Say you’re working on a piece of 11×17 bristol, you’ve just finished your line work, and you’re ready to scan it into photoshop to sex it up with some digital painting. Small problem. You’re scanner only takes 8.5×11, 8.5×13 at the max, paper. You’re going to have to scan in halves and then re-assemble them in Photoshop. Here’s a quick method to line up the halves, also known as “halving.”
Step 1 – X Marks the Spot
Before you scan your piece, mark a small circle with an “X” through the mid point of the length your paper. This mark will appear on both scans and help you properly line up the halves. If you must scan your page more than twice, additional marks may be necessary.Scan the beasty in at a high resolution. Monster Cutie likes 600dpi or higher.
Step 2 – Let Our Powers Combine
Simply drag one of your scanned sides onto the other one. Photoshop puts the side you dragged over onto it’s own layer. Make sure you extend the height of the canvass of the half you’re dragging into.
Step 3 – X Marks the Spot Again
Turn down the layer opacity of the half you just brought over. 50% should do nicely. Line up the X’s so they match.
Step 4 – You Spin Me Right Round Baby Right Round
Now we rotate!
There are three methods to call up the rotate command. The menu method is the most apparent. You’ll find Rotate under Edit>Transform>Rotate.
The second method combines keyboard shortcuts and mouse jutsu. On a PC hit Ctrl + T. On a Mac hit the Command/Apple Key + T. Then right click in the middle of the image and select Rotate from the popup menu.
Alternatively, you can hit Ctrl + T or Command/Apple Key + T and move your cursor to the outside of the transformation area until it turns into a curve with an arrow and each end.
You’ll notice a circle with crosshairs in the dead center of your image. This is the pivot point around you will rotate your image. You can edit the placement of the pivot point by clicking on the circle in the center and moving it around.
Move the pivot point to the dead center of your lined up X’s.
Now rotate until the lines match up. When they’re lined up, hit Enter on a PC or Return on a Mac. Set the layer you rotated back to 100% Opacity and then merge your line art with the Layer>Merge Down command. Flatten works as well.
Let’s Go to the Instant Replay
A little wordy for a quick tip so here’s a video demonstration captured in real time to show you just how quick this technique is. I actually did it a little slower so you wouldn’t get vertigo and throw up.
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