Wow, I stepped out of my usual forum... I feel so exposed.
Anyways, I was wondering about how exactly I compress my comic images. Right now it is about 120kb and, personally, I think that is way to big for a comic.
I know most of the graphics software (photoshop, fireworks, paintshop) but haven't yet figured out compression.
Advice, anyone?
Thanks.
Compressing images
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TheWhiner
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Compressing images
[christianX]
Mr. Whiner
Photoshop is generally very good at compressing images. Your best bet is to save every image with the 'Save for web' feature, and then choose the 4-up option. This should give you a four pannel set up with four different versions of your comic. The one on the upper left is generally your original image, this will show you how you intended the image to look. The other three will be compressed versions of the original. To the right are all the options for each variation. You can switch between gif and jpg. Choosing gif will give you a couple of options, the most important of which is the number of colors. The fewer the colors, the smaller your image will be, but photoshop will try to guess which colors it should use to limit itself to your choice, often giving you strange results.
If you choose jpeg, you have to deal with the 'quality' slider. This may seem easier, but jpeg is not always the best choice. Moving the slider will increase or decrease the quality of the image, and with it the size of the image. Jpegs should be used for images with alot of variations between colors, for example a photo, or a gradiant. Gifs are better for flat color, which seems to be more your art style. One suggestion, if you plan to maintain a rather flat coloring style, you may want to get away from gradiants, as it makes it hard to do both well under compression.
Hopefully this isnt all redundant information. If you have any questions feel free to reply here, Ill check back every once and awhile.
Photoshop is generally very good at compressing images. Your best bet is to save every image with the 'Save for web' feature, and then choose the 4-up option. This should give you a four pannel set up with four different versions of your comic. The one on the upper left is generally your original image, this will show you how you intended the image to look. The other three will be compressed versions of the original. To the right are all the options for each variation. You can switch between gif and jpg. Choosing gif will give you a couple of options, the most important of which is the number of colors. The fewer the colors, the smaller your image will be, but photoshop will try to guess which colors it should use to limit itself to your choice, often giving you strange results.
If you choose jpeg, you have to deal with the 'quality' slider. This may seem easier, but jpeg is not always the best choice. Moving the slider will increase or decrease the quality of the image, and with it the size of the image. Jpegs should be used for images with alot of variations between colors, for example a photo, or a gradiant. Gifs are better for flat color, which seems to be more your art style. One suggestion, if you plan to maintain a rather flat coloring style, you may want to get away from gradiants, as it makes it hard to do both well under compression.
Hopefully this isnt all redundant information. If you have any questions feel free to reply here, Ill check back every once and awhile.