[APP] Fresco: A drawing app featuring layers and filters. Out on Mon 20 Jun!

Fresco is now on the Android Market. Please visit this thread for download details: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1132869

Fresco is a painting and sketching app for Android.

Features: Full layers support, multiple undo/redo, configurable brush and eraser tools, line smoothing, flood fill, color picker, multi-touch zooming and panning, simple interface, filters (e.g. contrast, saturation, brightness, blur, emboss, blur, noise, sharpen), mirror/move/rotate/scale layers, export to .PSD format with layers intact, supports phone and tablet screen sizes, import images, autosave, HSL color selector.

The full version of Fresco will be available on the Android Market on Monday 20th June. You can download the beta version below.

The beta version is limited to 2 layers (4 are intended for the full version) and a handful of brushes and filters. Permissions required: Internet connection is used for sending bug reports after user confirmation. SD card access is needed for saving images. Only 0.5Mb is needed for installation.

Screenshots:


"Gulpha Gorge landscape" painting by Rick Chandler (studiochandler.com).




"Mr. Sketchy self portrait" painting by Rick Chandler (studiochandler.com).











Please note that the beta will expire on June 21. An updated version will be available by then either here or on the market.

Installation instructions

1. Open your device settings screen by either 1) opening your "Settings" app from your app list or 2) by pressing "Menu" then "Settings" on your home screen.
2. Select the "Applications" option.
3. Make sure "Unknown sources" is ticked to let you install non-market apps.
4. Open the following direct link in your device's browser to download the .APK file that contains the app:
   http://goo.gl/O7Xfb
5. Tap on the file that appears in your notification bar when the download is complete.

To see what other people have created in Fresco and to share your own work, visit the Flickr group (you can post pictures without signing up by logging in with your Facebook or Google account): www.flickr.com/groups/fresco/.

For updates on when the full version is available you can:
- Subscribe to my Twitter feed https://twitter.com/#!/seanw_org.
- Join the Facebook group http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fresco-A-Mobile-Art-Studio-for-Android/169892059738943 (please "like" the page to support the app!)
- Email me at android@seanw.org with the subject "Fresco Subscribe" and I'll email you when it is released (I won't share your email address and I will delete your address if you ask).

Edit: Thanks everyone for the feedback so far!
Edit: New beta release! Changes:
- The brush and eraser no longer share settings.
- Added a "confirm" button to the configure tool dialog so you're not forced to use the back button.
- Fixed stability issues when previewing filters.
- Lower memory usage.
Edit: New beta release! Changes:
- New multi-touch gesture: tap twice with two fingers to recenter the canvas.
- The startup crash on HTC HD2, HTC Evo 4G and HTC Supersonic should be fixed now. Let me know if this is the case if you have one of these phones.
- Fixed issue where the zoom level would change when the user removed their fingers from the screen at the end of a pinch/pan gesture.
- Improved the presentation of the gallery, brush configuration dialog and editor toolbar.
- The help dialog now mentions how to delete files.
Edit: New beta release. Changes:
- Fixed problem that caused image importing to fail.
- Fixed crash when importing images.
- Fixed crash that sometimes happened when returning to the gallery.
- Fixed startup crash on some devices.
- Image saving should now be faster on lower end devices.
Edit: New beta release. Changes:
- Fixed issue that caused flickering when viewing filter previews on some devices.
- The performance of undoing/redoing brush strokes has been improved.
- Improved feedback when errors were caused by the SD card being unavailable.
- The line smoothing algorithm has been tweaked to reduce lag when drawing.
- The maximum brush size has been increased.
- Fixed various bugs that were causing crashes.
Edit: New beta release. Changes:
- Fixed strange problem where semi-transparent layers had rendering problems on some devices.
- Improved scrolling responsiveness when the gallery screen contains many items.
Edit: New beta release. Changes:
- New icon!
- Fixed problem where sometimes the imported images would be the wrong size.
- Improved the memory usage of some editing operations.
- Fixed crash that would sometimes happen when returning to the app.
Edit: New beta release. Changes:
- Speed and memory optimisations made to filters.
- Memory optimisations made to .PSD export.
- Fixed some interface issues regarding the autosave dialog.
- The back key can now be used to cancel filters.
Edit: New beta release. Changes:
- Tweaks to line smoothing algorithm.
- Fixed issue where the brush parameters would sometimes change just by entering and leaving the brush configuration screen.
- Fixed lag problems with filter preview.
- Better screenshots!

chetbox said:

This works really well and I love the interface.

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Great, thanks for trying it! What device did you use it on?

My only gripe so far is that it's not obvious when the background is transparent. It would be great if it was checkerboard instead of white (like in the layer view).

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I'd love to add this too and it's a dormant feature at the moment. Unfortunately, there are some issues I need to work on.

Also, I'd like to see support for images of different sizes and zooming too if possible! I know this is likely to add to the complexity of the app, but really think these are features you need.

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You can pinch to zoom at the moment if that's what you mean. Different images sizes is definitely on my feature list, including landscape canvases.

Mylenthes said:

It is the best painting app for android so far imo. But I think it needs a landscape image size, a better paint fill, and an option to have the cursor slightly above your finger so that your finger isn't covering it. But the number one thing it needs is the fill. Filling an object makes little white outline of the color.

Btw I'm using HTC g2 and it doesn't lag or anything, runs very well.

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Awesome, thanks for the feedback! Yes, landscape is a top priority feature. I'll be adding offset drawing too. You're right, the fill bucket does need some work.

Mylenthes said:

As I use this app more and more in the hour, I realize how much I love it and I can give a bit more critisism. I now don't really care about the fill tool as painting it manually is a lot more fun and gives a nice texture.

I also think the eraser and brush should have seperate setting, so a big feather brush for erasing, and the normal brush for painting.

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OK, it's on my list of things to do next. Keep the critique coming if you think of anything else! I want to make this the best painting app on Android.

Great picture by the way. I like the shading. Have you tried playing with the filters? Emboss is quite fun for extra texture.

stirkac said:

thanks, awesome job mate!
maybe "menu" button features could be ipmlemented in bottom bar with "drag up" gesture much like music player on miui if you know what i'm saying.

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Thanks for the suggestion. I'd love to have an extra toolbar button for the menu because I know from app reviews that some users don't know where to look for extra options. I want to make sure all the features are easy to find.

anyways, excellent for beta, get it to market with final polish i'd shure be willing to pay couple of $$ for it. and offer free verion without layers forcasual users, with ads.

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Thanks! That's roughly my plan. I think it'll be best to have layers in the free version though so people that haven't used layers before can get a feel for how useful they are.

tobidashi said:

Super fast and accurate on my Vibrant. Love the gestures. Drawing tools are neat and the filters are fun. Options are all easily accessible.

Took a minute to figure out how to delete a layer (tried long pressing on the layer).

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I decided to avoid long pressing for layer options because my initial testers found this hard to discover.

Wanted to save the image with a name - not just save it generically. Also, duplicating an image could be nicer if I didn't have to open the image to "save a copy."

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I'll have a think about how names can be assigned to files without annoying users with pop-ups each time they export a file. What was the reason you wanted to name your file? I could add a menu option that lets you give your painting a title and exported files could be named after this. Would that help?

Also, duplicating an image could be nicer if I didn't have to open the image to "save a copy."

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I'm planning to add a "copy image" operation to the gallery screen which should fix this.

Very awesome drawing app! Can't wait to let my kids play with it, too.

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Awesome, thanks for all the feedback! I'd be really interested to know how your younger users find it too.