Scanning Into Photoshop .. Question

Hiya,

Whenever I scan a drawing or painting into PS, the skin (which is tan, beige or pinkish) comes out very white ... not showing the fleshtones hardly at all.

I've tried setting my scanner at a darker color .. but then the background comes out darker, so does the whole painting ... and that's not what I want.

Everything else (clothing,etc.) comes out the true colors, except the skin.

Any ideas?

Oh yes, I have an older model scanner, can't remember which one now, and the name is rubbed off. Microtec maybe? Something like that.

Thanks,
Dee

"Dee" wrote in message

Hiya,

Whenever I scan a drawing or painting into PS, the skin (which is tan,

beige

or pinkish) comes out very white ... not showing the fleshtones hardly at all.

I've tried setting my scanner at a darker color .. but then the background comes out darker, so does the whole painting ... and that's not what I

want.

Everything else (clothing,etc.) comes out the true colors, except the

skin.

Any ideas?

Oh yes, I have an older model scanner, can't remember which one now, and

the

name is rubbed off. Microtec maybe? Something like that.
Thanks,
Dee

A friend of mine was fed up with his scanner...the poor quality, the incredible amount of time it took, everything. So what he did was mount his digital camera to a tripod and use it in place of his scanner. He made a little platform to place the object to be scanned. He said the results were much better, faster, more realistic, better color and contrast, and the digital files required lest post-manipulation.

Don't know if you have a decent digital camera or tripod, but it may be worth a try.

Then again, my friend has the habit of pulling my leg quite often. Sounds feasible though.

Peadge :-)

Peadge wrote:

"Dee" wrote in message

Hiya,

Whenever I scan a drawing or painting into PS, the skin (which is tan,

beige

or pinkish) comes out very white ... not showing the fleshtones hardly at all.

I've tried setting my scanner at a darker color .. but then the background comes out darker, so does the whole painting ... and that's not what I

want.

Everything else (clothing,etc.) comes out the true colors, except the

skin.

Any ideas?

Oh yes, I have an older model scanner, can't remember which one now, and

the

name is rubbed off. Microtec maybe? Something like that.
Thanks,
Dee

A friend of mine was fed up with his scanner...the poor quality, the incredible amount of time it took, everything. So what he did was mount his digital camera to a tripod and use it in place of his scanner. He made a little platform to place the object to be scanned. He said the results were much better, faster, more realistic, better color and contrast, and the digital files required lest post-manipulation.

Don't know if you have a decent digital camera or tripod, but it may be worth a try.

Then again, my friend has the habit of pulling my leg quite often. Sounds feasible though.

Peadge :-)

haha yes we do that too :) it works very well, but you have to get the lighting right. A scanner ALWAYS gets exactly the same level of lighting, but with a camera the ambient light level effects the results a lot. Plus, if you want to do it properly you'll need a macro lense. However, we've had some really good results with our Digital Rebel on a mini-tripod just sat on a desk with the regular 18-55mm lense.

--

x theSpaceGirl (miranda)

# lead designer @ http://www.dhnewmedia.com #
# remove NO SPAM to email, or use form on website #

"SpaceGirl" wrote in message

Peadge wrote:

"Dee" wrote in message

Hiya,

Whenever I scan a drawing or painting into PS, the skin (which is tan,

beige

or pinkish) comes out very white ... not showing the fleshtones hardly

at

all.

I've tried setting my scanner at a darker color .. but then the

background

comes out darker, so does the whole painting ... and that's not what I

want.

Everything else (clothing,etc.) comes out the true colors, except the

skin.

Any ideas?

Oh yes, I have an older model scanner, can't remember which one now, and

the

name is rubbed off. Microtec maybe? Something like that.
Thanks,
Dee

A friend of mine was fed up with his scanner...the poor quality, the incredible amount of time it took, everything. So what he did was mount

his

digital camera to a tripod and use it in place of his scanner. He made a little platform to place the object to be scanned. He said the results

were

much better, faster, more realistic, better color and contrast, and the digital files required lest post-manipulation.

Don't know if you have a decent digital camera or tripod, but it may be worth a try.

Then again, my friend has the habit of pulling my leg quite often.

Sounds

feasible though.

Peadge :-)

haha yes we do that too :) it works very well, but you have to get the lighting right. A scanner ALWAYS gets exactly the same level of lighting, but with a camera the ambient light level effects the results a lot. Plus, if you want to do it properly you'll need a macro lense. However, we've had some really good results with our Digital Rebel on a mini-tripod just sat on a desk with the regular 18-55mm lense.
--

x theSpaceGirl (miranda)

# lead designer @ http://www.dhnewmedia.com #
# remove NO SPAM to email, or use form on website #

I got an e-mail back from my friend and he said he was dead serious. He also uses a macro setting and has three small florescent lights surrounding his little platform. The lights stand vertically, one on each side and one opposite the tripod. He says it gives good results, but the color may require a tiny bit of tweaking. He said to be sure you have to the lighting source for the camera set to indoors. If further lighting choice options are available, pick the best one.

