Just found out my "digital painting" was way smaller than I thought

I was getting ready to print a piece for a local show in Tulsa, and decided to check the actual print size options. Turned out my canvas was only 2000x1500 pixels, which at 300 DPI is barely 6x5 inches. I've been posting this thing online for weeks thinking it was some big detailed piece, but it would print out smaller than a postcard. Anybody else ever realize their canvas settings were way off after the fact?

2 comments

2 Comments

richard_roberts8026d agoMost Upvoted

Used to think I was pretty good about checking canvas size before I get deep into a piece. Ngl, this post kinda flipped my head around though. I always figured bigger pixels meant I was safe for printing but never did the math on DPI vs actual inches. Caught myself starting a new project last night and actually stopped to calculate print size first. Feels stupid but I get why it's important now, especially for shows.

fionarodriguez26d ago

Honestly, I'm gonna push back on this a little. 2000x1500 pixels at 300 DPI is actually a pretty standard canvas size for a lot of digital illustration. Ngl, most people printing for a local show aren't going to notice the difference between a 6x5 inch print and something bigger unless you're hanging it in a gallery. Tbh, if you were posting it online for weeks and nobody said "hey, this would look tiny as a print," it might not even matter for the show.