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El_Psy_Congroo
Jul '16

So I've been hooking up my laptop via HDMI to my tv which has a bigger screen to do my art. I've heard the warning and didn't pay much heed about the effect different monitors can have on your art. I started looking at my pages through the computer screen and noticed a substantial difference in the colors I used.

4

Can anyone explain the principles of finagling with monitors to get the color outcome you want (and that others will see)?

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    Jul '16

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    Jul '16
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Kaykeactual fraggle
Jul '16

I know you can calibrate the color on your computer screen, but I don't know if you can do that with your TV?

jono_thompson
Jul '16

I have several monitors hooked up to my PC.
A 32 inch, which I do my main work on.
A 24 inch on the side, to utilise a second screen.
And a Projector displaying on wall, when I want to watch videos etc.

I don't have experience with a TV as a monitor, I wouldn't recommend it - because of the resolution (too pixelated). Also their colour setup will be different from a PC monitor. I know when I drag something across to my screens and projector the colours are different on every screen. I would say if you are doing a multiple monitor setup, have one dedicated screen for doing your art - other screens for settings/other programs.

[Note: I spell color, colour - because that is the correct spelling in Australia]

Kura
Jul '16

I really need to do colour calibration as everything is a different colour and it drives me crazy, I can't afford the spyder thing I keep getting recommended though (I keep waiting for an opportunity where bills go easy on me but things keep coming up, mostly family members needing some help vai finances), and I can never seem to do it right myself when I try to do it manually.

http://spyder.datacolor.com/display-calibration/1 for what I'm talking about.

J.Z.Castillo
Jul '16

It's the type of screens. Colors are going to look substantially different in every screen, unfortunately. You can try to calibrate each screen but it's a really big head ache. I have just come to accept it, lol, my comics look waaayyyy better on tablets and phones than they do on pcs. C'est la vie.

El_Psy_Congroo
Jul '16

Sigh but I love drawing on my big-ass tv screen Q_Q

@kurapikasuki that thingamawatchit looks way to pricey for me... I'd rather save up for a cintiq or the equivalent

I guess I'll have to do some final color corrections on my computer monitor. I just want to make sure the best image meets the most people.

carloswebcomic
Jul '16

You know, Windows has a colour calibration tool you can access through the control panel.
There's no need to be jumping around monitors.

El_Psy_Congroo
Jul '16

Where would I find that on Windows 10 and would it effect the TV monitor I'm using? I would assume most people's settings are similar to that of my laptop so I would need my TV screen to somehow behave more like the computer screen.

doublethickcustard
Jul '16
carloswebcomic

Just going to wave a red flag here on this because yeah youre absolutely right but there can be some loopholes. Windows will handle colour in some applications however other applications will use their own colour management, and then theres ones in the middle of all of it which do neither. This is SAI. SAI is a jerk. SAI isnt covered by windows' colour management and it also doesnt have its own colour profile settings. So, if youre using a TV screen or a wide gamut display (like a cintiq, and some tv's) its going to look over saturated to hell and when you look at your stuff on a normal monitor its going to look washed out. Applications like CSP or Photoshop do have their own colour handling.

However it can be tricky handling colour between hardware and software. My personal solution was to have a monitor above my cintiq (because i was finding it hard at first with it being a wide gamut display) in order to check my colours for general viewing. How well windows or your application will handle colour for something like a TV will depend on what software someone chooses to use smile

as an aside:
Another thing to watch for with TV's as monitors is their anti-aliasing, completely aside from colour handling. TV's have drivers of their own and they can potentially make you think lines are straight when they arent (which could be particularly bad for comic art)

nobebocafe
Jul '16

Even if the color looks different in different screen, they are the same. I mean, for example if you are using a red color RGB 176,19,19, it's going to be always that red, but in your screen, in your laptop, in your phone, or mine, or any of those who are reading this post in their screen, that exactly same 176,19,19 doesnt look exactly the same red. In my case, i'm using right now an imac and a bosto tablet to draw, and a purple color is looking blue in the bosto screen.

You can try to calibrate so they may look as close as possible, but don't get mad. Instead of make all the work over the tv's and then check out in the laptop, what you can do is to duplicate the canvas of your drawing, your laptop`s screen will be your "master/reference" color, and the tv's screen the place to work. And as long as you're working, you are having a look at the laptop to see how's looking.

El_Psy_Congroo
Jul '16
doublethickcustard

I use clip/manga studio. The anti-aliasing is definitely a problem - I noticed that my spray painted add glow layer for sunlight was way smoother on the tv screen while on my laptop, looking at my comic I see these awful splotches on my characters skin. I've tried extending the displays but it really slows down my machine