# Help with digitilazing my drawing?



## Licorice the kouhai (Aug 25, 2016)

okay, so i drew my body of my fursona, im gonna draw it again on paper, so i can add clothing and color first, but done with it, can someone make it into digital art or something?


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## redhusky (Aug 25, 2016)

You mean scan it?


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## ShamonCornell (Aug 27, 2016)

Yeah, this....this is literally what scanners do, and are for.  They aren't nearly as expensive as they used to be, either.  Or prone to burning out.


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## Licorice the kouhai (Aug 27, 2016)

redhusky said:


> You mean scan it?


yeah, like what should i do after i scan it


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## Sergei Nóhomo (Aug 27, 2016)

Licorice the kouhai said:


> yeah, like what should i do after i scan it



Oh I dunno

Maybe like





Spoiler



Trash it because it'll never be good enough and you'll slowly fall into a downward spiral of sadness as you try and try again to figure out what you must do to a scanned image



Best of luck!


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## Licorice the kouhai (Aug 27, 2016)

Sergei Nóhomo said:


> Oh I dunno
> 
> Maybe like
> 
> ...


exactly


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## Licorice the kouhai (Aug 27, 2016)

i feel like ill ruin everything if i try to use it. because my drawing are sucky. (not bad, but not amazing)


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## Nataku (Aug 27, 2016)

Licorice the kouhai said:


> yeah, like what should i do after i scan it


What is usually done if one wants to draw various outfits over it or try different color schemes is to open the image in a program like photoshop, gimp, SAI, firealpaca, etc. And either line it on a new layer, or if it's clean enough, just draw clothes over it in new layers. Out each article in its own layer. That way you can easily make the different layers visible so you can see what clothing articles mix well with other on your character.


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## PlusThirtyOne (Aug 29, 2016)

Nataku said:


> What is usually done if one wants to draw various outfits over it or try different color schemes is to open the image in a program like photoshop, gimp, SAI, firealpaca, etc. And either line it on a new layer, or if it's clean enough, just draw clothes over it in new layers. Out each article in its own layer. That way you can easily make the different layers visible so you can see what clothing articles mix well with other on your character.


Making paper dolls is fun!


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## Sprinxels (Aug 29, 2016)

Licorice the kouhai said:


> okay, so i drew my body of my fursona, im gonna draw it again on paper, so i can add clothing and color first, but done with it, can someone make it into digital art or something?


Hey, I can make a vector of your drawing if you want; I can paint it too, but I'm not very good with shading


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## Licorice the kouhai (Sep 5, 2016)

Sprinxels said:


> Hey, I can make a vector of your drawing if you want; I can paint it too, but I'm not very good with shading


Really? that would be amazing. (i dont really care about shading, as long as it looks good. cuz how do even shade in the first place?)


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## Raddy Fox (Sep 6, 2016)

I've been in this position before. I used to take photos and use the photographed sketch as a base for my digital drawing and I know a few really good artists who still do something similar to this. You can use just a computer and a vector program like Illustrator or Photoshop (there are others, probably free ones somewhere) and do your drawings that way or buy yourself a cheap stylus (like a wacom bamboo) to get you started on drawing with a stylus.

Piece of advice, do invest in a stylus if you want to do digital art, even if just as a hobbie. Unless you're working with vectors (lines that the computer draws for you and not lines you've draw with brush strokes using a mouse or stylus).

Best of luck with your drawing Licorice! Catch you around :3

P.S. Don't be put off by anyone, especially in these forums. Lots of people start art and are put off in the very beginning then seem to go around and stomp on the hopes of new potential artists like yourself. Don't let them get to you. Art isn't about the quality of your drawing or the response from other people, its about you and your attempt to express whats inside your head in a way that words simply can't. Don't let anyone get between you and your creative outlets. There's no such thing as a good or bad artist.

- Raddy

FA: Userpage of raddyfox -- Fur Affinity [dot] net


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## Shadowblackwolf (Sep 7, 2016)

I'm glad to see someone using the old school version other than me lol.
I usually use GIMP to ink, color, and shade.
Just make sure you're not going anywhere, as you have to ink all the lines, in case you use the paint can to fill your blank spaces.
Shading is usually done in layers, which is what I've been working on with only mild success.
I now have a lineart layer, and primary color layer, shade layer, highlight layer, and a background color layer. just to start.


