Please provide some input on the best way to get images into a digital format.

[hotnwormy]

Ahh... my first post. I guess the bloom is off the rose. :)

I'm wondering what the best way(s) are to manipulate an image after scanning, in order to use a program such as Photoshop to color it.

In the past, I've always drawn, inked, scanned, and then colored, but I'm not always happy with the line quality of my images.

As with the case here:
http://www.atomicpotato.com/sfa/Latest%20Work/finalaliens.jpg

or here:
http://www.atomicpotato.com/sfa/Art%20Page/animationscartoons/achouse.jpg

I've also tried make a new layer and then setting that layer to diffuse, and coloring the layer below it. This works a bit better I suppose, but I'm still looking for a better solution. I'm still kind of new to all of this, but I know Photoshop pretty well. If someone could please share some thoughts on how to get better line weight to transfer in the process, it would be greatly appreciated. I've even gone so far as to scan the pencil drawing and then trace the lines with a vector program, but not only is this a real pain, it also means I can't play with line weight at all.

Any thoughts/tutorial links you can provide will be much appreciated, as I respect all of what I have seen in my short time in these forums.

[jezelf]

well, I would suggest getting your line weight right before you scan - but as you use Photoshop - have you ever used the pen tool? - it's a vector tool - anyway you can use this tool to create a path (the tab is usually peeking out from behind the layers stack tab)

once you have this down you can then change it to a selection and stroke the selection to your desired line weight.

I found this tutorial for you over at


www.computerarts.co.uk (http://www.computerarts.co.uk/tutorials/type/tutorial.asp?id=20237)

it explains paths.

you'll find you can keep paths as a layer and work on different path layers therefore also not loosing the vector information and you can try different things.

hope this is some help.
good luck
jez