Photo-manipulation software maker Alien Skin has debuted a new version of its natural-media tool Snap Art, now at version 4.0. The update features a redesigned user interface and significant improvements in speed, and now requires OS X Mountain Lion or later for Mac and Windows 7 or newer for Windows users. The program, which can turn photographs into drawings or paintings emulating human artists in a wide variety of styles and media, is available as a stand-alone application or as a photo-editor plug-in.
Snap Art 4 is compatible as a plug-in with Photoshop (CS6 or CC), Lightroom (v4 or later), Photoshop Elements (latest version 12 only) or Apple’s Aperture (v3 or newer). “Across the board, everything in Snap Art is faster and more responsive,” said software designer Terence Tay. The new interface has a modern, dark color scheme to increase focus, and a new visual preset browser that provides a preview of how the preset will look when applied. In addition, users can mark presets as favorites and quickly retrieve recently-used presets as well, enhancing workflows.
The application costs $99 for new buyers, or $69 for those upgrading from earlier versions. Users who purchased Snap Art 3 in August or later of this year can obtain a free upgrade to version 4.0. Snap Art 4 is available for trial and purchase directly from Alien Skin’s website.
