Resizing for print with scripting?

[Lunatique]

Photoshop is generally better for image editing (I don't think I've ever heard of anyone using Painter for editing when they have Photoshop available). Photoshop and Painter aren't vector programs, so upsizing them will make them blur--you can't work around that. The only way is to work big to start with.

There are also solutions like Genuine Fractals, and quite a few other competitors to that product. There are also ways to do it in Photoshop like upsizing 10% at a time, and apply a little bit of sharpening each time..etc. These are typically photographer's tricks. I think if you searched with google a bit, you might find even more solutions. But remember, these only help to make the images less blurred when upsized, but won't perform miracles.

[Jinbrown]

Luna,

I think the question was not about resizing the image upward after the fact, but about using Painter's record script > playback script at higher resolution technique.

With some testing beforehand to make sure the brushes used in the painting will scale up nicely, it can be done and we're told by people who do it, the image can look nice.

Someone else asked about this tonight and here's the information I gave her:


It's explained in Painter 8 and Painter IX Help > Help Topics:

Painter 8 > Help > Help Topics > Contents tab > Scripting

On the page that displays in the right panel, click "Playing Scripts". On the next page, scroll down to the section named "Replaying a Script at a New Resolution" and read both sub sections, named "To record for resolution-independent playback" and "To play back at a different resolution".

Painter IX > Help > Help Topics > Contents tab > Scripting

On the page that displays on the right panel, click "Getting Started with Scripting". On the next page, scroll down to the section named "Replaying a Script at a New Resolution" and read both sub sections, named "To record for resolution-independent playback " and "To play back at a different resolution ".

If you didn't select the Canvas before recording the script, you might be able to Export the script to a text file (using a different name from your original script so you don't mess that one up in case this doesn't work) and add the line that tells Painter about the reference rectangle.

Here are the top four lines from a script I just recorded that includes that line:

script_version_number version 9
artist_name ""
start_time date Tue, Dec 13, 2004 time 9:07 PM
playback_reference_rectangle top 0 left 0 bottom 650 right 650

It's the fourth line that would need to be added to your script. The top will always be 0 (zero) and the left will always be 0 (zero) indicating the top left corner of the Canvas. Since my image was 650 x 650 pixels, that's what the line says for bottom and right.

You could make the line match your image dimensions. For instance, if your image is 1000 pixels wide by 2500 pixels high, the line would say:

playback_reference_rectangle top 0 left 0 bottom 2500 right 1000

As long as you edit a copy of your original script, I think you'd be safe trying it.

Maybe, as a precaution, you could use the Script Mover to create a custom scripts library (with a unique name not already used by Painter) and drag the icon for your original script into that custom scripts library before trying this.

I haven't edited a script this way, so I can't say for sure it'll work, but it seems like it should.

Good luck!

As I said above, editing a script that way is not something I've done myself so I can't say for sure that it would work but it couldn't hurt to try on a copy of the original script.

We can play back an image created at a smaller size into a larger Canvas that's the same proportions as the original. All libraries loaded when the image was created have to be loaded when the script is played back and all of those libraries, contents also have to be the same when it's played back. If Painter can't find something, the script will either let us choose another art material (i.e. Paper), or it may just stop.

There are some limits on the amount of scaling. If I recall, it's not wise to play back into a Canvas over 400% of the original Canvas size since Papers and Patterns can't be scaled higher than 400%. I think DigArts (Dennis Berkla) has mentioned this a few times. If anyone wants to know the details, you could e-mail him from his site at:

http://www.gardenhose.com


Dennis, you reading this? Can you tell us more, since I'm not as experienced with scripts as you are. Thanks.

[Lunatique]

Maybe I'm missing something, but the whole idea just doesn't make sense. When you run a script but at a different resolution, how can you make sure your brushes change automatically to reflect the resolution change. For example, animal hair was mentioned. Let's say I use a brush that has the Feature set to a certain amount that gives me seperate but fine hairs when I paint. If I run a script at a different resolution, how would Painter know to change the brush size and also the Feature setting to proper scale?

[michaelb]

Sorry if I was too vague. I am aware of the weaknesses of enlarging images by resampling in Photoshop. I looked into Geniune Fractals, SmartScale, etc. and was generally not as impressed as I wanted to be. :) I figure the only way to get the high-res output is to either start with a high-res document (with its correspondingly slow redraw times), or find a way to accurately scale up a low-res version. That's why I was interested in Painter. I haven't run across another program that might offer the ability to precisely scale up artwork (except the vector illustration program Expression, which does not seem to be available commercially now). I read Dennis' tips on scripting over at the Renderosity Painter forum, and what I want to do seems possible. My question is:what does it look like at higher res when all is said and done? If you get close, is the painting fuzzy? I saw the free trial version that Corel offers on their Website, and I'll try to download it soon to see if I can try it out for myself. I'm not sure how much success I'll have though, because I'm on a dial-up modem and it might die on me. That's why I'm depending on your eyes to tell me what I need to know. :)

[Jinbrown]

Maybe I'm missing something, but the whole idea just doesn't make sense. When you run a script but at a different resolution, how can you make sure your brushes change automatically to reflect the resolution change. For example, animal hair was mentioned. Let's say I use a brush that has the Feature set to a certain amount that gives me seperate but fine hairs when I paint. If I run a script at a different resolution, how would Painter know to change the brush size and also the Feature setting to proper scale? A quote from my inserted quote above:


With some testing beforehand to make sure the brushes used in the painting will scale up nicely, it can be done and we're told by people who do it, the image can look nice.
I would imagine that it's the artist who tells Painter how to make things like that happen by calculating the brush control settings before painting to scale up well when the script is played back at a higher resolution.

Even if you're patient enough to do a lot of brush control adjustments and pre-testing, you still may not be able to make all brush variants look the way you want when the script is played back at a higher resolution, but not everyone paints with bristle variants, for instance, or others that might not play back well. I don't know that they cannot be made to play back well, since my experience with Painter's scripting is pretty much limited to small scripts for repetitive tasks.

If you want to learn about it from someone who has experience using scripts, ask Jeremy Sutton. You can contact him via his site at:

http://www.paintercreativity.com

.

[michaelb]

Thanks for the advice. I'll look into it more. I'll also try to get a hold of that Painter 9 demo to see the scaling effects for myself. I have a copy of Painter Classic that came with my Wacom tablet, so I'll install that and see how the older brushes hold up. Never can tell until you try. :)

[michaelb]

Hi,
I did some more research into other paint programs and solutions (special thanks to Don Seegmiller for replying to my questions!), but I ended up purchasing Painter IX this morning. I just wanted to let you all know that you're kind of stuck with me now. :)

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