Advice for the distant future

[rtyer]

Assume I have created a work worthy of this august body of craftsmen (try to assume)
What would be a way to get it here while maintaining quality with a file size of 200k.
I have Photoshop 7 and can resize etc.

[Antimorph]

Very generally.

Save as a bitmap first.

Then optimize it for the web.

The image dimensions as well as its content will determine the final file size. Which of .gif or .jpg is better to use depends on the image itself.

If your image contains a high proportion of smooth color gradients, i.e. gradual transitions and soft shadows you should select to save as JPEG with a quality setting of 60-80.

If your image has a narrow range of solid color, blocky gradients, eg. cartoon or pen and ink, that requires per pixel definition, it is often better to choose .gif

Whichever is the best choice depends on the image.

Using adobes imageready you can quickly see which of these formats has the smaller file size.

If you absolutely have to have a 200K image imageready can optimise to a target file size too, but it's preferable to have the best quality at the smallest bandwidth cost, and you're the best judge of that.

[rtyer]

When I installed Adobe, I left Imageready off.( Save disc space )
Can something be down without installing it.
I have been reading about setting the document size to double what you think you will need and then halfing later.I don't know if this suggestion is just for anti-aliasing or image per se.
Terrific quality to me today is not that big an issue.
Garbage when its sharp is as good as garbage blurred.
But I want to get it right for that big moment 5, 10 years from now.
The images I have been seeing bespeak a quality larger than 200k
Thanks your help!!!!

[Antimorph]

Photoshop proper has a "Save for Web" option which will bring up a two(?) panel optimisation window that lets you do things as you might have done in imageready.

If you double your document and use Zbrush's AAHalf mode the quality of your renders will increase. The tradeoff is that you use more of your system resources working with large document specs.

Southerns large compilation image last week was a ~550K jpeg, if you want to display something like that you can, but you'll need your own webspace to host the image. There are plenty of folks here who'll lend you unbiased advice in that area.

There's so much to learn with Zbrush using small document sizes, infact you can learn loads using extremely small document sizes. 100x100 or less is great for figuring out unfamiliar render settings, and getting to grips with best renders and lights.

My advice is dominate small, fast, and cheap, then scale up.

[tjaden]

i usaully use the save for web function. mediun quality jpeg. and the degradation in quality is bearly noticable. you'll probably find alot of the work you'll produce in Zbrush will compress best as a jpeg due to lighting on 3D objects. i sent in a picture the other day that was 1400x1000 pixels that was only 40k. happy compressing!!! :)

[rtyer]

Antimorph, will take advice.
(Got to see your name again.)
Many thanks.