"Don't be afraid" --a colored pencil drawing

[anthemsweet]

This is a watercolor and (mostly) colored pencil piece I call "Don't be afraid." My husband "scanned" it with the scan app on his phone, because our scanner is too small for it. I will get it scanned at an office store and clean up smudges in Photoshop, and bring the color up a bit. I notice that colored pencil drawings always seem to fade in the scanning--anyone know why? I can't change much in it at this point, but I can change color nuances with an eraser and pencils before I scan it for real. I wish I had worked a little bit harder on composition earlier on--I'm not so happy with the half of a lynx on the left side. Sigh. But I'm happy to be moving on.

[Jana]

Oh, this is so peaceful. Very nice work.
I also noticed that problem with scanning color pencil. I thought this might come from the kind of pigments which you are laying down on the paper. It seems to be more reflecting than other materials. Have you used a fixation before scanning?

[smceccarelli]

@anthemsweet This is beautiful...so soft and peaceful, wonderful atmosphere.
From somebody who worked in pastel for a long time...you may have better results with a camera rather than a scanner - just taking a picture of the artwork under diffuse lighting (outside in the shadow on a sunny day is optimal). I vaguely remember something to do with the way the light from the scanner interacts with the pigment particles, as it has to pass twice through the pigment layer (to the surface and back).

[lmrush]

this is just lovely, such a sweet image.

[anthemsweet]

@Jana Thank you. No, I have never used a fixative spray with my work. I never thought of it with colored pencils, but I should look into it.

[anthemsweet]

@smceccarelli Thank you! I'll have to research this.

[anthemsweet]

@lmrush Thank you so much!

[Kevin Longueil]

@anthemsweet This has such a beautiful atmosphere - really nice work!

[MirkaH]

I think it turned out beautifully. You can always tweak the colors a little brighter in photoshop if need be after scanning. I have a smaller scanner too, so when I have big pieces I always scan in two pieces and put them together in photoshop

[anthemsweet]

@Kevin-Longueil Thank you!

[Charlie Eve Ryan]

This is lovely, love the softness!

[anthemsweet]

@MirkaH Thank you! That's an interesting solution. I don't think our scanner works well unless it can close hard around the paper. (I'm assuming you don't actually cut the original.) Splicing it all together sounds daunting, but then I'm no great shakes in Photoshop.

[anthemsweet]

@Charlie-Eve-Ryan Thank you!

[RobinSlee]

This looks awesome. I hope you dont mind, but I imported the file into photoshop and duplicated the layer, I then set it to overlay mode and lowered to 50%. A final tweak in curves allowed me to add some vibrancy to the blues. I hope it helps? Regards, Robin.

[Rebecca Hirsch]

@RobinSlee That was going to be my suggestion, well done!

[Rebecca Hirsch]

Absolutely lovely!

[anthemsweet]

@RobinSlee I don't mind you doing that at all. It's exciting to see it show up more vibrant. I've been sick so I still haven't gotten a good scan of this, but hopefully I will today, then I'll go at it in Photoshop. If you don't mind and it's not too complicated and bothery for you to explain, what do you mean you set it to overlay mode and lowered it 50%? All I've done in Photoshop is wipe out smudges in places I want white and pull up washed out color by playing with the levels until it looks right. I don't enjoy technology at all, but I know I need to get with the times!

[anthemsweet]

@Rebecca-Hirsch Thank you!

[Sarah LuAnn]

Your style to me is a mix of Steven Kellogg and Trina Schart Hyman. Beautiful! I'm excited to see the scanned and cleaned version.

[anthemsweet]

@Sarah-LuAnn I'm not familiar with Steven Kellog--I'll look him up--but Trina Schart Hyman is a top favorite of mine. I love her draftsmanship, line work, pretty colors, interesting details and decorative elements. I read St. George and the Dragon to my littles a week ago and have kept it out to snack on since. So thanks.