Scanning miniatures

Levinas · Post by **Levinas** » Mon Mar 22, 2004 12:30 pm

Hi, I was wondering if anyone has any tips for scanning miniatures? I haven't got a digital camera and wondered if it was possible to scan 3D objects with decent results? So far I've not had much luck. Any ideas??? If it makes any difference I have a Canon CanoScan Lide30.

Cheers...

heinz6 · Post by **heinz6** » Mon Mar 22, 2004 2:02 pm

Got a regular cam? Use that, and scan the pics. Borrow one or buy a cheap one. Even with a really lousy cam it ought to give you a better result.

christer · Post by **christer** » Mon Mar 22, 2004 3:45 pm

Levinas wrote:Hi, I was wondering if anyone has any tips for scanning miniatures? I haven't got a digital camera and wondered if it was possible to scan 3D objects with decent results? So far I've not had much luck. Any ideas??? If it makes any difference I have a Canon CanoScan Lide30.

Cheers...

Lacking a half-decent digi cam, I scan all my mini pics. Some scanners are better at it than others.. My cheapo Agfa Snapscan 1212u does a half-decent job which results in images far far better than what I could do with my webcam. Here are a few example images:

The main problem is that images tend to get a bit fuzzy on the "deep" parts and that you have absolutely no control over the lighting so you lose some shading detail. Either way, I think it turns out well enough for personal use. I wouldn't, however, recommend it for commercial purposes

Levinas · Post by **Levinas** » Mon Mar 22, 2004 3:54 pm

Christer - they've come out really well. That'd be fine for my purposes. Do you just lie them on the glass or is there some trick to it?

christer · Post by **christer** » Mon Mar 22, 2004 4:08 pm

Levinas wrote:Christer - they've come out really well. That'd be fine for my purposes. Do you just lie them on the glass or is there some trick to it?

Just put them on the glass, yes.

If I leave the lid open and scan during the day, I tend to get a red/pinkish tint on the background. You can avoid this by either making the room dark or by having the lid as "closed" as possible. I usually stack up the lid with a small ball

. If you do this, avoid putting the miniature on the edges, as the light from the room will bleed in.

You could also experiment with various coloured cloths for different backgrounds. I've tried with a sheet of white paper but don't really like that result as it resulted in a slight glare.

Essentially, give it a shot.. It's not like it'll break your scanner or miniatures

Or well.. Don't throw the minis onto the glass to avoid scratches.

tarzom · Post by **tarzom** » Mon Mar 22, 2004 9:17 pm

I'm in the same boat - no decent digicam.
I scan all my images - check out my website for pics.
I use much the same technique as christer

I usually just scan 'neat' but sometimes a black cloth or white paper helps - it all depends on the paint job.

It helps if you have a half decent photo edit package to increase the brightness and get rid of those bits of dust, etc

When my last scanner died I had a hard time finding a scanner that would do the job as most have a very poor depth of field - beware if buying a new one.

Kernspalt · Post by **Kernspalt** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 12:08 pm

Owning one myself, I'm afraid to say that CanoScan LiDe Scanners are totally useless for scanning miniatures, because they do have a very limited depth range, giving you very blurry images.

Most other scanners are just fine for scanning minis, so if your friends/parents have one, you should visit them foir a little scanning session.

I recommend using a white box, like from a computer game package, above your miniatures. I usually tack their bases to one side of it so that they don't touch the glass directly. Here's a scan I did that way, with an old Agfa scanner and without further manipulation:

Talk Fantasy Football

Scanning miniatures

Scanning miniatures

Re: Scanning miniatures