Graphics people... help, please?

[hmpf]

So, for the past several days I've been doing the following:

- make a photocopy of a pencil sketch
- paint over the dark areas of the copy of the pencil sketch in black ink
- paint over the light areas of the copy of the pencil sketch in white paint
- photocopy the result
- repeat.

The aim of the exercise is getting something that will consist only of uniform black and white areas - something that may be printed on t-shirts. However, no matter how many times I repeat the process, I can't seem to get the drawing cleaned up enough. I.e., the photocopier produces irregularities - turning the dark areas lighter, turning the light areas darker; and the painted-over versions are not clean enough, either.

I suspect I'll need to learn how to scan this and do it in a graphics program?

Only, I've no idea how to do this. Neither how to achieve a good-quality scan, nor how to clean it up in Paintshop Pro.

Any pointers?

Comments

[mikes-grrl.livejournal.com]

Black and white is different from gray-scale; copiers do not copy in black and white, they copy in gray-scale, so what you are trying to do will never really work. The copier will always try to adjust for 'tint' (so will read different layers of paint differently) and will always try to balance the extremes, hence the darkening of light areas. Some really sophisticated copiers will let you play with the settings, but still, it will only get you so far.

You can take the photocopy and color in with black markers, but there is no way to color in with white markers (not really, not effectively).

So, yeah, for the total "black and white with no gray" effect you are going for, you will almost certainly have to scan it in and futz with it in a graphics program. You can set scanners (usually) to scan in black and white as opposed to grayscale, so that will make the job easier, but still expect to be cleaning up some. :(

[fenlings]

On my scanner you can choose to scan in b&w (rather than photo grade or grayscale). Also in a graphics program, upping the contrast should help. :)

Thanks!

[hmpf.livejournal.com]

I'll try that. Both. :)

I'll have to find out...

[hmpf.livejournal.com]

if perhaps the company that's supposed to print the shirts can clean it up some. I'd be willing to pay extra for that...

But first I'll do another couple of rounds of 'over-painting' (because so far, every round of that *has* helped *some*...) I'm using black ink and a kind of opaque white paint (so, not a pen or marker, because I know those don't work for something like this), and as long as I'm not using both on the same sheet (because they'll run together) the result isn't bad. Just not *quite* perfect.