What resolution do I work on?

[JoshBuzzee]

I use photoshop 7 and have been messin around with the resolution size when I sketch/paint pictures. So far Ive been sketching and doing the lineart of my pics with a resolution of 300, and shrinking it to 150 for the final copy, but dunno if this is right. I open up other artist pics in photoshop and see a lot of them have a resolution of 72, which confuses me a lil. What resolution is good to work on? Are there different resolutions someone should work on depending on what you are doing, like lineart and etc? Thx.

[Elwell]

You can't talk about resolution independent of size.

[FlipMcgee]

When you create graphics for the screen, embedded resolution does not matter. Simply pick the pixel dimensions of your image and don't worry about embedded resolution. Most people use 72 ppi for creating web graphics but this is just an arbitrary embedded resolution that has become a standard. You don't need to use 72 ppi to create a web graphic. Since monitors display images based on pixel dimension, embedded image resolution will not affect how large or small an image looks on the screen. A 300 by 199 pixel image set to 72 ppi and a 300 by 199 pixel image set to 300 ppi will look the same on the same screen. As discussed above, the embedded resolution (ppi or dpi) of an image only affects the image when printed.

If you want to print your image, you should create it with a high embedded resolution (200 to 300 ppi).

from Understanding Resolution (http://www.fotofinish.com/resources/centers/photo/resolution.htm)

[CaneHoyer]

At first: if you donwload images from the internet, they are always in 72dpi as this is the resolution of screen images.

While you are working in PS the resolution itself is unimportant.
Your size is the amount of pixels your image has!

The resolution is just a matrix, that effects the viewed size of your pixels!

If you like to print your images I would advice to work with a resolution of /300dpi as this is the printing resolution and so you will always see what final size your image has.

If you work for internet, then you might work at /72dpi.

But you should watch out to get more infos about the resolution thing!

Your thread gives me the impression that you have no clue about resolution and the right handling of resolutions is one of the base elements in Photoshop!
Cause if you like to switch between the resolutions while or after you make an image, or combining images with different resolutions, you should know what you are doing, otherwise you might unnecessarily downgrade your work!

[JoshBuzzee]

I dont do normal paintings, I draw comic-ish stlye pictures, scan them in, and do the lineart and coloring with a tablet. My pictures I scan are usually around 8x11 or so. I scan my pictures in at 300 dpi, it makes the picture bigger and easier to add detail to. To make the picture smaller, easier for internet viewing, and to make it look cleaner, I make the image's resolution 150. If I were to keep the picture at 300 dpi, wouldnt it just stretch people's screens? And if I were to scan my picture in at 72 dpi, the picture would end up small, and hard to edit with a good amount of detail wouldnt it? If I were to make my picture's dimensions bigger to edit it at 72dpi, it still would stretch the screen if I kept it at that resolution. Ill post some pics to show what im talking about. Thanks for the help everyone.

This is how I edit my pictures:


I scan a 8x8 pic in at 300 dpi, and edit it. This is what it looks like when its at 300dpi-
http://www.maj.com/gallery/DookieTheArtist/ComicAndConceptArt/72_2.jpg
I then shrink this picture to 150, to make it smaller and easier for people to view on the
web - http://www.maj.com/gallery/DookieTheArtist/ComicAndConceptArt/weed.jpg

so far this technique has been working for me, and it is what I have been doing.

If I were to scan a picture in at 72 dpi, it would end up small and hard to edit -
http://www.maj.com/gallery/DookieTheArtist/ComicAndConceptArt/72.jpg

I think the main thing i want to know if I am doing the right thing by scaning my pictures in at 300 dpi, and editing them
at 300 dpi.

[CCThrom]

The really quick reply: yes

It's much better to scan and edit a larger image and shrink it to the size you want than to start out with a small image.

Resolution issues are kind of unimportant exept in relation to output. 300dpi is generally considered the lowest resolution for "good" print quality, so if you ever want to print your work out starting with a 300dpi scan will serve you well. I find that for many purposes 150dpi gives me good enough print quality. And as mentioned before 72dpi is on-screen resolution.

Since you seem mostly concerned with on-screen display, my suggestion is to keep doing what you're doing (scan/edit at 300 then resize to whatever you need). That way you'll have a print-quality original. When you resize for internet display, you can knock down the resolution to 72dpi though it's not entirely necessary. The most important thing here is to use "pixels" as your unit of measurement and NOT "inches" or "centimeters" or whatever.