# A good size to work with in PS?



## Khaiyote (Apr 25, 2010)

I am curious what size (in pixels) and what resolution most artists use when creating a new digital image, in my case I use PS 7(not sure if that matters). Thank you all for the help!


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## Aden (Apr 25, 2010)

I usually start my linework at 2k square and increase the canvas size as necessary for the background after that. But I don't draw often, so grain of salt and all that.

Edit: I should mention that I start at that relatively large size because I'll need it later down the line when I go to texture. If you're just doing flats or no colors at all then you can go a lot smaller.


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## Taralack (Apr 25, 2010)

I usually start with 1024x1024 as my default in SAI, and then expand however I need it.


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## Kangamutt (Apr 25, 2010)

I just work in 1024x1024.


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## Ilayas (Apr 25, 2010)

Pixel size depends on the piece it's self.  I like to stick at around the 300dpi resolution.


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## HyenaIsSpider (Apr 26, 2010)

I do my images at a minimum of 8.5 x 11 at 300 dpi. That equals 2550 x 3300 pixels.

Basically that's so it can be printed at high quality, obviously avatars and conbadges would be much smaller. How I figure it is, if it is supposed to be printed I take the intended print size in inches and set it to 300 dpi.


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## Centradragon (Apr 26, 2010)

Depends on the resolution you want... web-only stuff can be drawn much smaller than print-quality stuff.  

I generally draw at 11x17" (3300x5100) or bigger, since it's always easier adding detail into something large (and it's better to shrink down a drawing rather than have to expand it).
Basically, what Hyena said.    Just try not to dip below 300dpi if you're going to print, no matter the size.


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## ZiggyTheWolf (Apr 28, 2010)

2000 by 2000 with 400dpi is my standard now 
although i used to use 1920 by 1200 simply because it meant watever image could double as my desktop background if i liked it.


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## Smelge (Apr 28, 2010)

Wow.

The biggest I usually do is 1200 x 1200. I tried doing comic pages at 300dpi/A4 but it took too long and ate too much resources.


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## Arshes Nei (May 2, 2010)

I usually work at 4x the size of the posted piece.

HOWEVER, it's best to start off at a low resolution then scale up. Make sure your piece looks good at a low resolution, and even though it's going to look jaggy as you scale up, you can correct it on a new layer. 

This saves you time from working too large and watching your memory/cpu usage get sucked when you aren't sure what you're going for.


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## HyenaIsSpider (May 5, 2010)

Brinster said:


> 2000 by 2000 with 400dpi is my standard now
> although i used to use 1920 by 1200 simply because it meant watever image could double as my desktop background if i liked it.



Just so you know, dpi doesn't matter if you have a set pixel size. 

A 4000 x 4000 pixel image at 72 dpi is exactly the same size and quality as a 4000 x 4000 pixel image set to 300 dpi.

It only matters if you're talking about the image in inches. An 8.5 x 11 inch image at 72 dpi is 612 x 792 pixels. An 8.5 x 11 inch image at 300 dpi is 2550 x 3300 pixels. 

All that number tells you is how many pixels per inch and doesn't exactly describe the "quality" of the image as some people seem to think.


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