resizing an image for better quality

[johnnysdream]

Nothing too serious here but I was just curious about something.Two something's actually.Most of us are aware that in order to achieve a higher quality image,we start off making the image huge then resize it smaller.How do YOU guys do this?Do you scale it down with the move tool?Or do you resize it under the image menu?Does it matter?

 Secondly,lets say I want a final image of 1000x1000 and I start it off with a size of 2000x2000 so I can scale it down later,do you work on the image at 2000x2000 or zoom out and work on it smaller?Just curious.

[david.atwell]

1. You should resize using the image menu option.  It's much more precise.
2. You should work on it at 2000x2000.  Actually, if you want a final image of 1000x1000, you should work at 4000x4000.  Work as big as you can, then shrink down.  And shrink it as precisely as you can for smoother lines (see answer #1),

Take a look at my DPI Tutorial for more info about this.

[johnnysdream]

Thank you David.Actually I did read the article you wrote and thats what made me think of the question.A good read.

[Ego Eram Reputo]

Yes, resize using the menu & Resize dialog.  

 

I always choose a factor of 2 as the starting size i.e. 2x, 4x, 8x...,  These even multiples of two scale nicely when you're resizing.

[skullbonz]

At twice the size you can also zoom out the window to 50% while working on it to see how it looks and them back to 100% to add or change anything.  Then when you are done resize using the Resize under the Image tab. I always keep a copy of both sizes.  

Edited May 22, 2014 by skullbonz