CS3 query

[GoMegaX]

So I just got the CS3 thing to finally try and see what's what with the whole digital painting thing and have thus far found it strange and somewhat irritating. Of course, it's probably only been 5 hours total. lol

Anyway, what I'm trying to do now is add color to some scanned black and white drawings without cropping out every line. Is there an easier way to go about this? Is it even possible? Would it be easier to just make a painting from scratch? Will Joey ever wake from his coma????


I don't have a tablet, which I'm told makes everything easier, so it's just me and some low grade mouse duking it out against the current of digital media.

Any suggestions out there?

[GriNGo]

Well, I really don't understand what you mean by "cropping out every line", but i sense the basically you need to add a new layer, set it to multiply and start coloring! Setting the layer to this mode makes the blacks in the background layer "immune" to other coloring (meaning that if you paint over a black line, the black line will still be visible and black, and the other areas will be white). Another method of coloring is duplicating the black and white drawing layer, set it to multiply, and start painting in the layer that's below. It's the same method, although with different layer order.

General tips about painting digitally: use layers a lot. use the image adjustment tools (there very usefull, specially levels, hue/saturation/gradient map adjustment layers). and learn how to create and modify brushes. it's very easy and essential for your PS illustration workflow.

[GoMegaX]

I meant cropping every line I drew basically. Thanks for the tips though, I'll give them a shot.

This may seem even more moronic, but is there a way to set my scanned drawing as anything other than the BG layer? Or would I have to start a BG and such, THEN import my scanned pic?

If the latter, how then do I get the BG to be seen?

Digital painting... Kooky.

[daveneale]

just set it (the scanned image) to multiply and stick it over the BG layer, that works too

[GoMegaX]

Thanks Gringo and Dave. Things are finally looking up on this venture.

[GriNGo]

I meant cropping every line I drew basically. Thanks for the tips though, I'll give them a shot.

This may seem even more moronic, but is there a way to set my scanned drawing as anything other than the BG layer? Or would I have to start a BG and such, THEN import my scanned pic?

If the latter, how then do I get the BG to be seen?

Digital painting... Kooky.

Well, when you scan something it automatically becomes the BG layer right? So just make it a normal layer! Double clicking the BG layer shows some options in converting the bg layer into a normal one. Then you can move it and do whatever you want with it at your will.

[GoMegaX]

Not sure why I was having such a hard time, but thanks for the help!

[Hiddnfox]

One thing you could do as well for that BG layer is to just duplicate the layer (background_copy) and then erase the original background (or click on the little eye button on the layer, it makes it invisible)

when you duplicate the background layer you can move that layer around, as opposed to the static, locked original background layer

[Stoat]

Once I got a tablet, I felt like a complete nincompoop for trying to do illustrations with a mouse for so long. (In my defense, the early tablets I tried weren't very good at all, so I had no idea how much more pen-like they'd gotten).

Seriously, you wouldn't believe the difference.

[GoMegaX]

Thanks. I actually have been doing what hiddnfox mentioned and am planning on getting a tablet whenever I can afford it.