How can I use a drawing that I made and scaned in photoshop?

Question

What I want to do is use a sign I drew to make sort of like a logo thing. I scaned it but how can I make it 'look' like it was made digitaly (in the computer, using photoshop). The thing is that the letters are special, I mean there is no font in the comuter that looks like that. I have a tablet but I canot use it to make my own fonts because of the version of vista that I have, that is why I need a plan B.
Oh and I'm using photoshop elements 6 to do this, my other version isn't working ^.^

Answer 1

What you have to do is bring it into photoshop first.

Then create a new layer.

Then draw on top of that layer with your tablet.

Once you're done, you just delete the bottom layer (AKA the scan of your sign)

And you should have it.

Sorry I couldn't tell you how to make fonts though

Answer 2

I'm not sure exactly what you are trying to do, but if you want it tidying up and making cleaner you could try several things. I'm also not sure if these are in elements. Firstly, the best way is to actually use a vector package suck as Illustrator and convert it to strokes. If you are using Photoshop try using a gaussian blur filter on it at about 0.5-2? This will blur it, the intention being to get rid of any jagged edges. Then Threshold it back to pure black and white. This will give a solid shape, but it will be a little jaggy, so to allow it to print better then re-Gaussian blur it to 0.5-1 to just take away the little jaggies.



Your other option is to go the other way and not make it look like it was done digitally. Go the other way- hand drawn with quality and flourish.



These will still be graphics though. Alternatively if you want it as a font, instead of using Photoshop, download a font creator for your system. Suggest you look on www.download.com If you try font creator or font maker in the search bar you'll get some packages. Some will be free/shareware.

Have fun, hope it helps.

Answer 3

Hi... www.dafont.com has hundreds of free fonts you can download and install onto your computer. I believe once they are on your desktop you then have to be sure to open the file to have them import into all of your programs. Make sense? Well, I'm sure you will be able to find something that will match your font design, and as far as the rest of your graphics go, to clean it up and give it crisp lines, you may have to redraw it and it is best to use a lot of new layers to do that. For example, for the black section use a layer, and then a separate one for the blue, and then another one for the yellow part of the design. That is important because you can then erase or start over as you go along with each section. Still, there are other things you can do to give it a cool vibe. For example, you can duplicate the same layer twice (so you have three of the design, one of which you will keep as a master and not use) and then with the other two, Desaturate the bottom layer, meaning turn it into black and white by going to Image - Adjust - Desaturate. Then with the second top layer

adjust it by using the free floating Layers/channels/paths window pull down tab that says Normal... try changing normal to pin light or overlay to see the effects. You can also use the opacity tool to then fade it a little. Also, depending on how clean your original drawing is, sometimes just using the Sharpen Filter will make it look more crisp. To do that go to the tool bar at the top, hit Filters - Sharpen, or sharpen edges. Basically, there is no quick way to take a sketch and turn it into a glossy pro design without repainting it, but you can experiment with the filters and layers to try something modern and new.



Also, when repainting something, instead of doing it free hand, I like to use the Lasso Tool. First, start with a new layer to use for tracing over your original design. Then with the Lasso Tool icon pinpoint a good place to start tracing, then press and continuously hold down the Option key on your keyboard and then click the mouse... this allows you to start tracing an outline around something, and it is best to click in small lengths around the area in order to get a smooth line. And to complete it you have to go full circle and meet back up where you started with the first click. Then once you have outlined it, release the Option key and you will see a floating outline that you can fill in either with the Paint Bucket tool or by hand doing it with the Air Brush... but when you hand do it, be sure to paint close to the edges and make it as opaque as possible. It also helps to enlarge the area you are tracing

as big as possible so that you can copy around the exact shape of the design. Then lastly, there is another quicker, but not so perfect, short cut to copying a section... You can use the Magic Wand. First, go to the existing design layer, then click in the area you are wanting to copy. Check to make sure the Magic Wand lines are hitting the edges of the area smoothly... You may have to set it at the correct tolerance by inputting the percentage on the tool bar. A higher tolerance will be stronger. Then once it does grab the exact area, create a new layer and then fill it in with color using the same steps as above. Both of these techniques are better then painting free hand and although it may take some practice, it is definitely worth doing for the cleanest design.