Peripherals

Scanner

I have a Mustek flatbed scanner with a SCSI interface. It is used to digitise photos, printed text, graphic and fine art. Scanner resolution is always way above what is usually needed for digital media, since scanners are primarily designed for pre-press work. My scanner has a maximum resolution of 2400 dots per inch (dpi). I frequently use 75 to 300 dpi at most.

I find my scanner invaluable since I still do not feel comfortable with drawing lines directly into a computer. Not only do most graphics tablets not respond in a way commensurate with my normal eye-hand coordination, differing line weights from differing pressure or the use of a wedge tipped pen are not communicated or reproduced well into a paint program, though I hear that some advances have been made to allow for this. Therefore, I tend to draw an outline on paper, scan it in, and begin creating artwork on the computer from there.

For the silhouettes I used in Odysseus, She I might have scanned the original image in, then cut out the desired portion and filled it with black. From experience that is a long and arduous process in order to make the image look correct. I sped the process up by drawing the outlines myself which I then corrected or altered according to my artistic vision. These were scanned in and filled with black.