Discussion of the Week: Resizing

Dragonfly

Dragonfly

~Queen of Sarcasm~
Moderator
New discussion time :) This week's topic: Resizing

I think a lot of people, especially when they're just starting out, have trouble with resizing, so this week's discussion is going to focus on that.

Here's a few questions to get the conversation started:

- At what point in the process do you resize your icon?
- How do you keep your graphics from getting a 'squished' or 'stretched' look?

... okay, I confess, those are the only ones I can think of :lol: But if there's anything else you want to add, feel free.
 
... and now I'm going to answer my own questions :lol: I just wanted this in a separate post.

When I first started out, I used to resize my icon last. I'd crop it, do whatever with it, and then resize it when I was finished. I did this because I thought it was easier to work with a larger canvas. However, I've since learned that it's a lot better to resize the icon (or banner) as soon as it's been cropped. That way, everything stays proportioned properly (text, brushes, etc). I think it just looks better in end.

As for keeping the image properly proportioned, well, I think that actually has more to do with cropping than resizing. You just need to make sure to crop the image in the proportions that you want it... which I think we'll cover in the next discussion thread. I just wanted to include that bit in case anyone disagrees with me :p
 
At what point in the process do you resize your icon?
Right after I crop it. I do not get how someone can do everything to their icon first and then resize it. Plus, with text and stuff, resizing after just usually makes the icon look worse. And if you have textures that you use, stretching them out to fit your icon before resizing, and then resizing them back to normal, also makes them look weird. (Usually blurry.)

And for me personally, I find I do a better job with smaller icons anyway. That's why I hardly ever bother to do 140x140 icons (as I'm using one right now :rolleyes:), because I can make them look better as 100x100. So resizing right away makes it easier for me.

How do you keep your graphics from getting a 'squished' or 'stretched' look?
You crop it and then you resize to the size your crop was. If you crop something 100x100 you shouldn't resize it to 100x150. It'll look weird. If you wanted something 100x150 you'd crop it 100x150 to begin with.
 
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I used to resize last because I couldn't figure out how to resize in PSP and PS, so I used sites like iresize.com and such. But now that I'm finally able to resize in PSP and PS, I crop then resize and then add the text, brushes, etc. Although sometimes I add pics to something with Picture It, because I haven't figured out how to add an extra pic and get it the size I need it with PS or PSP. So, I add it to a big background, then I open it in PSP or PS, crop it and then resize... and then add text/brushes/tubes, etc. Picture It won't let me resize, or at least the 99 version won't. The premium version might, I'm not sure. Haven't tried it yet. :lol:
 
I'm a bit of a FanArt virgin here, but I usually crop my pic to the size needed, & skip re-sizing all together; & if I want a subject/face(s) more focused on then I upload it into my photobucket at the largest available size, then crop before adding any effects/borders -- resizing tends to make everything blurry (when I do it anyway).

I would like some feedback on this issue, cause I only work with what photobucket provides & I don't plan to upgrade, so if anyone has any good tips I'd appreciate them. :)
 
MJ, you can download gimp or Photoscape, they are free programs. You can size things in Photoscape. I know a lot of people use gimp (my computer didn't like it lol) and I'm fairly sure you can size things on there. You could always use one of the resizing sites and resize the original pic and then add text in photobucket though. iresize.com is one of the sites I used to use and resize2mail.com is the other one.

When I resize after cropping in PSP or PS, I always sharpen the resized version once so it doesn't look blurry.
 
luf100 said:
And for me personally, I find I do a better job with smaller icons anyway. That's why I hardly ever bother to do 140x140 icons. So resizing right away makes it easier for me.
Click to expand...
Ditto! I prefer 100x100 icons. I feel more comfortable with less space. I guess that's why making WPs is so difficult for me...way too much space to cover :lol: All my resources are for 100x100 icons and adjusting their size makes them look blurry and stuff.

At what point in the process do you resize your icon?
I resize right at the beginning. I noticed that resizing later in the process makes the icon look darker and it loses some of its sharpness. Even the color looks different.

How do you keep your graphics from getting a 'squished' or 'stretched' look?
PS CS2 comes with that nice feature called Constrain Proportions which comes in very handy when you're resizing ;) It keeps your icon from looking squished and that's a very important thing I think. An icon may be ever so nicely colored, etc., but if it's squished, it loses very much of its appeal.
 
At what point in the process do you resize your icon?

I take my screencap and knock it down to about 200 or 300 depending on the image (usually from 1000 or 800; most of my screencaps are large) and then paste it into a new image pre-sized at 100x100. From there, I crop and merge the layer.

How do you keep your graphics from getting a 'squished' or 'stretched' look?

I think it helps to know what kind of crop and/or crop size you want to work with in your icon before you start the actual icon. I usually know by looking at the screencap, what size I want my subject to be before I paste the image into my new page (sized at 100x100).

I also don't use the whole screencap, but I put a box around the general area I want and paste that, leaving room for me to move the image where I want within that 100x100 space, if that makes sense. So I'm actually pasting in more than I need in the interest of trying out a crop or squaring everything up (rule of thirds and all that).

luf100 said:
I do not get how someone can do everything to their icon first and then resize it. Plus, with text and stuff, resizing after just usually makes the icon look worse. And if you have textures that you use, stretching them out to fit your icon before resizing, and then resizing them back to normal, also makes them look weird. (Usually blurry.)
Click to expand...

That's mostly the reason I do everything in that little space -- most resources are fabricated for the 100x100 template. The other reason being that I find it easier to work in a smaller space, either because I'm just used to it or because something bigger makes it seem like there's too much empty space. :lol: There are some really talented people that make larger icons (120x120 or 140x140) look great but I'm not sure it'll ever be my forte.

^ What cathwillows said (*iz slow* lol).
 
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I might be the only person who does this but I always used to resize my icon last. I don't know why. But it's not like I add text to it or anything. I find it easier to have the full image. Get all the colouring out of the way and then crop and resize the image to the size I need it to be :lol: after that I add text and stuff. Never tried doing it the way ya'll do, I find it hard to work with such a small canvas/image.
 
At what point in the process do you resize your icon?
I do it completely backwards, but I'd rather do it this way anyway :p I paste my cap into a layer either 300x300 or 200x200 pixels. I move it around until I get the crop that I want and then I resize it and then I work on my coloring :)

How do you keep your graphics from getting a 'squished' or 'stretched' look?
If your crop size is equal in proportions, you should not get squished looking icons. If you're working with something odd sized to begin with, you're crops are going to look odd and the icon will be squished/blurry. Working with hq images is a must, lq images is going to give low quality icons imo. Also try sharpening your image before coloring, sometimes you can get a better result if you do it before opposed to after.

I use photoshop and I think the key to resizing is a nice resolution and an even size. Every time I see someone who has sized an icon in an off the wall size, ie 100x75 instead of a nice and even 100x100 I think it looks odd and weird. 72 pixels is a nice resolution to use :)
 
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