Improving a Scanned Shaded Sketch in Paint

[mavinster]

Hi,

I'm new to Paint - and new to image editing, really. I have been fiddling with images found online with various image editors, but would like to use my own stuff.

 

I have scanned a sketch of mine (using pen and pencil) onto my computer, and the quality is not terribly good. I have seen others who have hand-drawn stuff online and theirs looks rather nice - good thick lines, and nice shading. I would like to do the same.

 

This is my sketch (it is a very first draft, by the way!)

 

 

How can I make this into a better image? I need the outlining to be sharp (the gaps are deliberate) but I also need the shading within the border to be visible.

 

I have tried a few things I found via this forum (and elsewhere) - I tried:

1. Adjustments>Black and White

2. Adjustments>Brightness/Contrast with Brightness at Max and Contrast at Min

3. Effects>Artistic>Oil Painting

 

I got this series of instructions from the forum. It resulted in a blank, greyish image.

 

I also tried working with Curves...but it didn't seem to do anything when I moved the points around.

 

As you can see I know next to nothing about image editing!

Could anyone give me a hand?

Thanks!

 

(On another note: I downloaded a plugin pack from the forum and my antivirus has just removed every single .dll as being not safe...)

[Ego Eram Reputo]

Hi Mavinster - welcome to the forum!

 

Let's try to help you with that image.  Something fairly simple to start with to thicken/darken the lines...

 

1. Open the image

 

2. In the Layers window click on the Duplicate layer icon :DuplicateLayer:

 

3. Double Click the top layer in the Layers Window to open it's Properties dialog.

 

4. Set the Blend Mode to Multiply.

 

This can be repeated a number of times if you like the effect.  When finished, you can flatten the image with Ctrl + Shift + F.

 

 

Which plugin pack did you download and which anti-virus package do you have installed?  I'm guessing Norton.  It's famous for reporting false-positives