How do I improve scanned images?

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Caporegime
Joined
12 Mar 2004
Posts
29,962
Location
England
Whenever I scan pictures I've drawn they look awful, nothing like they do on paper. How can I make scanned greyscale images look better in GIMP or paint.net? I've tried adjusting the contrast but that doesn't get the result I want either.

Take this quick sketch for example, the contrast is awful.

test.jpg


Increasing the contrast and decreasing the brightness helps a bit but it still doesn't look right.
 
Do either of those programs have a curves or levels adjustment? they might produce a
better look since you have more control than a basic brightness and contrast.

Also you might end up doing this individually for different areas such as the nose and then the lighter pars round the mouth.
 
are you sure you are scanning geryscale and not 1 bit? Most scan software has an option for drawing / line drawing which scans black and white and is ideal for diagrams and text. You want to scan in greyscale, 8bpp if possible. I see you pic above has 243 unique colors , Did you resize down from a higher res scan afte rconverting to 24bpp?

And once scanned, adjust the levels etc.
 
whitecrook said:
are you sure you are scanning geryscale and not 1 bit? Most scan software has an option for drawing / line drawing which scans black and white and is ideal for diagrams and text. You want to scan in greyscale, 8bpp if possible. I see you pic above has 243 unique colors , Did you resize down from a higher res scan afte rconverting to 24bpp?

And once scanned, adjust the levels etc.
Click to expand...

Yes I'm scanning in greyscale and resizing, if I was scanning in black and white then most of the image would disappear. :p

I'll have a play with the levels/curves.
 
If the initial image is oversaturated then no amount of editing with correct it.

This may sound stupid but try scanning the image with the scanner lid up with a light source (prefably sunlight) shining over it. This usually helps when scanning transparent materials. I managed to scan some old film negatives this way too using a cheap scanner.
 
Drawing paper isn't translucent like printer paper, it's thick like card.

Anyway I managed to improve them by adjusting the curves.

test2.jpg
 
My guess is the graphite is reflecting the light whilst scanning, causing the strange effects. You might have better luck using a digital camera with the flash disabled.

Another thing you could do is use a vector drawing package such as Inkscape to trace your drawing after you have scanned it in.
 
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