AKVIS Sketch is a Photoshop compatible plug-in that enables you to convert your photos into pencil/charcoal sketches or watercolor drawings. It provides adjustable sliders that allow you to customize the effects and stroke types and create a variety of image styles by mixing watercolors and charcoal along with color intensity and other settings. When used with Photoshop, AKVIS Sketch also supports batch processing. Unfortunately, the program does not provide any useful presets to get you started, so it may require a lengthy process of hit-and-miss to achieve the desired results. Unfortunately, the program is not able to permanently save and load settings - a big drawback that requires you to start all over again if you later want to replicate the effect with a different image.

Pros: Good results that look very realistic

Cons: Cannot save settings; no real-time preview; no effect presets