Wallpaper sizes for supporters

[fanyart]

Hello, I would like to ask for help about preparing wallpapers for supporters/subscribers/readers.

How do you people go about it? Do you have a website where people can choose from various sizes with previews?

I was advised to use a dropbox of google drive folder but I'm not sure if visitors see the sizes and previews (I don't have much experience with these aside from backups). I thought about making a page on my personal website but I don't know how to do it so that it's accessible only for people with the link.

I would like people to be able to choose from several images, do you think it's good to present them with like 9 different images or should I rather choose 3 images so that people aren't overwhelmed (when it's multiplied by so many screen sizes)?

Also, I don't know much about mobile screen resolutions, could you please help me put together a list of possible screen resolutions that people might want wallpapers for and which of them are most used?
If someone from the staff reads this, can I ask if there is a way to know some statistics on the resolutions users have? It's not like I don't want to put effort into cropping the images into all possible screen sizes but if the number of files is too big in the wallpaper folder, people might get confused...

Here are screen sizes I know of (and believe are most used):

COMPUTER
1024x768
1366x768
1920x1080
1920x1200

MOBILE
? I have no idea what people use to read on Tapastic >_>

Thanks in advance!

[AnnaLandin]

If you use Google Drive, you can make a specific folder for your wallpapers, and then name the files you upload different things, so that people will be able to tell them apart (like, "Wallpaper [1024x768], Wallpaper [1366x768],", etc.) and then link your subscribers to the folder you've uploaded them in, and they can choose which size fits them best.

I'd say it's probably best to start with fewer images, so that people can choose more easily, and then you can always add more choices later. Pick a few of the standard sizes (one small, one large for desktops, and then one appropriate for mobile platforms seems reasonable) and try to stick with those. If your subscribers want different sizes, they can always tell you, and you can upload the size they request.

[getsuart]

Yeah, using google drive with the name of the size at the end of the wellpaper is a good idea.
Just use two or three images I think it will be enough to start. you have to do a lot of various size of wallpapers too, so it will take time !

To be fair, 1024*768 isn't reeeaaalllyyy used now for computers.
You can find there a lot of screen sizes :

For myself I have a TV size, 1440*960px. Some of the comptuer I worked with at work were 1680*1050px.
But I still hope this image will help you

[fanyart]

Wallpaper [1024x768], Wallpaper [1366x768]

I'd say it's probably best to start with fewer images,

Thanks those are good ideas!

To be fair, 1024*768 isn't reeeaaalllyyy used now for computers.

Hey, don't insult our first computer, it still works perfectly

For myself I have a TV size, 1440*960px. Some of the comptuer I worked with at work were 1680*1050px.

Thanks for the sizes, TBH I never heard of the 1440x960 and 1680x1050... I had thought the 1366x768 was used most, at least in my country...

It would be nice if we could learn what people use to visit this site, I'm sure google analytics collects it - staff, is it possible to learn those stats? I think it would be beneficial to comic creating too, I often wonder how tall a panel should be to its width so that it doesn't show two things at the same time to surprise users etc.

Also, could anyone please help me with the mobile resolutions? I tried googling but I don't know if the sites are up to date and it doesn't show what is most used for reading vertical webcomics...
I have a kindle but it doesn't allow wallpapers (at least what I know) so resolution of it would be useless and my phone is one of the first generation color displays so even reading on it is probably not possible >_>
Some of my classmates have that ipad, nexus and various "smartphones" (we call them dumbphones) but do people read comics here on those? I guess I'm totally illiterate in this field...

[EnzoComics]

Here's a list of the top 10 screen resolutions used by visitors on my website over the last 3 years.

Honestly I've been making a wallpaper at 1920x1080 for a long time and have yet to receive any requests for a different size. I think that large size tends to cover all the bases as computers nowadays usually let you scale images to fit the screen.

In terms of mobile, I wouldn't think of it in exact pixels as much as I would the screen ratio. Here are the more popular ones:

As you can see, the dimensions are nearly the same as desktop versions because while mobile & tablet screens are smaller, the pixel density is higher (a la retina). What this means is that, that wallpaper I made that fits 1920x1080 for my desktop will actually look fine on a phone.

[getsuart]

Ahah, I started with a 800*600px screen size, I understand your love for your first computer's screen size
1680*1050 is the standard widescreen. I guess it's because where i worked, we needed the widescreen size !

But I never heard people using 1366*768 for example. I guess it depends from the country you're from.
Anyway, if it's a standard from where you are, you should go with it, with the 1920*1080
EDIT : Just saw it was for laptop mostly ! It explains a lot of things, I worked mostly with people who don't have laptops !

[gateofselidor]

Seconding that the screen ratio is more important than the precise resolution. I'm definitely biased in this because I have a 2560x1440 monitor for my desktop, and it's difficult to find wallpapers I like that are big enough (especially those with illustrations rather than photos), but I think it's better to focus on the larger sizes than worry about the people who still use 1024x768. You can always get a bigger wallpaper and set it to scale down, as long as it's the correct ratio. I actually prefer having larger than necessary wallpapers, because I know I'll be able to keep using it even when I get a bigger monitor.

[fanyart]

Here's a list of the top 10 screen resolutions used by visitors on my website over the last 3 years.

Thanks that's really helpful and the aspect ratio diagram especially! I guess I will just go for the first 3 most used from your list after all and and add the iphone and the largest of the two mobile lines.

Just one more, probably a trivial thing: the orange and red line of ratios are used in a vertical position so the wallpaper must be vertical too, right?

2560x1440 monitor for my desktop

Huh, can a normal computer work with such resolution? Recently I went to an electronics store for headphones and drooled over a ultra HD monitor with some 3K px width but then I realized my computer probably wouldn't be able to work with it (I have a laptop for drawing usually connected to a 1920x1200 monitor (taller than the laptop monitor) and I sometimes wonder if those 120 lines of pixels extra don't slow down the computer. Does your computer work with it as fast as with a smaller monitor?

it's difficult to find wallpapers I like that are big enough

That's an issue too but I'm more afraid that if I make just big versions and the user puts it on a smaller monitor, it could slow down their computer (I know that the sparkling and transparent OS interfaces take up much more RAM but I don't want to contribute too much too). And the smaller the screen, the worse it usually is because it often goes with a slower computer...

[gateofselidor]

I have an iMac, so the screen is built into the computer itself and I've never used a different monitor with it. The computer is designed to work with it, so I have no problems with the speed and it's perfect for working on high resolution illustrations and comic pages. I don't imagine the average reader on Tapastic needs anything near that size though, and really it comes down to what your readers/Tapastic readers in general are using. I don't think you need to worry about offering every different possible size, just a reasonable spread, and unless the wallpaper is animated, or you have it set to change periodically, I don't think it's likely to have a noticeable impact on the machine.

[fanyart]

Aha, that explains it

Thanks for advice!