Fog Panther v0.8.4 - Tools, Artboards and Patterns

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Fog Panther v0.8.4 adds seven tools, artboards, a complete pattern system and 16-bit painting. New Frame, Perspective Crop, Zoom, Rotate View, Object Selection, Slice and Adjustment Brush tools arrive with Select Subject and a Select and Mask workspace. Artboards lay out several screens or sizes in one document, patterns reach every fill, effect and brush, and the Layers panel gains Photoshop's five locks and a Fill setting. Fog Panther is now also available in Simplified Chinese and Hindi.

New Tools

The Frame tool (K) draws rectangular and elliptical frames that hold an image and crop it to their shape. The Perspective Crop tool (Shift+C) straightens a photographed document or façade as it crops. The Zoom tool (Z) follows Photoshop's zoom steps, and the Rotate View tool (R) turns the canvas without touching the pixels. The Adjustment Brush paints an adjustment's effect onto just the areas that need it.

The Object Selection tool selects an object from a rough box or lasso, and Select > Subject finds the main subject of a photo on its own. Edges are refined in a dedicated Select and Mask workspace. The Slice and Slice Select tools cut an image into slices for the web and export them with an HTML page.

Artboards

Artboards lay out several screens, pages or sizes side by side in one document. They can be created from the New Document dialog or with the Artboard tool, carry their own background, nest layers automatically, and export to separate files or to a single PDF. Artboards open from and save to PSD files.

Patterns

A pattern library arrives with a Patterns panel and Define Pattern. Pattern Fill layers stay editable, the Pattern Stamp paints with a pattern, and .pat files import. Patterns now also drive Pattern Overlay, a pattern stroke and the Bevel & Emboss texture, and they move with their layer or stay put, as in Photoshop. Patterns round-trip through PSD files.

Painting

Painting now works in 16-bit RGB, Grayscale and Lab documents at full precision. Paint Symmetry mirrors strokes across one or more axes, Edit > Fade softens the last stroke or filter, and Lock Transparent Pixels keeps paint inside what is already there. Shift-click draws straight lines, the number keys set opacity and Shift with them the flow, and the Dual Brush and brush coverage follow Photoshop's measured behaviour more closely.

Layers and Interface

The Layers panel gains Photoshop's five locks - transparency, pixels, position, artboard nesting and all - plus a Fill setting next to Opacity. The window buttons move into the menu bar row, giving the canvas more room. Large PSD files open faster and stay responsive while layers are moved.

Languages

Fog Panther is now available in Simplified Chinese and Hindi, alongside English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese and Portuguese. The language can be changed in Preferences without changing the system language.