In contrast to standard filters (like the built-in filters in Photoshop or PSP) that offer an approximate sketch, AKVIS Sketch comes very close to the hand-drawn works of a human artist. Getting a similar result with the standard tools would require expertise in image editing and extensive manipulation with layers, masks, brushes and applying filters.

AKVIS Sketch can add background effects to the resulting pencil drawing. Create a blend of a drawing and a photo; imitate motion or add a “time machine effect” by swirling the background. Put an accent to certain parts of the image by blurring the rest of it in an artistic way. It proves especially useful when the final drawing contains too many details on the background that divert attention.

You can personalize your work of art by adding an inscription (a signature or a greeting) to your pencil drawing. Also, the parameters on the Canvas let you add a rough surface to your image, as if it had been drawn on canvas, corrugated paper, brick wall, etc.

AKVIS Sketch has a neat interface with a few sliders. At first you can process the image with the default settings and then touch up the photo adding color, or trying different techniques - from pencil to charcoal or watercolor. You can make the hatching denser or finer and change the pitch angle of strokes, or add/remove the original colors.

Home users will be delighted by the neat result of the photo-to-sketch conversion. Using AKVIS Sketch can be a lot of fun. Make a pencil portrait as a gift for your relatives and friends, a watercolor drawing obtained from your last nature shooting can decorate your room, or you can convert any photo to an original drawing to print on a T-Shirt.

The program can be helpful to designers who need to quickly bring images to one style for a web-site or an advertisement booklet.
On the whole it's a wonderful tool for those who have always wanted to draw but didn't know how.

This photo to sketch software is available in two versions – as an independent program (standalone) and as a plugin to a photo editor.

The plugin version is compatible with Adobe Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Paint Shop Pro etc.
Refer to Check the compatibility page for more details.

The plug-in version of Sketch offers Batch Processing support that allows you to automatically convert a series of images. Just create an Action in Photoshop or a Script in Corel Paint Shop Pro and apply the plug-in with the same settings to a folder full of images. You can even create comics from home videos in this way!