In this review we take a look at another Windows Phone application which allows you to apply a wide selection of different sketch effects to any image of your liking. Self-explanatory enough, the application is called Sketch. It is developed by thumbmunkey, the same developer behind Phototastic (click for our review of that), so right away we were sure it would be a great application. Keep reading for our full review and what we thought of Sketch on the Windows Phone.
One of the first things we notice when using a photo effects application, is how fast it starts up. We always expect photo manipulation developers to take into account the fact that some customers will want to take a picture, edit, and upload it, all within a matter of seconds. Developer thumbmunkey definitely does a great job at creating some very fast start up applications, they did it with Phototastic, and Sketch is only about a second longer (3 seconds total) in start up. That’s really fast considering all the effects and features packed into Sketch. When you open up Sketch you will be presented with a very simplistic main menu. Two options, New Photo and Media Library, self explanatory. You can either choose the New Photo option in which the application will access your camera directly and you can take a picture and be ready to edit it right in the Sketch application. Choose Media Library and you will have access to all your albums to find an image you wish to edit. On the bottom of the main menu screen you have four icons in the app bar, which have become a signature presentation of thumbmunkey as far as we can tell. From left to right, the app bar buttons are: more apps (from the developer), rate (the app you’re using), feedback, and about (includes options and credits as well).
Show Me The Sketch!
Once you have the image you want to edit, Sketch will take you into the edit area. The great thing about Sketch is, although it lacks borders (that’s what Phototastic is for!), is that you only have to deal with one screen the entire time you are editing your image. You will see about 14 different sketch options presented to you, with left and right arrow buttons to scroll through each effect, which then show off image previews in real time as you scroll through. Once you have selected your starting sketch effect (we loved all of them!), you then have options below your image preview window which further allow you to tweak the specific sketch effect. Don’t want to keep your image black and white or in the color texture sketch chosen? No problem, you can simply tap the Colors check box and like magic the color of your image will be restored, while still being sketch-ified. Want a Vignette? Tap the Vignette check box option. Below the Colors/Vignette options you then have scroll bars for Intensity, Contours, Brightness and Contrast. Each option proves very useful depending on the image you are working with.
Save Options
Finished selecting and tweaking your sketched image? The three buttons on the image editing app bar allow you to save, reset, and cancel your edited image. If you hit reset, all effects will be reset, while hitting cancel will take you back to the main menu (the device back button does the same). Hit save and you will be presented with your save options. You can save directly to your device, upload to Twitter, Facebook, Flickr or Photobucket simultaneously. We love seeing this screen in the applications developed by thumbmunkey! In, out, upload that’s exactly what we want in any photo manipulation application.
Sketch is a great application to do exactly what it says. Also, always remember that thumbmunkey is a developer that listens, a rare thing in any industry. If you have sketch effects you think would be ideal to have available, or even more editing options, contact thumbmunkey and they will surely do their best to implement it.
Note: The developer of Sketch contacted us after sending us this specific version of the application. We want to note that since completing the review video, titles for sketch effects and bug fixes have since been changed/corrected.
Wishlist
- After being spoiled with the simplistic yet perfect Phototastic main menu, we can’t help but expect one just as great every time we start up Sketch
- Options for sketch density would be great (ie. sketch darkness, thickness, depth, etc.)
- Ability to sketch only specific parts of an image could be interesting
If you check out Sketch, let us know what you think in the comments below, or on the forums!
Download Link: Sketch Buy for $1.49 (Trial Available) – Free Ad-supported Version Available – Developer: thumbmunkey – Version: 1.0.0.0
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