How To Scan Drawings Without A Scanner

And so, you just scanned or took a picture of your mitt-drawn line art with your smartphone and, you become to color it to find that information technology merely doesn't look as ready to color as the original. At times like these, it's all-time to extract your line work and convert it into something more than suited for digital coloring. You can do this by using the Convert Effulgence to Opacity office in Clip Studio Paint and SAI or the Alpha Aqueduct role in Photoshop.

Adjusting the Paradigm Colour

Using our graphics software of choice, we'll begin by opening the scanned or photo image of our illustration.

Even though the original epitome is black lines on white paper, the imported image ends up with either a gray tone to it, or the lines aren't as stiff equally in the original. To gear up this issue, we will adapt the image so that the background is completely white and the lines are solid and articulate. The method we will use to achieve this depends on the graphics software we desire to utilise.

Photoshop & Clip Studio Paint

Start, we'll adjust the color using an aligning layer (Tonal Correction layer).

● Effulgence/Contrast

Use Brightness/Contrast to brighten the overall image.

In Photoshop:

Layer menu > New Adjustment Layer > Brightness/Contrast

In Clip Studio Paint:

Layer carte > New Correction Layer > Effulgence/Dissimilarity

From the displayed menu, utilise the Brightness slider to make the paper groundwork as white as possible without losing as well much line art detail.

● Level Correction

Next, apply Level Correction to make the lines more distinct.

In Photoshop:

Layer card > New Adjustment Layer > Levels

In Clip Studio Pigment:

Layer carte > New Correction Layer > Level Correction

From the displayed bill of fare, operate the triangle nodes at the bottom of the graph by dragging them right or left equally needed. This allows you to whiten the color and shadows of the paper, also as thicken and darken the line piece of work.

Once complete, the adjustments will be created in the form of an adjustment layer (Tonal Correction layer). If you lot aren't quite satisfied with the results, double click the aligning layer icon to display the card again and readjust your settings.

Lastly, select the Layer card > Flatten image and the line art layer will merge with the adjustment layer (Tonal Correction layer).

Just in example, I recommend saving your file in one case before merging.

Adjusting the Paradigm Color: Paint Tool SAI

For SAI, select and prepare the Filter menu > Brightness/Contrast settings.

In the Brightness and Dissimilarity dialog, adjust the Effulgence slider then that the newspaper appears white. Make certain that thin lines practice not disappear or go too thin while adjusting. One time satisfied, click OK.

Select the [Filter] menu > [Brightness/Contrast] again.

This time, accommodate the [Contrast] and [Brightness] sliders to darken the lines. Take care that lines don't go too thick or extend by your original line work.

Completing the colour adjustments

Compared to the original prototype, we have created much nicer looking line art, dark lines on a white background.

In order to make the coloring step go more easily, nosotros will "extract" the line work past transforming the white background into a transparent background.

Extracting Line Fine art: Clip Studio Paint & SAI

Nosotros volition plow the white transparent by using "convert effulgence to opacity." Select the following commands to do this.

Prune Studio Pigment:

Edit menu > Convert brightness to opacity

SAI:

Layer menu > Luminance to Transparency

With this, the line art has been extracted!

Annotation:
After using Prune Studio Paint's Convert brightness to opacity, a transparent checkered pattern will appear.
Select the Layer menu > New Layer > Paper to create a new paper layer over the transparent pattern.