Do you have a collection of drawings, sketches, and paintings tucked away? It's time to bring them to life by digitizing them. There are various methods to digitize your work, and personally, I find Photoshop to be an excellent editing software for this task. In this guide, I'll walk you through the steps to digitize your paintings effectively, along with recommendations for online classes that have aided my process.
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Step 1: Scan Your Work
Gather your artworks and scan them at a resolution of 400 to 600 dpi. While 300 dpi is the minimum, opting for higher resolutions ensures crisp and high-quality images. I use an Epson Scanner for this purpose and prefer saving my files in TIFF and PNG formats. TIFFs maintain image quality, while PNGs offer smaller file sizes. While you can use your phone to capture your artwork, make sure you have the proper lighting and that you position the camera directly above your artwork.
Step 2: Open Your Editing Software
Launch your editing software, such as Photoshop, and set the DPI to 300 with RGB mode enabled. RGB mode is ideal for print-on-demand sites like Redbubble and Society6, ensuring vibrant and accurate colors in the final print.
Step 3: Remove Backgrounds
I like to eliminate the paper background, I find it more easy to work with transparent files, this gives me flexibility in creating stickers, prints, and pattern designs. You can always add a paper background later if desired.
Step 4: Edit Colors and Refine Imperfections
With the paper background removed, adjust colors using Photoshop's Adjustment Levels tool is more easy.
While I like to keep the imperfections of the original painting for an organic feel, there are times that I like to remove un-desire mistakes.
Step 5: Save Your Work
Save your progress regularly to prevent any loss of work. Don't wait until the final step to save; make it a habit to save your work as you go to avoid losing any valuable progress due to unforeseen circumstances.
By following these steps, you can effectively digitize your paintings and unleash a world of creative possibilities.