Scanning Line Art

So...you wanna know how to scan line art and create layers in photoshop.

Well...I'll tell you. Take out paper and a pencil...or...well...just click print.

Ready??

Here we go.

If you have crisp black and white line art (not an inkwash or pencil sketch) scan it in as line art in "tiff" format. The option may vary depending on the scanner you're using. It should be something like "line art" or "black and white." Set your dpi (dots per inch) to 600. It may say ppi which is pixels per inch. Pretty much the same thing. You can scan the image into photoshop and save it to your folder later or you can scan it and send it directly into your folder. Good times. So...place your 10X14 image on the scanner so as to only get the top half of your image. Preview. Adjust your settings for line art and dpi. Scan. Repeat the process for the bottom half. Unless of course your image is horizontal and you scan them as a left half and a right half. Everyone still with me? If you're scanning an inkwash or a pencil sketch...keep everything the same as for line art, but change the mode to grayscale.

Ok...now, you've scanned both halves. If they aren't already open in photoshop you'll have to go to your folder and find them. Make sure you open them with photoshop and not picture viewer. You're going to want to go to IMAGE and ROTATE CANVAS to get them right side up. If you go to the menu bar at the top there should be an option called image. Click on image and scroll down to MODE. Change the mode to grayscale. When it's done change it to RGB or CMYK. Go up to FILE and then click NEW. In the window that pops up change your image size settings to 11 X 15 (or 15 X 11) and set the resolution to 600. Make sure you choose the mode that matches your line art. Either RGB or CMYK. The top right tool of your tool bar is the "MOVE TOOL." It's a black arrow with a weird little plus sign beside it. Click that guy. Move him over the top half of your image and drag it onto your new document. Repeat the process for your second half. Now you can use the move tool to line them up. If they're not already open...you're going to need to go to window and open your HISTORY, LAYERS, and CHANNELS. Layers and channels are docked together so you'll have to click on one of the tabs and drag it off onto the desktop to separate them. In your LAYERS pallet there should be a little white box next to the handy word OPACITY. Pick one of your layers and change the opacity to 50-ish percent. Now you can see through the image and can more easily line them up. If they're a little cockeyed you're going to have to go to EDIT and FREE TRANSFORM. You can rotate the image a bit until it lines up. When they are lined up you can set the opacity back to 100%. Go to your eraser tool in the tool bar and click on it. It's ok...he's your friend. At the top menu there should be the word brush and a number beside it. Click on the drop down arrow by the number. Now move your MASTER DIAMETER slider to 1000 or 1500-ish. Set your hardness to 0, your opacity to 30 and click on the airbrush tool. The two halves should overlap. Line the middle of your eraser with the line where your art overlaps. It may take a little moving to find it. Move your eraser along the line a few times until you've gotten rid of any areas that don't jive.

Next...Sheesh, this looks like a lot...but it's not.

Next, make sure your image halves are lined up and in the middle of the new document. Go to LAYER and FLATTEN IMAGE. Next, we make a line art and color layer. (if you remember the process I showed you on Friday...cool. If not...forget it...I have an easier way). Your layer should say background. Click and drag it down to the new layer icon in the layers pallet and it will make "background copy." Click in your background layer. Go to EDIT and FILL it with white. Go back to the background copy and call it line art...or drawing. Go to SELECT, COLOR SELECTION, and using your eyedropper tool click anywhere in the white. Now you can just press delete and you've got a line art layer. Go back to the background and click on it. Click on your new layer icon and you get layer 1 in between line art and background. Change the name to color and do all the painting or coloring in this layer.

Now...don't do anything else in the line art layer. We'll get to that later. For now...just do some painting or coloring in the color layer. Play with brush sizes, textures, and opacities. Try different tools for selecting areas and see what they'll do. Try the magic wand and polygonal lasso tools.

If you have any questions email or call me and I'll be glad to walk you through it again. If this seems like a lot and you want to wait until Friday in class that's fine...but start working on your out of class project instead. You should be working on something.

Good luck.

-Shane
posted by ShanicusMaxi