I have some art that I drew up in color art pencils. The images are very detailed such as a human face and features. I scanned the images into the computer and then opened them up in Inkscape. 

What is the best way for me to edit my images once I open them in Inkscape? Should I buy a colored drawing tablet and trace over the images that were originally drawn on paper?

In order to change the image it appears that I need to trace over the original image. This seems rather time consuming and the only way I can think of how to do it is with a drawing tablet that interfaces with Inkscape. Am I correct? Some serious advice is needed. Thanks in advance experts.

A tablet can be helpful, if you like the pen instead of the mouse.

A scanned image can be imported into Inkscape can be traced over.

• Locking the image will keep it from moving.
• It can also be made partially transparent.
• Putting it on a top layer will keep it visible while tracing.

Thanks Tyler, great info.

I use a Wacom Intuos and the pencil tool for drawing in Inkscape. Overall it is great though.

 For some projects, if you use detailed sketches for instance, it is probably better to use the bezier tool, but you can sketch with the calligraphy tool quite nicely too.