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## FireFeathers (Sep 24, 2016)

Raddy Fox said:


> I've been in this position before. I used to take photos and use the photographed sketch as a base for my digital drawing and I know a few really good artists who still do something similar to this. You can use just a computer and a vector program like Illustrator or Photoshop (there are others, probably free ones somewhere) and do your drawings that way or buy yourself a cheap stylus (like a wacom bamboo) to get you started on drawing with a stylus.
> 
> Piece of advice, do invest in a stylus if you want to do digital art, even if just as a hobbie. Unless you're working with vectors (lines that the computer draws for you and not lines you've draw with brush strokes using a mouse or stylus).
> 
> ...



Also don't let a guy who throws a temper tantrum at the drop of a hat influence you, because like half the things in here are wrong.  - Stylus = Tablet. (stylus is the pen on the tablet, not the tablet itself) Also don't ever trace a photograph and scan that in that's... tracing. it's literally tracing. No 'really good artists do this', because it's tracing. I think he's talking about references, which is kinda like eyeballing a collage. (take bits of this image to understand form, bits of this one for the hand, etc) Really good artists do this. Not tracing. 

Illustrator is a vector program. VECTORS are not "lines the computer draws for you" Vector artwork is infinitely scaleable without losing definition. So it plots points of your illustration based on it's locations to each other and can go as big as you want it to more or less, based on math. (logos, other things like this are commonly vector) Photoshop is a RASTER program. The painting you make will only be clear/ nice at the size it's made- it remembers every bit of your canvas regardless of lines, so when you make it bigger, it fills in gaps that are missing- that's why when you take a small image and make it really big, it looks pixelated. It's called artifacting. 

And the rest is pissy whining. No one goes around to stomp on hopes, except for the guy going to a random thread to complain to someone uninvolved. Contrary to popular belief, there is actually a number of things that goes into an illustration that makes it appear nicer/ more pleasing to look at, compared to others. Value, perspective, composition,  and color theory are all things that good pieces have. Trying to express what's in your head by not thinking of any of these is kinda like throwing a handful of glitter into the air. It gets everywhere, it's a mess, it might've looked pretty falling down, but it's all fallen short.


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## RailRide (Sep 25, 2016)

To add on to the previous post...

--If it's a photograph of *your own drawing*--because you lack a scanner, that's OK

--The essence of vector-izing artwork is that instead of tracing over your drawing directly, you establish a layer atop your original drawing (layers in digital imaging applications work like stacked animation cels) and establish straight lines connecting parts of various curved lines of your drawing. Then you go back and pull/push/stretch/bend those lines so they match the pencils underneath. Wash, rinse, repeat until you've laid crisp vector lines over every part of your drawing. Then you hide the pencil layer and behold your inks, ready to export to a raster image of whatever size you want. Or you could color it with vectors too, but that takes a bit more planning and is even less like "drawing" than just doing linework. 

The upside of this method is that if you can get your head around how it's done, you can do it just fine with a mouse and a free application called Inkscape

Here's an example of a picture inked using vectors in Inkscape
Here's the pencil version of the above. Yes it's a scan, but it could have been a photograph if need be.

---PCJ


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## Raddy Fox (Jul 10, 2021)

FireFeathers said:


> Also don't let a- bla bla bla -own, but it's all fallen short.



For the record; my own opinion is that tracing paper exists for a reason. Tracing is a good way to learn for some artist. To find out how joints move by tracing a skeletal sketch over stills from a moving image, for example. Tracing something someone else has made then trying to sell it without agreeing on royalties, this is bad for the community, as is deemed by modern laws, such as international copyright laws. You should not break these laws. This is one of the reasons I think it is important as a furry artist to learn to draw from memory and not rely too heavily on drawing from referance in its verious forms, so in certain situations you can choose to form your own characters without the need to pay models or photographers for a real life referances for every image/character design you intend to sell/profit off. Unless that's what you want to do for a career and you work with artist/creators who agree with how you're using their work.

I try my best to stay aware of laws and also of my actions and how they might effect other people and the community. When doing that, I see plenty of reasons to have tracing as a item in any artists tool box and I see no negative impact on the people or companies involved, when these skills and practices are used responsibly.

Also please try keep pronouns neutral, stranger.


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## TyraWadman (Jul 10, 2021)

Raddy Fox said:


> For the record; my own opinion is that tracing paper exists for a reason. Tracing is a good way to learn for some artist. To find out how joints move by tracing a skeletal sketch over stills from a moving image, for example. Tracing something someone else has made then trying to sell it without agreeing on royalties, this is bad for the community, as is deemed by modern laws, such as international copyright laws. You should not break these laws. This is one of the reasons I think it is important as a furry artist to learn to draw from memory and not rely too heavily on drawing from referance in its verious forms, so in certain situations you can choose to form your own characters without the need to pay models or photographers for a real life referances for every image/character design you intend to sell/profit off. Unless that's what you want to do for a career and you work with artist/creators who agree with how you're using their work.
> 
> I try my best to stay aware of laws and also of my actions and how they might effect other people and the community. When doing that, I see plenty of reasons to have tracing as a item in any artists tool box and I see no negative impact on the people or companies involved, when these skills and practices are used responsibly.
> 
> Also please try keep pronouns neutral, stranger.



