We now return to the gang in the labyrinth. Where's a Holy Hand Grenade when you need one? (Shame on you if you've never seen Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail.)Notice anything different in todays page? I guess the most noticeable thing in the thumbnail is that the words are clear and easy to read. That's actually the result of the real change which you can only see in the full size image.
Taking some advice from Scott McCloud, I set my drawing to 1200 ppi. I have heard about this before but it was never really said why this is a good idea. Mr. McCloud's book, Making Comics, actually shows you what a higher ppi will do.
Basically, working at a higher scale allows you to vary the brush size easier for a greater variety of line thicknesses. Working at 300 ppi (which I usually do), forces you to use tiny 3-5 pixel brushes to get any detail. At 1200 ppi, I can use a 20 pixel brush to get the same quality of line. This allows greater flexibility, and I can use pressure sensitive brushes now for even better line quality.
One thing to be aware of is that 1200 ppi files are huge. Once you're done, you should save your final Photoshop (or whatever drawing program you are using) image at 300 ppi (for print) and save your web image (.jpg or .gif) at 72 ppi. Oh, and when scanning in images, scan then at the highest ppi you're scanner will allow. It's much easier to clean up a 600 or 1200 ppi image then a 300 ppi one.
I highly recommend Making Comics to anyone interested in telling a story with pictures. Although the focus is on comics, his advice and examples can be applied to other forms of art as well.
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