What canvas size/resolution should you paint at? -Beginner artist tips

This is the most asked question that I get from beginners. I hope that This video will not just answer your question, but will inform you better about how resolutions and pixel dimensions work for both print and for drawing in digital programs like photoshop and sketchbook pro.

Things I've worked on:
Overwatch (PC, PS4)
League of Legends (PC)
Diablo 3 (PC,PS4)
Hearthstone (Mobile, PC)
Burning Crusade (PC)
Wrath of the Lich King (PC)
Indivisible
Unsung Story
Final Fight Streetwise (PS2)
He Man (GBA)
Terminator 3 (GBA)
CannonBallers (Mobile)
CreeD
Twilight Monk
Ikeda
Nova Colony
Galaxy's Edge
SodaPopSoldier
Millenium Actress
Goblins and Gnomes

[kamieaston]

"3840 x 2160 for 4k monitors."

Me with a 1080p monitor:
"Fuck it, let's go 6, 000 by 6, 000 and see if that works."

[danielmartinsen]

THANK YOU, I have struggled with this forever! Changing the resolution saved my drawing life! THANK YOU <3

[georgiawilk]

Oh my lord, I've been struggling with pixelation for ages, and my res has been so high. I never noticed it was set at 72p/i. Mind freakin blown.

[Dmitry]

portal 3 concept arts leaked right there

[ParadiseofDarkness]

I would suggest 1080p for hobbist artist because computers can have a hard time doing digital works at 4k. Specially for recording videos. Unless you got a good processor and mostly a lot a ram. Then I do 4k size. Even the best struggles at 4k rebderong a video if its got a lot of effects on it.

[star]

was wondering for like years why my drawing programs were so laggy when my computer is really good and turns out i've been drawing at 1000 dpi this whole god damn time and just never thought to look into it until right now im gonna scream

[companyoflosers]

I'd go with 600 dpi and double the resolution of whatever it is you intend to display it on. that way you are at the max resolution most printers work at and you can downscale the image for your actual usage. If a printer you are using can only do 300, you can always scale it back to 300 later. creating an image at a super high resolution, then scaling them down after, i find looks much cleaner than images that just start at the target resolution. plus you have a super high resolution version somewhere that is pretty well future-proofed in case standards change and you need to use it for something later on. i believe films work this way as well. most theaters now show movies in 4k but they are shot at much higher resolutions. not only is that done for ease of editing, but for future-proofing. many film companies anticipate re-releasing their works years down the line and need for it to look good enough for the standards at that time. this is all unless of course you are trying to do like a timelapse video or recording yourself while working. even working on a single still image, quadrupling your target resolution is very taxing on hardware unless you are capturing to an external device and computer. maybe im just working with a beast pc, but thats usually my method.

[bauscheusse]

Some computers struggle so I personally go with 1920p x 1920p and obv cut one to 1080p depending if I'm working on a landscape or portrait piece, though just keeping it in equal dimensions for doodles is fine as well you can always adjust later

[emiliagunning]

i never realized this was a thing. I always wondered why when I zoomed in to work on something like eyes it came out so pixelated. thank you so much!

[StarkXIII]

Ah, yes. At last, a video that goes directly to the point. Compact and direct.
I ain't new to digital arts but new to digital painting and thought settings would work the same. This clears things up for me so thanks :D

[HypOr]

There's no way that 4k is the standard monitor resolution. Perhaps for professional artists.

[SomD]

Dude I swear to god you saved me thank you so much this tutorial are so rare on YouTube thank you so damn much

[andurilguitar]

Bro, I'm a traditional artist and I've been trying to start with digital art this year but it has been a f****ing hard struggle. Hahaha I hope your advice works. Thanks a lot.

[cavaderkau]

Thank you werrry much. Now I drawing too much better. I use biger brushes, and can paint more details! This video help me and I hope everyone! Great, thank!

[Ranakade]

I never thought this topic would be covered! Thanks for covering this Trent!

[MShell]

OMFG THANK YOU! Been using Sketchbook and always wondered why my art was blurry.

[mgeorgescu]

1:16 since when 4k resolution became a '''standard''? Not there yet.

[varunkrishnaKyathanpally]

I have been scratching my hairless head about this. Thank you so much.

[alphagames]

Um, when I create a piece or game assets we work at double the resolution you will be outputting. So if 4K is going to be the output create at like 7680 x 4320. If you have to scale it down this is also a good method.

[Monmon-zjke]

I've been wondering why my art is so damn blurred so this is why, thanksss!!!!