guiding lines (from the .direction file).
• The button / shows/hides the guiding lines and the effect area outlines drawn with the tools.
• The button cancels the last operation made with lines (guiding lines and background outlines). It is possible to cancel several operations in a row. The hotkeys are Ctrl+Z, on Windows, +Z on Macintosh.
• The button returns the last cancelled operation. It is possible to return several operations in a row. The hotkeys are Ctrl+Y on Windows, +Y on Macintosh.
• The button starts conversion of the original image into a pencil sketch with the current parameter settings. The result is shown in the After tab.
• The button (only in the plugin version) applies the result to the image and closes the plugin.
• The button calls information about the program.
• The button calls the Help files. The hot-key is F1.
• The button calls the Preferences dialog box for changing the program's options.

Тo the left of the Image Window there is a Toolbar with the following buttons:

• The button switches on/off the Preview Window (more about the preview).
• The button activates the guiding lines drawing tool Stroke Direction (available in Home Deluxe and Business versions for Classic style only).
• The , and tools are used to outline areas for background effects. The tools are visible and active only when using either Sketch&Photo or Sketch&Blur mode.
• The button activates the Eraser tool used to erase the guiding lines and the effect areas outlines.

When one of these tools is selected its parameters will appear in a window that pops up after right clicking on the tool.

Navigate and scale the image using the Navigator. The frame in the Navigator surrounds the area of the image which is visible in the Image Window; the area outside of the frame will be shaded. The frame can be dragged, thereby changing the visible portion of the image. To move the frame, place the cursor within it, left click the mouse, and then drag.

Navigator

Additionally, you can move the image in the Image Window with the scroll bars or by holding down the space bar, then holding down the left mouse button while moving the mouse. The mouse's scroll wheel can move the image up and down, and holding Ctrl ( in Macintosh) – while using the scroll wheel will move the image left and right. Holding Alt (Option in Macintosh) will scale the image. Right-click on the scroll bar to activate the quick navigation menu.

Use the slider or the buttons and to scale the image in the Image Window. When you click on the button or move the slider to the right, the image scale increases. When you click on the button or move the slider to the left, the image scale reduces.

You can also change the image scale by entering a new coefficient into the scale field and pressing the button Enter (Return in Macintosh). Frequently used scale coefficients can be found in a drop-down menu.

You can use hot-keys to change the image scale + and Ctrl++ (++ in Macintosh) to increase the image scale and - and Ctrl+- (+- in Macintosh) to reduce the scale.

 

Under the Navigator there is the Settings Panel where you can choose the photo-to-sketch conversion Style (Classic/Artistic); and adjust the parameters.

The Settings Panel has four tabs of settings: Sketch, Background, Text and Canvas.

• On the Sketch tab you can adjust the settings for photo-to-sketch conversion of the selected style.
• On the Background tab you can define the area of the picture that should be blurred, or the areas that should remain in their original state.
• On the Text tab you can add an inscription to your drawing.
• On the Canvas tab you can adjust the settings for the canvas, to which the resulting sketch is applied.

 

In the Presets field you can save the current settings as a preset to use them in the future. The current settings can be saved, edited, deleted. When you launch the program, it uses the settings of the last used preset.

Attention! The presets save only information about the settings in the Sketch, Text and Canvas tabs (not Background!).

 

Under the Settings Panel you can see Hints for the parameters and buttons when you hover over them with the cursor. You can choose where the hints will be shown or hide them in the program's Preferences.

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