How to Make a Comic/Scanning

Scanning is the process of taking a physical paper, and photographing it in some way to make it available to view and edit on a computer. An artist may choose to do rough preliminary sketches on paper, and then scan and finalize the drawing digitally, or create the finished work entirely on paper, and do minimal retouching when scanning, for example only adding text to text bubbles.

Common Methods of Scanning

The most common method of scanning a page is to use a dedicated scanning device. Printers often come with scanners for documents, but tend to be designed for standard page sizes, and may bend the paper when it is fed through the machine. Dedicated scanners, that open in a clam shell, are more often designed to handle unconventional page sizes, and will scan art without bending the page.

Smartphone applications can be used to scan documents, using the smartphone's camera and software that can detect the edges of the paper to correct for distortion. Although this option can be fast and convenient, it has some drawbacks. Lighting may not be optimal, because it relies on room lighting rather than a uniform light in a dedicated scanner. Depending on the software used, it may be more difficult to adjust contrast and levels. Using indirect lighting, unobstructed by an arm or the device itself which can cast shadows, for good results. Several free scanning applications can be found for Android and iOS.

Page Preparation

Some techniques are used while drawing on paper, to plan ahead for the scanning process.

• Use a dark ink, in contrast to any remaining pencil sketches or texture from the paper, to make the cleaning process of the scanned image easier.
• Use a blue pencil for sketches, and do the final inking with black ink. During scanning and editing, the blue color can be ignored by the computer.
• Layer two pages, one smaller than the other, to cover up something.

Scanning

There are some common details between all methods of scanning. It would be fortunate to get exactly the desired look on the first try, so here are some good first things to adjust when starting. This section is mainly focused on black and white images.

Scanning Resolution

A higher resolution scan will preserve more fine details of the art, but create a larger file size.

Contrast, Brightness, Levels, and Noise Reduction

These are things to do with the look of the art as it transitions from physical to digital.

Although contrast and brightness are often adjusted in a computer application, some scanners may have settings to control brightness and contrast. Increasing contrast can result in a crisper image, but shading and other details can be lost. If contrast is reduced, the whites can become darker, so brightness might be adjusted in conjunction.

Levels, or thresholds, are a way to adjust the values of an image, usually found in digital editing software. To display the levels, a computer often shows a histogram ranging from white to black.

Digital art often has a smoother, more consistent look than traditional art, due to paper grain, roughness of edges on pen or pencil strokes, and uneven ink or graphite distribution. Digitally applying a noise reduction filter on a scanned image can give it a look similar to art produced digitally. However, the roughness of traditional art may be desirable for its aesthetic.