Digitizing Drawings

In today’s digital era, artists are no longer dependent on local galleries to showcase their artwork to the world. With the advent of social media, the ability to run a personal website, and the myriad of online platforms, artists can now make their art accessible to a global audience. A prerequisite for this is the digitization of their works – the conversion of handmade masterpieces on paper into pixel-based artworks.

How to Digitize Your Artwork

You can easily digitize your artwork using these three methods. Depending on your purpose, certain pros and cons of each method may be important to you.

Digitizing Drawings with a Scanner

One of the most common and simplest methods is scanning the drawing with a scanner. You place the drawing on the scanner, perform the scan, and receive a digital version of the drawing.

However, not all scanners are equal. To ensure the scans are as close to the original as possible, certain technical requirements must be met:

Ensure a bit depth of at least 32 bits. You need sufficient color depth so that the colors and/or grayscale in your artwork are accurately captured.

The resolution should be at least 300 DPI. DPI stands for Dots-per-Inch, and the DPI value is crucial for image quality. While a resolution of 72 DPI is generally sufficient for the web, remember that you might want to use your art for print projects or present detailed views of your artwork on the web in the future.

Advantages

• Simple and fast
• Uniform lighting
• Resolution for web and print

Disadvantages

• Formats larger than the scan area must be digitally stitched together afterward
• One-time acquisition costs

Digitizing Drawings with a Camera

If you don’t have access to a scanner and happen to be a hobby photographer or have a good relationship with one, you can also use a camera to photograph the drawing. Make sure the lighting is even and your artwork lies flat on a surface to achieve good results.

After taking the photo, you can save it on your laptop and edit it if necessary. Some artists place their artworks on the table or floor and deliberately decorate the area around the artwork, as they also want to show this part in their photos. If you want your photo to look more like a scan, correcting the perspective distortion might be necessary during post-processing.

Advantages

• Both large and small formats can be fully captured
• Close-ups to show details possible
• More freedom in presenting artworks by building and capturing small sets

Disadvantages

• Expensive if the camera is not used for photography as well
• Correction of perspective distortion with software is necessary if the photo should look like a scan
• Even lighting of the artwork necessary for good results

Digitizing Drawings with a Smartphone

The cheapest way to digitize your drawings is probably your smartphone. Many smartphones are now equipped with very good cameras that are suitable for photographing artworks.

The process is no different from using a camera. Additionally, with your smartphone, you can also record vertical videos, which currently (and probably in the future) perform much better on social media than static images.

Moreover, besides the built-in photo editing on your smartphone, there are countless free apps that help you accurately represent your images.

Advantages

• No acquisition costs, as you most likely already own a smartphone
• Video recording for Reels, Shorts, TikToks, and more possible
• Both large and small formats can be fully captured
• Close-ups to show details possible
• More freedom in presenting artworks by building and capturing small sets

Disadvantages

• Resolution may not be sufficient for print (depends on the model)
• Correction of perspective distortion with software is necessary if the photo should look like a scan
• Even lighting of the artwork necessary for good results

Reasons for Digitizing Your Drawings

Digitizing your artworks opens up a variety of online and offline possibilities. These are especially interesting if you want to make a living from your art.

Global Reach

The topic of followers on social media or traffic on the website is frowned upon by some artists, as they believe it should primarily be about the art itself. However, the fact is that followers and traffic are important indicators today of whether your art is even seen online.

If you want to make a name for yourself online as an artist, digitizing your artworks is essential.

Accessibility

Digital artworks can be easily shared on social media platforms, personal websites, or online galleries. This allows you to reach a larger audience and receive feedback, praise, and support from other artists and art enthusiasts.

Marketing and Commercialization

By digitizing your artworks, you can market and use them commercially more easily. For example, you can offer them as prints, posters, t-shirts, or digital downloads. Online marketplaces and platforms allow you to sell your works and reach a broader audience.

Backup Copy

Accidents happen: A water damage right where you store your artworks. The art folder gets lost during a move. In an unattended minute, your child decides to enhance your artworks with crayons. What has happened cannot be undone, and even if it can be painful, one should try not to be upset about the loss of the artworks.

Proactively, you can digitize and securely save all your artworks so that, in case of an emergency, your art is at least preserved digitally.