Peadge :-)

"Peadge" posted:
"...
He said to be sure you have to the lighting
source for the camera set to indoors. If further lighting choice options are
available, pick the best one.
...."

Wouldn't a custom white balance be a rather "easy" solution?

Still ... it sounds a bit like "Rube Goldberg is in the house" if you have a scanner sitting right next to the camera setup.

"Peadge" wrote in message

"SpaceGirl" wrote in message

Peadge wrote:

"Dee" wrote in message

Hiya,

Whenever I scan a drawing or painting into PS, the skin (which is

tan,

beige

or pinkish) comes out very white ... not showing the fleshtones

hardly

at

all.

I've tried setting my scanner at a darker color .. but then the

background

comes out darker, so does the whole painting ... and that's not what

I

want.

Everything else (clothing,etc.) comes out the true colors, except the

skin.

Any ideas?

Oh yes, I have an older model scanner, can't remember which one now,

and

the

name is rubbed off. Microtec maybe? Something like that.
Thanks,
Dee

A friend of mine was fed up with his scanner...the poor quality, the incredible amount of time it took, everything. So what he did was

mount

his

digital camera to a tripod and use it in place of his scanner. He

made a

little platform to place the object to be scanned. He said the

results

were

much better, faster, more realistic, better color and contrast, and

the

digital files required lest post-manipulation.

Don't know if you have a decent digital camera or tripod, but it may

be

worth a try.

Then again, my friend has the habit of pulling my leg quite often.

Sounds

feasible though.

Peadge :-)

haha yes we do that too :) it works very well, but you have to get the lighting right. A scanner ALWAYS gets exactly the same level of lighting, but with a camera the ambient light level effects the results a lot. Plus, if you want to do it properly you'll need a macro lense. However, we've had some really good results with our Digital Rebel on a mini-tripod just sat on a desk with the regular 18-55mm lense.
--

x theSpaceGirl (miranda)

# lead designer @ http://www.dhnewmedia.com #
# remove NO SPAM to email, or use form on website #

I got an e-mail back from my friend and he said he was dead serious. He

also

uses a macro setting and has three small florescent lights surrounding

his

little platform. The lights stand vertically, one on each side and one opposite the tripod. He says it gives good results, but the color may require a tiny bit of tweaking. He said to be sure you have to the

lighting

source for the camera set to indoors. If further lighting choice options

are

available, pick the best one.

Peadge :-)

"Peadge" wrote in news:gJKdnZJAQrHs_UncRVn-
:

I got an e-mail back from my friend and he said he was dead serious.

If so, he has a shitty scanner.

As SpaceGirl noted, a scanner always has perfect lighting...unless it sucks. It's also faster to set up, since all that consists of is laying something on the glass.

I'll normally shoot flat subjects only as a last resort if they won't fit on the scanner.

On 2004-12-29 23:09:50 -0500, "Dee" said:

Hiya,

Whenever I scan a drawing or painting into PS, the skin (which is tan, beige or pinkish) comes out very white ... not showing the fleshtones hardly at all.

I've tried setting my scanner at a darker color .. but then the background comes out darker, so does the whole painting ... and that's not what I want.
Everything else (clothing,etc.) comes out the true colors, except the skin.
Any ideas?

Oh yes, I have an older model scanner, can't remember which one now, and the name is rubbed off. Microtec maybe? Something like that.
Thanks,
Dee

Microtek, or Microtech? Please elaborate, and give some history on the scanner - what it was like when you first used it, did it ever work well, etc. What's the software, what's the color management, etc. We'll walk through it.

Most likely, the lamp is shot. If the scanner can be calibrated (well), maybe it's salvageable. Otherwise you would probably be better off with a newer (cheap) one.

--
"It's beyond my ken... and my Barbie, and all of my action figures."

My last HP scanner recently died, and I replaced it with a CanoScan LiDE 35. My budget wasn't big for this function (better places to spend it) and this seemed to cover what I needed for only $80.

Not only is the included scan software far better, it's also supported by my copy of Vuescan. Pretty good scans without any bother.

Best of all (which I didn't know until setup) is that it's LED - there's no power connection! Runs totally via USB. And it's slim enough to slip into my puter bag.

Now we can take a laptop and the scanner to family's homes to collect old stuff. A new version of photo safari.

On Thu, 30 Dec 2004 04:09:50 GMT, "Dee" wrote:

Hiya,

Whenever I scan a drawing or painting into PS, the skin (which is tan, beige or pinkish) comes out very white ... not showing the fleshtones hardly at all.

I've tried setting my scanner at a darker color .. but then the background comes out darker, so does the whole painting ... and that's not what I want.
Everything else (clothing,etc.) comes out the true colors, except the skin.
Any ideas?

Oh yes, I have an older model scanner, can't remember which one now, and the name is rubbed off. Microtec maybe? Something like that.
Thanks,
Dee