Is 2778x4167 per page an alright resolution to work with?

[ezpeen]

I'm thinking compared to a standard sized comic book, is 2778x4167 a high enough resolution to work with?

[shatterjure]

well the max allowed resolution to upload on tapastic is 940 x 4000

[shatterjure]

with 2 mb in filesize

[ezpeen]

I was thinking more in terms of the overall industy. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that?

[Kayke]

If you're talking about print, I find it better to think in terms of inches/centimeters than pixels, since that's how things in the real world are measured.

I'd say set your file up as a standard comic page and make it at least 400dpi.
You can always use a template, like this one from Kablam, though some comic companies have special templates. I just finished work for a publisher that had a rule that no panels could touch the exact center of the page because they wanted to be able to reformat the pages for an app as well as print. But that is not really the industry norm.

And you can always scale it down to post on the web.

[ezpeen]

Thanks a lot for the information.

I don't plan on printing anything for a long time, but you never know what happens in life, so I want to just be on the safe side in case I ever want to print anything I make. Well, that was long and weird sentence. Anyway, you say "at least 400 dpi". Is that the standard, or do most books get printed at a higher count than that? Just to "double check" so that I'm sure that I get it correct, for the template you linked (7x10.5): Would 2800x4200 equal to 400 dpi? We use the metric system here in Norway, so I'm never really comfortable calculating with feet, inches and all that jazz.

[Kayke]

Yes, 2800x4200 is correct for that format at 400dpi.

Things print at 300dpi, but I've had publishers ask for a higher res on certain things... plus it's always better to give yourself some wiggle room in case you end up wanting to print something larger down the line. Plus when you work in a higher DPI things look nicer once you shrink them down!

[J.Z.Castillo]

This is why I love Kablam! He's so helpful over there!

[ezpeen]

Sounds good, thanks!

[AliceHoffmannArt]

If you go for black/ white printing, you'll need to calculate it for 1200dpi so that the lines still look good.
In general, color is printed in at least 300dpi (though some people say 600dpi is preferable).

[ezpeen]

1200dpi is insane, that's 8400x12600! But I believe that only stands true for line art, doesn't it? I'm going to have parts both in black and white, and some in colors.

This is the style I'm playing around with at the moment (of course in a very unfinished state): http://imgur.com/a/nQd2m

I don't think it would benefit from 1200dpi as it's all very "gritty".

[nobebocafe]

4778x4167 is not the resolution, just the size of the image. The resolution depends on the dpi, not the size. They are "independent" from each other.

To draw/work you use a 300dpi or higher (but 300 use to be high enough). To publish the image you convert that high resolution in 75 or 96 dpi (in some sites like tapastic you can upload an image in 300 and it will be automatically converted in 75).

[Shanny8]

It doesnt matter the size/resolution of the actual file that you're working on. You can work on any size you want as long as- A) you're comfortable working at that size and B) you can save to some device that can hold works at larger sizes.

But remember, once you start reducing the size, you going to lose some quality- especially when you have to reduce the art down to a size to post online; that cant be helped. Working at a smaller size resolution(300-600 dpi) is better coz not much quality is lost.

[ToonDoctor]

First, 300 dpi has been an industry standard forever. I don't understand the inflation of DPI to resolutions such as 600 dpi. Most of the details at that resolution will probably not be noticeable when used for print.

Even for line work, a crazy resolution such as 600dpi and above is overkill. While it could be used for a working file, to afford as much wiggle room, beyond 450dpi, you will see very little difference in print and it will inconvenience the production. Working with larger files is slower and requires more computing resources.

What has not been mentioned above is that DPI matters mostly if you work with raster (bitmap) files. If you work in a vector format, you will need to export to a suitable format and DPI. Vector illustration gives people more flexibility for print.

The DPI needed for computer screens, television, and film is not 75. It is 72 dpi. If publishing a web comic, always export your image to 72 dpi, regardless of the actual size and format of the comic. Anything above that is overkill and will slow downloads for users.

I'm not sure how you arrived at 2778x4167. I would stick with existing comic formats based on the genre and market you are targeting. For example, if publishing a standard North American comic, 12x18 (actually 11x17 but it gives you a bit more wiggle room than standard tabloid size) inches is fine. Manga and European comics have different formats.

Based on the format, calculate the translation of 12x18' into pixels at your working resolution.
In Photoshop, create a new file.
Select the US format (for tabloid).
Select tabloid (11x17).
Adjust to 12x18 if you want. The resolution will be 300 dpi by default.
Adjust it to 450. If you do you will notice that your file size estimate will go from about 48mb to 108mb. 108mb is not usually a comfortable working size. It will be slow. That's why 600 dpi and above is excessive.
You will notice that the pixel ratio is now 4950 x7950 at 450 dpi. At 300, it would be 3300x5100 for an American comic.

[ezpeen]

I've read this 11x17 figure on the internet as well, but I'm a bit confused. I've never seen a comic book as large as that.

[ratique]

I think the numbers you are using are throwing everyone off.

Since you are using the metric system:
What is your page size in cm/mm?
What resolution have you set your file as?
Are you working in Color or Black/White?

The numbers you are giving are pixels, but you are asking for standards used in the print industry. Print sizes are defined by Millimeter/Centimeter or Inches. So lets start there.

[ezpeen]

I'm currently using the template Kaykedrawsthings linked, which is 7x10.5 inches. My last drawing was at 2940x4410 (which equals 420 dpi using the template). I'm playing around in black and white using graphite (no line art), but will do some parts in colors at a later stage. I decided upon 2940x4410 because the digital graphite looks too smooth at 3300x5100 for my liking. Looks too similar to an airbrush at that resolution.