I was just curious about image resolutions. When creating a high definition animation, is it better to go with a larger resolution, or a larger canvas size? Does blender handle one way better than the other? I notice that 72dpi is a default for a lot of settings in blender, which is why I wonder.
Doesn’t make any difference…
When using the texture map, the only thing that blender cares about is pixel resolution. The DPI setting is only really meaningful when used in the context of printing something.
Notice that in photoshop you can view an image as 100% or view it as print-size. In the second case, the DPI setting is being used, but in the case of a UV map you should disregard the DPI setting and concentrate on the resolution.
It is also worth noting that huge res textures are a waste unless you plan on getting very close to the object that’s texture mapped. Here’s an article that discusses this in some depth.
http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/tutorials/texture_res/texture_res.html
thanks, so does blender handle larger pixel resolution better, or larger image dimensions better? I’ll read the link now
EDIT: ah, wait I get it. pixel resolution IS the dimensions ::slaps face::
what about file formats? I’ve noticed that tga seems to be the norm in the 3d world. In reason for this?
As far as image formats are concerned, you should use a format that uses lossless compression .TGA fits the bill quite nicely here, as does AFAIK .PNG
The other thing to think about is whether you need an alpha channel or not. Jpegs cannot have one, GIFs have a transparency that’s either on or off, while .PNGs have an 8 bit alpha channel, allowing them to represent 256 different levels of transparency.
I know TGAs will do transparency, but forget if it’s a blendable transparency like PNGs have or an on/off thing like GIFs. Wiki should be able to say, I would expect.
Then there’s always stuff like Pixar’s format which can include depth information if I recall correctly. Also, EXR will store multiple layers, then there’s Cineon etc, etc.
PNGs & TGAs are all I use. TGAs for painted textures and PNGs for render output or texture blending maps that have been made using vertex painting. I only touch jpgs when sending a render out over the net.