If you are looking to post your art online (or print it in the newspaper!) it is important that the lines are all very clean and solid in color. For this reason, I usually digitalize my drawings using ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR DRAW. This is a free app that you can download here: http://www.adobe.com/products/draw.html Once you open the app, the first step is to CREATE A DOCUMENT. There are a lot of different size options, but I usually pick either iPad (Portrait) or iPad (Landscape) which will just be the size of your screen. The next step is to TAKE A PICTURE of your drawing. Make sure it is well lit and focused. Then, import it onto the blank canvas using the plus sign button and add an image layer. You can adjust the transparency of the photo so it is easier to trace. Then select the top pen tool and make it black, or whatever color you want your outline to be. This top brush is just a round line, so it's simple to use. I usually make it somewhere between 1-5 pt. width. Now, TRACE the pencil lines. In order to make sure the eyes, ears, jawline, etc. are symmetrical, you can duplicate the layer you drew them on, and then transform it to be on the other side. To start adding color, the first step is to SHADE using opaque black to fill in the shadows. You can also color the eyes by layering opaque colors. To color the HAIR, it is easiest to bring in colors from actual pictures of hair. By holding down on the color picker, it will give you an eyedropper tool you can use to pick any color from a picture. Then, layer the colors to form textured hair. To do the actual COLORING, make another layer beneath the outline layer. This way you don't have to be as careful about staying inside the lines. A general rule is to put solid color layers under the outline, and shading layers on top of the outline layer. The final step is to save your drawing as a .PNG FILE. This erases the background, so the character can be placed on top of any image. (It's basically just an easier way to do a cutout). Download an app like ERASER that will convert the file, then take a screenshot of your drawing and import it. Finally, save the .png file, and place it on the background image of your choice. Enjoy the clean lines, consistent lighting, and flexibility that come with a digitalized drawing!
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