Create Drawings from Digital Photos with AKVIS Sketch

The Windows version of both the plugin and the independent application were tested for the purposes of this review. The installation and setup were typical of Windows applications, and no problems were encountered. However, if you are using the plugin version of Sketch, you may have to perform a few additional steps to make sure that your host photo editor adds the plugin to its list of recognized add-ons. Paint Shop Pro users can find a description of these steps in this article on third-party plugins.

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Another nice option in the program is the ability to add text to the image. This provides a means to “sign” or watermark your artwork, or you can even use this feature to add a short message to your drawing if you plan on using it as a design for greeting cards or stationery.

You can purchase a standard Home license for Sketch for either the plugin or the standalone application for $72. However, you can obtain both versions of the product with a Home Deluxe license, which currently costs $89. If you plan to use Sketch for any commercial purposes, you will need to spend $139 and purchase a Business license.

All licenses permit installation and registration of the application on two separate computers.

Although I think that the price for Sketch is quite high for a plugin, it’s not so bad for an independent application. With that being said, if you do go for the standalone product, I highly recommend spending the little bit extra and getting the Home Deluxe license. Even if you don’t have a host photo editor that is compatible with Sketch now, you may end up buying or having access to one in the future. And, while it’s nice to have the option of creating these images in a standalone program, using them in conjunction with an application like Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro makes the process even easier.

A free 10-day trial of Sketch is available from AKVIS if you want to give the software a try before making the investment. If you do find that you like it, you may want to look into some of their other products as well since a substantial discount can be had when purchasing one of AKVIS’s bundled collections.