what is best digital canvas size?

#1

hi everyone

i’ve been doing art both traditional and digital for several years but only in recent weeks have started teaching myself how to draw figures like humans, demons etc much like the great artworks on sites like this - i am very new at present so my technique looks quite basic but i am learning cool new things all the time

what i want to ask is a bit of advice about canvas size - when drawing an artwork of something like a big fantasy art demon or a fine piece of angelic totty what is the average best size to work on - usually i have worked on canvas’s about 800h x 600w but i was wondering if i should make the size more like 6000 x 4000 pixels and 300dpi for example so that when finished i can print up to a decent poster size such as A0

thanks for any advice =)

peter “morpyre” turner

#2

My advice would be make your canvas big from the beginning, paint your thing and then crop your canvas to make a harmonious image.

If later you think it is too small, you can always add a bit of canvas again.

Just do it in a way that will make YOUR image look good.

#3

I’d say it depends.
Things like Matte Paintings would, of course, have to be big.
I think it’s best to start big, and then if you need something smaller you can resize it.
Big to Small resizes normally don’t result in loss of quality like Small to Big does.
Another thing:
Obviously, you need to keep in mind your computer’s power. If you have a slower PC or Mac without a lot of memory, it’s best to keep it smaller.

#4

Depends on what you are going for -
If it’s just plain practice and/or for web, go smaller.
If it’s for print consider what size you want, enter it in inches and then use around 300ppi.

Understand that ppi has no bearing if you are working on a canvas already measure in pixels, it’s for use with standard measurements, effectively giving you more resolution in the same space.

Personally I enjoy doing things at a lower resolution at times, keeps me away from details and has a nice effect with brushstrokes. But I usually work rather larger, in the 2000px range. Print is a different story.

#5

thank you all for the advice - shall come in most useful - i had an idea image size would be something like this but it is always good to have it confirmed =)

thanks again

peter “morpyre” turner

#6

Screen resolutions are usually 72 to 96 dpi. Super high res screens will have a bit more, much depends on both physical dimension and display image dimension (the 800x600 kind).

Printers on the other hand will have resolutions up to about 1200 dpi (for offeset printing). At 1200 dpi, an 800x600 image would only be a bit more than half an inch (1.5 cm) wide. Tiny.

So real image quality comes from the dpi, but will only really be useful for a print, as every computer screen will “mix-down” the resolution to match your displays value. On a 14 inch display with 72 dpi, 800x600 is pretty big… fills the screen. On the same monitor now at 96 dpi, the 800x600 image is much smaller. No longer fills the screen.

A 19 in monitor at 96dpi, will have a much larger phisically displayed image of 800x600 (dots), but the overall resolution is the same on both monitors.

To actually answer your question… create all images you intend to print at 300 dpi or higher, and all images you will be using for the web at 96 (if in doubt go big). Also the biggest canvas size your computer (and memory) can handle. Big is better because you can usually shrink an image with little qualitly loss, but you can not grow it with out significant image quality loss.

Cheers
Shad

#7

My advice is to work big. For example what if you end up creating something really great at 800x600. Well you will never be able to sell posters of it or other high quality prints. Also at higher res you have more pixals to work with to be able to add detial as you need to.

Basicly you can always make it smaller but even with special software you can only get it about 1/3 larger without loosing qaulity.

Normaly I work about 6000x4000 dpi but I have worked murch larger and smaller.

#8

I typically work at about 8 1/2 x 11 inches, 300 DPI. I use that size because it’s big enough to be printed on a magazine cover, and can still look pretty good when printed at regular poster size if I use something like Genuine Fractals to blow it up. I never work any larger unless the client specifically asks for it, or there’s a direct need for printing larger.

#9

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