Need help with new file dimensions -Youtube video!-

[sarag628]

plz check this video

can someone tell me why the pencil brush he is using is at 17?.....what dimensions has this art? what resolution?
its always needs to be 72 or 300 dpi??

do the dimensions in pixels must be around 4000x 3000 to be good?

Im been drawing all my life and cant understand why my line art is so bad and pixelated, I want to do like that video plz help, i beg!

[AnnaLandin]

I have no idea what dimensions his canvas is, or what resolution, but here's some general advice:

Draw at higher resolutions.
72 dpi is just fine for posting stuff online! But when you draw it, you want to make sure the resolution is set to higher dpi - 300 or more is good if you intend to print at some point.

Draw big, then shrink
Make yourself a nice, big canvas - when I draw my pages, I draw them at 3307x4677 pixels, 400 dpi, and when I draw illustrations, I rarely go below 2000x2500 pixels - and when you're done and it's time to save a version to post online, you can resize the canvas to something smaller. If you intend to post it on Tapastic, you can resize it to be 940 pixels across, for example. This is where you can lower the dpi to 72 if you want.

Just out of curiosity - how much do you zoom in when you draw? If you zoom in past 100%, your lineart will start looking pixellated no matter what resolution you're at.

[sarag628]

damn..didnt check that when I zoomed....thats a prolem?but..why draw in a 3307x4677 pixels, 400 dpi, then to shrink them to lower size? whats the point? its looks still good? u have a good pc to be able to draw that size? plz explain im nnoob lolz

[Heck]

Because then you have huge file sizes and some sites (like tapas) don't allow it. Your art will look better when you compress pixels down from a larger size instead of working with a tiny amount of pixels. A smaller file size means it's quicker to load and easier to tack onto the web, but a high-quality original copy is mostly used for printing. If you print something with a low DPI or try to stretch the dimensions you will be sad, and for most comic artists this is critical. I usually work 8x11 in. at 350dpi and my computer is like 5 years old. I wouldn't call it good, but as long as you clean your PC and check that it's able to meet the requirements of whatever program you want, it should be fine. Even my 7 year old computer can run programs pretty well.

[AnnaLandin]

why draw in a 3307x4677 pixels, 400 dpi, then to shrink them to lower size? whats the point?

I draw them at that size because I want to be able to print the pages in a book at some point, and I can't do that and have it look good if the resolution is lower than 300 dpi.

I shrink them down to post on Tapastic because a.) Tapastic's size-limit is 940 pixels wide, and b.) shrinking it down and saving the smaller version as a .JPEG or a .PNG means the actual file-size - in megabytes - is smaller than it would be if I kept it at a larger size. Smaller file-size means less memory required!

its looks still good?

Yes, to the naked eye it looks perfectly fine.

u have a good pc to be able to draw that size?

I run Windows 7 on a desktop computer that's... 3 years old now? It's a fairly simple setup, nothing too fancy. But I've been doing this kind of thing on various computers for a long, long time. All I've got that's non-factory standard is that I've got some extra RAM.

[sarag628]

so....if im not printing anything and want it to upload it to the web I need to create the file big like 4xxx px with 72 dpi..draw..then when im finished, reduced it to 1000 px at 72 dpi?

[AnnaLandin]

Drawing at 72 dpi will most likely look jagged and pixellated when you draw it, so I really do recommend you go for at least 150 dpi.

[sarag628]

ok ..so..I start drawing in new file with lets say 4000x 3000 px with 300 dpi to have a good lineart, then whem Im finished I lower it to 72 dpi or reduce the 4000px to 1000px?

[AnnaLandin]

Yes, that's what I do.

[sarag628]

wow thx a lot anna, can u plz send me a deviant art of ur art to learn more :)?!

[AnnaLandin]

Uh, no? I haven't used deviant art in years?

[sarag628]

sorry for being late lol...the..facebook? maybe? to stay in contact..or email

[AnnaLandin]

Um, no thank you? If you need help with anything, you can post here on the forums.