Artists generally reference things so they can draw from memory. If you learn and study anatomy, you can learn to draw the body without reference OR tracing.

If people trace, they will have to constantly reference things in order to do so!


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## Ratt Carry (Jul 10, 2021)

TyraWadman said:


> If people trace, they will have to constantly reference things in order to do so!


No.

You will have to constantly reference because _you will have to constantly reference. _
The most talented illustrators and animators use reference and use *more* references than common artists as they continually learn what they need to create increasingly dynamic artwork. It's why PureRef and reference emporiums even exist. That's not exclusively for beginners. On top of this, pros are not shy about tracing for quick poses and basic shapes then building on those forms. As long as you understand your intent of what you're tracing and can make clear decisions, that's what matters and what you're trying to get from it.
Tracing in itself is not the concern. The issue is 1) you can't trace _garbage _and expect to glean anything valuable from it which is what a lot of beginners do 2) people tracing other art 100% and claiming the work as their own which is rare outside of low tier art communities. But there's a word for this, it's called plagiarism. Otherwise, tracing is as valid a self teaching tool as any.

Ethan Becker (DOTA: Dragon's Blood, BatMan: Long Halloween, Voltron: Legendary Defenders),  tells his students directly to go out and trace professional artists's (artist's?) works to find the simple construction shapes to make the drawing process easier to understand. And even during lessons, he does it to break down key shapes and what *good* artists are thinking when creating.
A strategy in animation that's been on the rise as Blender continues to become more optimized and easy to use is creating your own rough models and tracing over them for any particularly oblique, difficult shapes and angles.

(Also drawing without reference is not the goal in the first place)


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## TyraWadman (Jul 10, 2021)

Ratt Carry said:


> No.
> 
> You will have to constantly reference because _you will have to constantly reference. _
> The most talented illustrators and animators use reference and use *more* references than common artists as they continually learn what they need to create increasingly dynamic artwork. It's why PureRef and reference emporiums even exist. That's not exclusively for beginners. On top of this, pros are not shy about tracing for quick poses and basic shapes then building on those forms. As long as you understand your intent of what you're tracing and can make clear decisions, that's what matters and what you're trying to get from it.
> ...



I was thinking more along the lines of 'kids in High School tracing Naruto Characters' and then wondering why they can't draw anything else. XD 
My art school never encouraged tracing other peoples' works. But I suppose intent (and whether you're complacent being a hobby artist vs pro) is what matters here.


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## Ratt Carry (Jul 10, 2021)

TyraWadman said:


> I was thinking more along the lines of 'kids in High School tracing Naruto Characters' and then wondering why they can't draw anything else. XD
> My art school never encouraged tracing other peoples' works. But I suppose intent (and whether you're complacent being a hobby artist vs pro) is what matters here.


I just mainly wanted to highlight some healthier mindsets I think are relevant to this topic. Tracing and reference get misrepresented a lot. Even from your specific angle, it can make people just stigmatize both in general. Tracing down to the specifics of Naruto's design per your example is...mostly pointless, yes. But there's value in tracing *scenes* of motion to understand how to achieve the given flow and composition. Or to understand how they make him face without stressing to much anatomical nitty gritty every single frame.
Tons of people don't really discuss this adequately. It's just "tracing bad" with no real nuance because of stringent traditional teaching. Pardon my bluntness.


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## TyraWadman (Jul 10, 2021)

Ratt Carry said:


> I just mainly wanted to highlight some healthier mindsets I think are relevant to this topic. Tracing and reference get misrepresented a lot. Even from your specific angle, it can make people just stigmatize both in general. Tracing down to the specifics of Naruto's design per your example is...mostly pointless, yes. But there's value in tracing *scenes* of motion to understand how to achieve the given flow and composition. Or to understand how they make him face without stressing to much anatomical nitty gritty every single frame.
> Tons of people don't really discuss this adequately. It's just "tracing bad" with no real nuance because of stringent traditional teaching. Pardon my bluntness.


No offense taken! 
I'm self taught so I honestly couldn't quote stuff like that. X) 
I'm all for enlightenment!


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