How to correctly resize comics for web

[Tori_542]

So I have been on Tapastic for a while now but I have never posted a comic and I want to start now. But the problem is that I don't know how to resize a comic from a high ppi to a low one without losing quality. I love drawing but have never been able to post on here because I am a novice when it comes to anything but drawing. I would really appreciate some help with this problem.

And any other tips/tricks for uploading a comic would be very much appreciated! Anything would help because I don't know much at all and want to learn as much as possible before I start a comic.

[AnnaLandin]

Hi, Tori! : ) Welcome to the ranks of comic-creators!

Dpi is a kind of tricky thing to wrap your head around, so I'll try to give you a hand!

I don't know what dpi you draw at (I usually do 300-400, since I draw a full-colour comic - when doing black and white or greyscale, 600 or up is a good idea), but a high dpi is really only needed when you're going to print something. When uploading to the web, it's usually a sensible idea to resize it to 72 dpi. It makes for smaller file-sizes (so it's faster to upload, and takes less space on your harddrive) - though I always keep a 300-400 dpi file around for printing.

I draw at 3307 by 4677 pixels at either 300 or 400 dpi, and when downsize to 800 by 1131 pixels for uploading. This means that I lose quality, yes, but since my readers don't zoom in on the page at more than 100%, it still looks fine. (also, it has the added bonus of hiding a bunch of inking and colouring mistakes! XD). Tapastic's maximum width is 940, but you don't need to go that big unless you really want to, as long as the text is readable.

As you can see, my pages still look okay at 72 dpi.

[joannekwan]

Well when you're going from hi res (like 300 dpi) to a lower one for web (72 is the standard), you're going to lose quality. But it's probably for the best since you wouldn't want someone to reproduce your stuff without your permission.

So tips for uploading:

Work high (300 or 600 if you're doing black and white with screentones) and downsize to publish on the web (72).

Make sure your text is still legible in the downsized version!

For Tapastic, have your file size between 650 and 850 px wide. (Even though the max is 940 px, sometimes it can be too much for the screen. Really depends on your comic though, like if one panel takes up the whole width and it doesn't have a lot of detail to look at, go smaller.) Length depends on your original canvas size.

KEEP YOUR ORIGINAL PROPORTIONS (sorry don't mean to yell) but having a page that is stretched or compressed looks really amateurish.

Keep your original files always!

[Tori_542]

Hi thank you for helping me! I was super confused, and your post helped a lot. But I still have 1 question, how do you downsize? I really appreciate your help!

[Tori_542]

Thank you so much for the the tips! I appreciate it!!

[shazzbaa]

how do you downsize?

Is there a particular program you're using for art stuff?

[Tori_542]

I use Photoshop CC 2014

[AnnaLandin]

I use Manga Studio, not Photoshop, but the method should be similar.

You open the file you want to resize, then find the menu option "Change image resolution" (in Manga Studio 5, it's under "Edit"). Clicking that brings up a pop-up menu that looks like this:

To downsize it, I just change the width or height in pixels to whatever I want it to be, and Manga Studio automatically resizes it proportionally - that is, if I choose 1000 pixels in height, MS automatically sets the width to 420, so that I don't accidentally mess up the proportions of the image itself.

And then I set the resolution to 72 - or whatever resolution I happen to be going with. OR I just change the resolution to 72, and MS resizes the width/height automatically.

The important thing is to make sure that everything stays in proportion, but I think most programs do that automatically.

[shazzbaa]

EDIT: DANGIT, Anna ninja'd me. xD

Okay cool, I use Photoshop CC too! So it should look kind of like this!

select "Image size" off of this menu

Here, you're gonna change "Resolution" to 72 in order to post it online! Make sure you do have "Bicubic" (or something similar if you have different options) selected

And where it says "Percent" you can select "Pixels" instead the set the size you want it to be. When you change Resolution from 300 to 72, Photoshop will automatically assume you want to shrink the size, too, but you don't need to shrink it that much. So you'll need to type in the Resolution you want (72) and then the Width that you want afterwards, and THEN hit "Okay"! It should resize your picture to screen resolution without it looking bad!

[joannekwan]

Here's what the box looks like in Photoshop. Find it under Image > Image size

If you have those last three boxes checked, it will keep your proportions.

[Tori_542]

@shazzbaa @joannekwan @AnnaLandin Thank you guys so much for the help! I am super grateful! And It made things so much easier!!

[ratique]

Renamed this thread so it will be easier to find for someone with a similar question, as the answers here are very detailed and helpful. If someone has a better suggestion for the title, let me know!

[Tanisha]

You can also download Image Resizer for Windows and simply right click on the file you want to resize and put what size you want in case you want to try something differently ^^b~

[agentfink]

KEEP YOUR ORIGINAL PROPORTIONS (sorry don't mean to yell) but having a page that is stretched or compressed looks really amateurish.

^^^ this
I work in Manga Studio, but the concept is the same. I always export the images at the original size, then take that image and size it down in photoshop.
Always keep that original file

[scythe]

Here's a tip: If you're in Photoshop, try turning your image into a smart object before downsizing. I find that the end result is sharper.