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  1. #1

    Post Image size & resolution

    Maybe this has been asked and answered here before, but I can't find it if it has...

    I'm not interested in using a VTT for a direct connection to my players, but more to load premade photoshop maps so that I can maneuver the tokens and whatnot, and then export a screenshot to EN World.

    The question I have is about resolution... dpi, ppi, csi, fbi, whatever; is there a minimum screen size/resolution that is considered standard? Basically I'd like to make a custom preset size in photoshop that I can just open and start drawing.

    Thanks in advance.


    -IG

  2. #2
    Community Leader jfrazierjr's Avatar
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    Post

    Quote Originally Posted by industrygothica View Post
    Maybe this has been asked and answered here before, but I can't find it if it has...

    I'm not interested in using a VTT for a direct connection to my players, but more to load premade photoshop maps so that I can maneuver the tokens and whatnot, and then export a screenshot to EN World.

    The question I have is about resolution... dpi, ppi, csi, fbi, whatever; is there a minimum screen size/resolution that is considered standard? Basically I'd like to make a custom preset size in photoshop that I can just open and start drawing.

    Thanks in advance.


    -IG
    For best results, 50 px for "5 foot" square or some higher factor of that is best. Most people make their maps using 100, 150, or even 200px per 5 foot section.

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  3. #3

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    Bah.. good thing my wife's a math teacher!

  4. #4

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    Here's a breakdown of the steps I use to set my canvas size.

    * Make a sketch and estimate a scale for it.
    * From the sketch, determine the total width in feet of the area I'll be mapping.
    * Pick a pixel-foot scale. For VTT battlemats, that would be on the order of 20 - 40 pixels / foot.
    * Multiply the number of feet by the number of pixels in each foot. (A 75' X 125' battlemat at 40px / foot gives an images resolution of 3000 X 5000.)
    * Evaluate whether the target resolution seems appropriate and/or useable. If it's too big, adjust the pixels / foot downward. If it's rather small, adjust pixels / foot upward.

    If you're designing only for VTTs, dpi settings don't matter at all--you can safely ignore that field.
    Last edited by Midgardsormr; 06-28-2008 at 08:51 PM. Reason: Adjusted numbers for more desirable VTT resolution.
    Bryan Ray, visual effects artist
    http://www.bryanray.name

  5. #5

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    Thanks guys - I really appreciate your help.

    See, that's why I love this site. I know I can ask a question and get at least a couple of good answers fairly quickly. You guys rock.

    -IG

  6. #6
    Community Leader Facebook Connected Ascension's Avatar
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    I read the Dunjinni forums for pointers there. If I remember rightly, they all seem to prefer 200px per 5 foot when doing encounter maps, but will settle for 100 or 150. For city or regional maps I don't know though, maybe in the CC3 website forums.

  7. #7

    Post

    That'd be 40 px / foot, then. I'll adjust my earlier advice to suit.

    Incidentally, as Gamerprinter pointed out some months ago, if you design at 200 px / 5 feet, 200 dpi, and a printed scale of 1" = 5 feet, your printed image res and VTT image res are identical.
    Bryan Ray, visual effects artist
    http://www.bryanray.name

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