Step #2 Production

So you have an idea, or you have some art... let's go!!

You've already probably decided where and how you are going to deploy your web comics. If not, look over your options and think about how the design will affect how you produce your work.

Scanning

If you have created all or part of your art outside of a computer, you'll need to scan it in. Even though computer screen resolution is 72dpi (dots per inch) it's best to scan your artwork in at 600dpi or 300dpi. At this point it's important to capture as much detail as possible.

Coloring

If you are scanning in line art that you will color in PhotoShop or some other paint program, make sure that you are scanning black and white tiff images. This will eliminate any ragged edges that you would get if you were scanning in grayscale. See Josh Farkas' video demonstration below on how to add color to your line art.

File Size

To improve the performance of your web site and to reduce unnecessary storage. Export your file at the exact size that it will be deployed on your web page. This includes height, width and resolution. Resolution should be 72dpi. Since computer screen resolution isn't any higher than 72dpi there is no need to go beyond that. Always remember to keep back-up copies of all your work at the higher resolution. You will need these files if you print them or if you need to make modifications down the road.

File Types

All web browsers support GIFs, PNGs, JPGs, and SWFs (flash files.) Here is list of the advantages and disadvantages for each file format.

  • GIFs: GIFs have been around since the beginning of the internet. They are best used when you have simple flat colored images. The GIF color palette only includes 256 colors. One of the advantages of GIFs is that they can have transparent backgrounds allowing you to place images on your web page that don't look like they are contained in a box. GIFs can also have multiple layers or frames to achieve simple animation. Animation will increase the file size. Nowadays it is best to use Flash for animated graphics, but animated GIFs are a cheap alternative for something very simple.
  • PNGs: PNGs are finally becoming the standard for high quality still images on the web. They support millions of colors as well as transparent backgrounds. File size is a bit higher than other formats, but since media rich sites are probably being viewed with a broadband connection, size shouldn't be a problem.
  • JPGs: JPGs have also been one of the internet's charter members and for a time was the only way to see good continuos tone images on the web. The compression sometimes displays ragged clumps of pixels near sharp lines, especially if they aren't exported at a high quality setting. If you are usinf flat colors, GIFs might be the better way to go.
  • SWFs: SWFs are animation files created in Adobe Flash or similar program. They are perfect for displaying eps graphics since there is no loss of resolution since it is a vector based platform. The cons are that the learning curve is a bit high for flash and if you are just creating still images it's probably not worth it. See Widgets in the deployment section for other ways to bring flash to your website.)
(Note: These are the most common file types, although conceivably you could also use formats used primarily for viewing movies.)