AKVIS has posted v8.0 of Sketch, one of several photo utilities the company produces. Sketch is used to transform photos into mock pencil, charcoal or watercolor illustrations; users can additionally choose vary degrees of conversion, and introduce effects such as motion, swirl and/or selective blur. Selection is handled by special pencil tools which omit or include parts of an image.

Version 8 incorporates a Quick Preview window, which lets users see the results of conversion settings without having to complete the operation. Like other AKVIS apps the program now also retains EXIF and IPTC data, which contains information such as exposure figures, the shoot date, and any comments that have been made. Sketch costs $72, and can operate either in a stand-alone mode or as a plug-in. Some supported host apps include Photoshop, Photoshop Elements and Corel Photo-Paint. Mac OS X 10.3.9 or higher is required.