Setting the scan area

Scanning line artwork

Setting the scan area

The last thing to do before you're ready to scan is to set the scan area. This is the actual area that is scanned; anything inside this area forms part of the scanned image, and anything outside it is discarded. The smaller the area you scan, the less space it uses on your computer, and you will get better performance from Animo 2.0.

The size and position of the scan area does not affect the correct registration of the scanned images, and you can use different scan areas for different drawings in the level. As a rough rule:

If all the drawings in a level are a similar size and position, use the same scan area for them all.

Otherwise, you should consider changing the scan area every few scans, or even - for rapidly moving characters - at every scan. Time spent doing this now is processing time (and disk space) saved later; with experience, you'll find the best compromise for you and your system.

Previewing a scan

You'll find it easiest to set the scan area if you first make a quick scan of one of the drawings. Use drawing A1 so it matches the example below:

Place the drawing on the pegbar (manual-feed scanners) or in the sheet feeder (automatic scanners).

Click on the Preview button in the Scanner window.

When the scanner has finished scanning, the image appears, together with a rectangular outline which sets the scan area.

: Don't worry if the sides of the rectangle are not quite vertical. This just means that Animo 2.0 has compensated for the drawing being not quite vertical, either because of inaccuracies in the auto-feed mechanism, or because the manual-feed pegbar isn't quite parallel to the sides of the scan bed. The registration of the scanned images will be correct.

To set the scan area in the Scanner window itself, you can:

Resize the rectangle by placing the cursor inside it and dragging one of its corners or edges.

Move the rectangle by dragging inside it.

Draw the rectangle somewhere else in the scan window by starting a drag anywhere outside the current one.

Since the drawings of the girl in the example are all a similar position and size, you can use the same scan area for them all. Set a scan area that encloses the drawing you've scanned, and allows an extra margin for the other seven drawings.

Scanning line artwork

Setting the scan area

Previewing a scan