Today we are announcing new versions of Fresh Paint for Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone.
You will find the new
Fresh Paint in the Windows Store on October 18.
Microsoft Announce the New Fresh Paint more realistic painting and
drawing experience possible.
The new
Fresh Paint
will launch in tandem with Windows 8.1 on October 18 and that we’ll
also have new features coming to the Windows Phone version on October
14. Best of all, Fresh Paint will continue to be free, and everyone who
updates to Windows 8.1 will get the improved experience
Included
in the new Fresh Paint are all the features we announced in the preview
like watercolor, a new graphite pencil set, and a new clean, modern user
interface. We are also adding the ability to make high quality canvas
prints, new ways to work with photos, improvements to stylus pressure,
more realistic rendering for watercolor, in addition to a large refresh
for Fresh Paint on Windows Phone.
Introducing CanvasPop!
One
thing we’ve heard from people over and over is the desire to make
high-quality canvas prints of their paintings and sketches. We’re
thrilled to share that we’ve partnered with
CanvasPop
to make this possible. CanvasPop provides high-quality canvas prints
using the best materials and craftsmanship, from archival grade canvas
to hand-stretching by skilled workers.
Fresh Paint is the first
painting app to integrate CanvasPop’s new printing API. We believe in
pushing the boundaries of what is possible with art in the digital age.
We’re bringing that to life by helping you turn your digital paintings
and drawings into amazing physical pieces that you can hang in your
living room or give as gifts. This new functionality is a direct result
of user feedback. And, we’re making it easy.
After putting the
finishing touches on your painting in Fresh Paint, just swipe up from
the bottom of your canvas and tap print. You’ll get a customized page
where you can select your size and framing options, and we’ll take care
of everything from there including handing off a special, high quality
version of your painting. CanvasPop then prints your piece, hand frames
it, and ships it to you.
Our
team and the folks at CanvasPop worked hard to make this experience
seamless and simple. One of the challenges we tackled was how to make it
possible to print large, high-quality prints from small devices. With
many graphics programs the user needs to choose the file size before
beginning. We felt that would interrupt the user experience, make the
product more complex, and knew it would be challenging for small devices
to handle very large files.
Instead, we developed a way to scale
the paintings after they were completed. We do this by analyzing the
painting pixel by pixel using bilinear filtering, and then smoothing out
pixels as it scales. It is the equivalent of zooming in very close to
the painting, taking a ton of pictures of it, and then stitching all of
them together to make a giant rendering of the painting. This allows us
to render very large prints even from small devices in a way that keeps
the user experience simple, magical, and fun.
I’m also pleased to
share that we are making some special offers available for our fan base.
Check out our Facebook and Twitter feeds for special offers the week of
Oct 18, or visit
canvaspop.com/freshpaintoffer.
New Features on Fresh Paint for Windows 8.1
We’ve also been hard at work on a number of new features and improvements to Fresh Paint for Windows 8.1.
First,
we know that sometimes it can be tough to know where to get started, or
maybe you just need a little inspiration. That’s where the new Inspire
Me feature comes in. Just click on the Inspire Me tile in your gallery
home page, and you’ll find inspirational images you can then import,
apply a filter to, and paint. Because this image search is powered by
Bing you can even type in your own query to find amazing, inspirational
pieces. And, of course, we’ve tuned the search to be safe for everyone
in the family.
We’ve
improved our image filters too. The Oil Daub has been improved to
highlight unique oil textures, and we’ve added a filter that turns your
photo into a watercolor wash. Just add water and watch the painting come
to life.
Beyond photos, we’ve been really focused on the details.
We’ve improved pen and stylus input to better work with pressure and
the eraser (pick up a Surface to try out a great stylus experience).
We’ve added the ability to save custom palettes, so if you have a
favorite set of colors you can keep them handy. And, we’ve made dozens
of other little changes throughout the product–such as adding the
ability to import a painting directly from SkyDrive.
New Features for Windows Phone Too
We
love Windows Phone and are making some significant updates that will be
available early next week. You’ll now have the option to draw with
pencil in the Windows Phone version of the app. We know many of you love
sketching, and the addition of the pencil will allow you to draw from
anywhere. This is the same, highly realistic graphite pencil we use in
Fresh Paint for Windows 8.1.
Pencil sketch created on a Surface Pro by artist Jenny Vorwaller.
You’ll
also see new photo filters and an updated user interface that makes the
Fresh Paint experience more consistent whether you are on a PC or
phone.
We’re also really excited about the possibilities with
SkyDrive. Now you can start a painting or capture a moment on your
phone, save it to SkyDrive, and finish it on your PC by simply selecting
the “Save To” icon in Fresh Paint for Windows Phone and importing it
into your Fresh Paint gallery on your PC.
Painted in Fresh Paint on a Windows Phone.
Across Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone
You will find the new
Fresh Paint in the Windows Store on October 18.
If
you have Windows 8, you’ll automatically be updated to the new Fresh
Paint when you upgrade to Windows 8.1. Your paintings will all be
preserved, and you’ll get all the new features I mentioned above.
Windows Phone users can get all the improvements in
Fresh Paint beginning October 14—just look for the app update.
We’ve
been on a mission to make the most realistic, simple, and fun painting
and drawing app out there. Thanks again for all of your feedback. It has
been invaluable. Be sure and follow our
Facebook and
Twitter feeds to learn more and to find special offers I mentioned.
We can’t wait to see what you create next!
Readmore:http://blogs.windows.com/windows/b/windowsexperience/archive/2013/10/10/coming-october-18-the-new-fresh-paint.aspx
