So, I blew some time this weekend working on getting some of my pencil sketches scanned in the right way (why I decide the summer is the time to try this stuff.. ). There are a few of them I've been lugging along in my silly sketchbook, and I really like them.. which actually makes me less likely to carry the thing along, because it could mess up some of those doodles I really like.

So. I started by *gasp* removing them all from my little sketch book. I happen (because I'm a dork) to be equipped with things to make a nice portfolio with these sketches in them because of other crafty things, so I know where they'll end up. BUT.. before they go there, I'd like to get some high-quality scans of them (I'd like to be able to make prints of at least one..).

Anyway, after wasting scads of time, I can agree that the following links have whatchya need:

• Scanning pencil drawings (question in forum thread)
• Extending dynamic range (resulting HOW-TO)

I've been going back and forth between the two plugins mentioned in the posts above, and I'm also hovering between the two methods (two gimp plugins: dynamic range extender (DRE) or HDR tone mapping). As I go, I have been slowly leaning towards the first (which is what the author used for the example in the HOW-TO), mostly because I can then scan and work with the image all in grayscale (the HDR plugin assumes RGB mode). Not sure which is better in the end, but I'm finding the output from the DRE plugin to be more direct.

Scan w/ XSane:

• Standard options window: Brightness (1, 0, -2 or -3), Sharpness 1
• Created a "pencil sketch" medium: Gray with 1.0 Gamma, and -100/100 brightness/contrast (basically telling the xsane post-scanning processor to leave it alone)