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How to Make Fine Art Prints Of Your Art For Killer Portfolios And Exhibitions
There is no better feeling than selling an original drawing, but did you know that you can earn even more money by selling reproductions of your pencil drawings?
Making high-quality digital images and giclee prints can help you create a professional online portfolio or a tangible portfolio that will help you to build a thriving art business.
But how do you get a digital image that does not lose all of the details?
Have you been trying to take pictures of your sketches with a smartphone or a digital camera?
Are you disappointed with the quality of the digital image?
The good news is that it is possible to make giclee prints of your graphite drawings that accurately represent your originals. All you have to do is follow the steps in this post.
Scan Your Drawings
Learning how to make prints of artwork is going to be easier than you might have thought.
The first step is to create a digital image of your artwork.
The tools you need to make a digital image will be different if you make prints from original paintings or prints from your drawings.
You can use a digital camera to capture an acrylic and oil painting’s colors accurately, but you will never capture all of the smooth value changes of a greyscale drawing.
To capture the smooth value changes of a drawing made with graphite, you will need to invest in a high-quality scanner.
The good news is that high-quality scanners are affordable.
I have been using the Epson Perfection V600 to scan my drawings, and I could not be happier with the scans’ quality.
Here are some draings I scanned with the Epson Perfection V600.
For a list of other scanners visit, Best Art Scanner For Graphite Artists.
Scanner Settings
Make sure that your scanner is clean before you scan your drawing. Keep a cover over the scanner when it is not in use to keep it free of dust.
The most critical settings for the Epson scanner are the Image Type and the resolution.
Set the image type as 16-bit grayscale and set the resolution 600dpi or higher. I set mine at 720dpi.
Dpi is dots per inch. The more dots per inch you have the scanner set at, the better your scan will be.
Most cameras have a dpi of 72, which is one of the many reasons digital cameras can not capture graphite’s smooth value changes.
Edit Digital Image In Photoshop
The next step is to upload your digital image in Photoshop.
After you upload your drawing, go to the top menu bar and click Image > Adjustments > Curves.
You will want to edit your image in photoshop whether you make prints from paintings, colored pencil drawings or pastels.
It is important to note that the prints will print darker than what appears on the screen because the light illuminates behind the image on the monitor.
When you are making the adjustments, you might want to make the image lighter. Always print a test print to compare it to the original before saving on your PC.
Save Your Digital Image To Your PC
After you have finished editing your drawing on photoshop, you will want to save it to your PC.
Naming the digital image with the title of the drawing is not only essential to locate it on your PC, but it will also contain keywords that will be searchable for when you upload images on your website and blog.
First, create a new folder in the picture settings on your PC and name it Images For Print.
When you save an image to your new folder, you will see a section called File Name. This is the place where you name your image. The name you give your digital will be searchable on the internet when you publish it on your blog.
How To Make Art Prints
After you have saved your digital image on your PC you are ready to make copies of your drawings.
There are three ways you can make copies of your drawings, and they are:
- Outsourcing your printing job with a local print shop
- Upload them to a print-on-demand site
- print copies at home
Local Print Shops
Your local print shops can make beautiful copies of your drawings. All you will have to do is bring a USB with your digital image to your local printing service, and they will make copies for you on high-quality archival paper.
The negative side of outsourcing your printing job with a printing service is that prints will be expensive, and you might have to order in bulk.
Print-On-Demand
Print-on-demand services make it possible for photographers and artists to sell fine art prints and giclee prints of their work without any upfront costs.
Services like Printful allow you to upload your drawings and set selling prices for merchandise like fine art paper, framed prints, mugs, shirts, and more.
Print At Home
Printing prints will be the most cost-efficient way of making prints after paying off the printer.
The cost of prints on Printful start at around $7.00, the same size print for me printing at home costs me $1.72
The printer I use is an Epson XP-15000.
To research other printers, visit 7 Best Printers For Printing Fine Art Prints.
Print Drawings On Acrylic
Sublimation printing is a great way to print on acrylics.
First, you’ll need to purchase an acrylic sheet and some sublimation ink.
Next, you’ll need to print your design onto transfer paper using a sublimation printer. Once your design is printed, you’ll need to heat it up using a Heat Press.
Finally, you’ll need to apply pressure to the back of the acrylic sheet for about 60 seconds. Be sure to check the manual for the correct temperature and time. You might have to experiment a little until you find the best settings.
Once your design is transferred, you’re all done.
Marketing Your Prints
To research other printers, visit 7 Best Printers For Printing Fine Art Prints.
The prints you make of your drawings should be called fine art prints or giclee prints, and the name you use will depend on the printer and the paper you are using for the copies.
To learn more about the different prints, visit Limited Edition Giclee Prints – Fine Art Prints What Is The Difference.
You do not want to call the just prints because prints refer to the art of printmaking.
To learn more about original prints, visit Reproduction Print And Original Print – What’s The Difference.
You will also want to know how much pencil drawings sell for so you can set a price for your artwork.
Final Thoughts On How To Make Prints Of Drawings
Taking a little time to learn how to scan and edit your drawings will pay off with increased art sales.
Your business goals will be determined by your business goals, deciding on what scanner you will invest in and how you will make copies of your artwork.
Now that you know how to print art prints at home and where to print art prints, it is time to take action and make copies of your favorite drawings, make your portfolio, and create listings on your website to earn money from selling giclee prints.
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- What Size Art Prints Sell Best
- How To Sell Art Prints Online (And Make Money)
- Where To Print Prints From Etsy
