• her  HOTM page
• her blog

As of this writing (mid May), we're currently in the middle of development of the next version of PD Howler, codenamed Broomhead. It's too soon to give a release date at this time, but we're tentatively aiming for mid summer.

Back in version 5, we started a concerted effort to modernize and revamp the program with new techniques, technologies and algorithms. Here we are almost to version 8, and we're hoping to hit a plateau of sorts with what we can do with existing technologies (we hope we even changed the world a little -- even if nobody noticed -- as the word “realtime” catches on :) We're also laying the groundwork for the new, with GPU support expected sometime in the v8 life cycle (though it likely won't be quite ready up front in the first v8.0).

In the version 7 life cycle, we introduced a lot of pet features we've been wanting to do for years that would benefit the special effects crowd, i.e. visual FX artists, 3D animators and video types. (We still have a little of that flowing through our veins, you know.)  But we recognize that it's is a little esoteric for most people. So we also package a version named the Artist edition, without too much of the animation stuff.

Now, in version 8, we're coming full circle and getting back to basics: let's paint! We're updating our brush system with more speed and new features. There will be more on this later, but for now, we can talk about a few things.

The image below was done by one of our beta testers, leaftracker, shortly before 7.2 was out and we started work on Broomhead. Does the word 'Inspiration" come to mind? You bet!

If you think this is already awesome, just you wait till you see what's coming soon with the additional effect controls for even more realistic watercolor, gouache and such.

The “Post FX” tab is just called the “FX” now. That's because it's now realtime, no longer a post-operation the way it was before. There are also a lot of new possibilities, and a much more comprehensive set of watercolor tools including wet "edges" and "lifting".

There are also a couple of new timeline features coming. One of them is the ability to fly through a Z-axis version of your painting using the 3d designer. No, we're not going to take over for the big guns anytime soon, but you can do some fun stuff with height maps, everything from terrain to 3d logos disappearing into space - in just a few clicks and seconds.

That's just about all I can say for now. Just know that our focus this time is on improving some of our fundamental features to make the program more user friendly and fun than ever before.

Thanks for waffling and howling!

-Dan Ritchie & Team Dogwaffle