Stormfront Models Decals Prototypes

rickshaw · December 23, 2012, 03:19:30 PM

There is usually an option in one of the drop down menus to check "properties" or something similar.

Which graphics program are you using?

deathjester · December 24, 2012, 07:00:50 AM

Nope, not in 'properties', not in Paint!

deathjester · January 28, 2013, 06:35:39 AM

If you want to see the whole range (to date) of these decal sets, just click on the link at the bottom of my post!

Dizzyfugu · January 28, 2013, 09:12:31 AM

Quote from: The Wooksta! on December 23, 2012, 06:32:25 AM
What's the resolution in dots per inch - DPI? You need a minimum of 200dpi to get a decent print. They look to be 72dpi, which is the highest a monitor can go - anything higher and it doesn't show.

Same question here. Did you draw them up with MS Paint as Bitmaps? Agree with Wooksta - they look grainy in the online view, which is O.K. to see what "is there", but it's far from being enough for a decent print. 200DPI is minimum, 300 better (it's the standard for printing products), and printing from a bitmap like .BMP or a .JPG has quality issues - better would be a vectorized file.

The Wooksta! · February 05, 2013, 08:23:58 AM

For colour and certainly for decals, the higher resolution you can get, the better.

pyro-manic · February 05, 2013, 08:56:45 AM

Quote from: deathjester on December 24, 2012, 07:00:50 AM
Nope, not in 'properties', not in Paint!

Oh gawd, don't use paint!

Go to www.gimp.org and download. It's 90% of what Photoshop is, and free.

deathjester · February 05, 2013, 01:22:23 PM

Ok, thanks! I'll take a look at that! Like the title says, they are prototypes, so any improvements I can make are always gonna be welcome!

Dizzyfugu · February 07, 2013, 05:08:42 AM

Gimp is a very good graphic program. I normally use Corel Draw on a PC, but also downloaded Gimp 2.6 some time ago because it offers additional functions like effect filters. Gimp is IMHO not as easy to handle as Corel (it's maybe because I have been working with Corel for years, though), but a VERY good freeware package for more professional graphic design. I am just not certain at the moment if Gimp offers vector graphics. It definitively has very good bitmap capabilities (think of MS Paint on steroids), but for decal masters I'd go for a vector format, since you can export the file in any resolution you want.

Give Gimp a try - it's worth it!

deathjester · February 07, 2013, 07:07:35 AM

Quote from: Dizzyfugu on February 07, 2013, 05:08:42 AM
Gimp is a very good graphic program. I normally use Corel Draw on a PC, but also downloaded Gimp 2.6 some time ago because it offers additional functions like effect filters. Gimp is IMHO not as easy to handle as Corel (it's maybe because I have been working with Corel for years, though), but a VERY good freeware package for more professional graphic design. I am just not certain at the moment if Gimp offers vector graphics. It definitively has very good bitmap capabilities (think of MS Paint on steroids), but for decal masters I'd go for a vector format, since you can export the file in any resolution you want.

Give Gimp a try - it's worth it!

No, it's not.

It is incapable of altering an image to any meaningful degree, it actually made it worse! The decals I make now may not be the finest you can get, but they are clear, nicely sized, and easy to create. Using Gimp, they wouldn't be...

I'll stick with Paint for the moment, thanks!!

The Wooksta! · February 07, 2013, 07:18:16 AM

Except I think you're taking a small image and trying to make it bigger when you should be doing the inverse. A small image scanned at a reasonable resolution will look increasingly smeary as you make it larger. If you've scanned it in at 72dpi - and from what I've seen of the prototypes, it looks like it - then you will get bitmap crap out when you print it.

Scan it BIG and at a high resolution then make it the size you want but keep the same resolution.

Dizzyfugu · February 07, 2013, 08:00:43 AM

Yup. Wooksta is correct. Paint only allows you work at monitor resultion, which is 72-96dpi, normally. What looks goo on your monitor is NOT enough for printing, esp. when you use Paint for design. It works in pixels - and when you scale these up to a printable dpi scale, you get rough edges, blurred lines, "staircases". When you work with scanned bitmaps, get them at high res, 300dpi minimum - but working on them with Paint is painful, be warned. Gimp is much more comfortable in this regard.
The more professional approach is using vector grapics for design - these "evade" the bitmap mess, as you can scale the designs virtually to any size without quality loss, and from this mathematical representation of the image you are able to export a high quality bitmap that perfectly printable.

Sounds complicated, and that's just a very rough idea how computer graphics work. But Paint is IMHO not the way to go

deathjester · February 07, 2013, 01:54:19 PM

Erm, no. I started out big, then made it smaller. Then it all turned crappy...