HOW-TO | turning a sketch into digital art (Patreon)

So you’re doodling in your sketchbook and you want to get your drawing on the computer in a vectorized format... here’s one way to do it!

// what you’ll need:

• A black pen and paper (I used a Faber-Castell fine liner pen for this example)
• A device to take a photo (your phone works just fine) or a scanner
• A computer with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop (you can go to the Adobe website to try for free with their 7 day trial)

STEP BY STEP ....

1. Create your drawing
Draw whatever you’d like to try this tutorial out with. I doodled some camping items inspired by my recent summer adventures. It’s important to use a black pen for this, as details drawn in other colors or pencil will get more easily lost when digitizing your drawing.

2. Take a photo of your drawing
Using any device, take a photo from straight above your drawing. If you have a scanner, this is the best route to go, as it will ensure your image is exact and not at a slight angle! Upload this photo onto your computer and open it in Adobe Photoshop.

3. Edit in Photoshop

• Use the crop tool to cut out any unnecessary area around your drawing

Go to Image > Adjustments > Levels and adjust these controls to increase the whites and blacks in your image. 

Export this image as a JPEG

4. Open your JPEG in Illustrator
When your image is selected in Illustrator, the “Image Trace” button will show up near the top of your screen. Click this!

Next, go to Window > Image Trace to open up the Image Trace panel

Click on Advanced and adjust your settings (mine are shown below) I usually put the Paths up fairly high, the Noise low, and make sure to click the Ignore White checkbox down below to get rid of the background. You can also adjust the Threshold to make your drawing darker or lighter. 

Once your settings are to your liking, click the Expand button at the top of the screen. 

5. Now you’re done!
You can make adjustments to your drawing in Illustrator if there’s changes you’d like to make (because you can’t erase pen on paper, but you can do whatever you want once your sketch is digital!)

You can add color, just make sure you change your color mode from Grayscale to CMYK by going to Window > Color and clicking the menu in the top right corner with the 3 little lines.

Expand even more on your drawing by adding texture and adjusting the size and placement of details!

About the Author

Marika Van de Kamp is a graphic designer & illustrator from Portland, OR who graduated from Portland State University in 2019 and has since done freelance work while traveling around the world.