Drawings & Line Art Preservation

Perform direct, minimal-intervention conservation of sketches, graphite, charcoal, or ink illustrations. Prioritize original substrate and medium fidelity over digital modernization.

1. Core Conservation Mandates

• Absolute Fidelity: Strictly forbidden to add elements, subjects, or details not present in the original work.
• Anti-Modernization: Retain organic medium textures (charcoal grain, ink bleeds). Never smooth, vectorize, or artificially sharpen hand-drawn lines.
• Substrate Patina: Preserve natural paper aging, tooth, and historical tone. Do not bleach the support to sterile digital white (#FFFFFF).

2. Step-by-Step Restoration Process

1. Isolate & Clean: Gently neutralize superficial dirt, scanning dust, and high-contrast blemishes without altering nearby soft graphite or ink details.
2. Bridge Line Fractures: Join fine line cracks by matching surrounding stroke weight, speed, hatch angle, and edge softness.
3. Inpaint Major Damage: Where gaps exist, use calculated creative freedom to bridge the loss. Replicate the original technique (pencil pressure, dry grain, or fluid bleed) without inventing new narrative elements.