One Bit Image

[Jill]

Hello!
I have been working on (having lots of fun) a kids program doing some of the graphics with a friend who does all the hard work....Programming We are using Flash to creat the cartoon images and then exporting to photoshop/psp to add texture and extras after. My friend is making part of the program into a color book section. All black and white images. The problem is they lines are very pixelated. I can make the physical color book pages print fine because I do them at a high resolution and print at a high res. but the real question here is for the web/window everything is in bitmap and at 72 dpi.....so the pixelation problem. I have checked out all my sons color programs and some on the web and it's not so pixelated with them.
Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks so much in advance
~Jill~

[Jakaleena]

I started to respond, but realized that I just didn't quite have enough info or didn't understand completely what your dilemma is. Can you post samples of your problem and what you're trying to do? Or URL's?

A visual would sure help...

[Blacknight]

If I read correctly the images are made in Flash? Save them as Adobe Illustrator files (Export them) and then open them in either Illustrator or FreeHand, where they will be vector images (hopefully) instead of pixels and will look good at any size.

[Jill]

Thanks you two, I guess I don't know how to explain very well because I don't understand what I am talking about!
The images that start out in flash will be used in the childrens program as a black and white color book page on the computer screen. The person doing this said he needs to have the images in 1 bit sooooo just black and white....I guess I don't know if there is a setting to just start off drawing with only one color. I am guessing and have been playing around trying to figure this out. I can start off with just 4 bit but see no setting for 1.
I haven't use Illustrator so will try to export to that and see what I can do there blacknight. Jackaleena I am attaching the drawing at 1 bit so you can see what pixelation I mean. I appreciate the help on this one guys.....I am strickly a retoucher and this is a whole new area! Fun, but don't have a clue yet what I am doing

[Jakaleena]

I downloaded it and it does look to me to be a problem that a vector program might be helpful for. I'm not much of an expert on vector images, but from what I can see the lines are only about 2 pixels wide. Since pixels are square, I think that's what's causing the jagged edge problem. A large area with lots of pixels can appear smooth, but an area like this will show every pixel corner (at least that's my understanding). Since vector images aren't pixel based, they can actually be smooth where pixels can't...

[Doug Nelson]

the "pixelization" you refer to is called aliasing. Pixels are square, so any diagonal line will have this 'stairstep' pattern. It is especially obvious at low resolutions and with thin lines. Anti-aliasing can soften the effect, but requires shades of gray. You have a 1-bit, low-rez, illustration made with thin lines, so unless you can change something there's nothing you can do.

[Jill]

Thank you guys for your quick responce....I will be working on this! You guys are great

[Mike Needham]

I can't believe that somebody hasn't suggested this, but surely the obvious answer to your problem would be to partially create your site in vector (in other words flash).

Jpegs, gifs and even png will all give a pixelated look. But by creating it in flash you could achieve the result you require, it sounds like you have experience with the program and must be aware that it would also produce ideal file sizes for an intensely graphic heavy site dont despair that your target audience won't have flash either, over 94% of computer owners have it.

You don't have ot create the whole site in flash, just the graphics if you want. The bezier tools in flash are fairly powerful too.

good luck

[Jakaleena]

Originally posted by Mike Needham
it would also produce ideal file sizes for an intensely graphic heavy site dont despair that your target audience won't have flash either, over 94% of computer owners have it.

I don't have flash and absolutely refuse to view a website that forces me to view it without an alternative. I find it terribly annoying. I must be one of the odd 6%....

[Mike Needham]

But yet you embrace digital?

[Jakaleena]

Originally posted by Mike Needham
But yet you embrace digital?

Sure I do. I just dislike waiting all day for someone's idea of a cool flash show just to find out it's really not cool at all and I just wasted an enormous amount of time on it...

So, I've just stopped looking at them altogether.

[d_kendal]

yeah, a lot of people have ruined the reputation of Flash because of things like that. people make massive flash movies/animations/images or whatever that take forever to load and aren't really much more interesting then regular Gifs or Jpegs. the thing I like Flash for, is that you can make good looking stuff that loads almost instantly, which is great if you want a very visual website, but don't have a lot of server space. Flash is a great program, but way too many people use it in totally the wrong way (well, I think so anyway)

- David

[BigAl]

Although this is (almost) totally OT, I agree with Jak, if a site forces me to have to download flash, I don't need that site. David says it's quick on download, but I've wasted plenty of time waiting for irrelevant flash apps to download (download time depends on the efficiency of the server). I also agree with David, that flash is totally misused on most sites.

[Mike Needham]

HTML is the real killer Flash done badly is always associated with long load times, fancy bits and bobs but no substance. Poppycock. It's so small its being ported to pda and next gen g3 devices, used properly it enhances and compliments rather than detracts in any of the ways mentioned previously.

And if someone else would be smart enough to tell me just how they would go about producing this effect (no jaggies/pixelated) without flash, please come forward. Otherwise its the only viable method that I can think of.

Just getting back to my former rant, many of you objectors probably experience flash 20 times a day on your average surf and you never even know.

Sounds to me like you are taking retrograde action in a propane paced world.

[Jakaleena]

Flash done badly is always associated with long load times, fancy bits and bobs but no substance. Poppycock.

You may well be right. I know little about the mechanics of Flash. All I know is that when a site I'm viewing instructs me to "wait while the Flash loads" I get impatient and leave. I really appreciate those ones that have a "skip intro" function or something similar so that I can get right to whatever I was looking for in the first place.

And if someone else would be smart enough to tell me just how they would go about producing this effect (no jaggies/pixelated) without flash, please come forward.

Ummmm... Let's see... I'm pretty smart. I was the president of the Honor Society chapter in college and I have a pretty good IQ. And if I'm re-reading through the posts correctly, the word Vector was mentioned a few times before you mentioned Flash...

many of you objectors probably experience flash 20 times a day on your average surf and you never even know

Actually, I know you're probably right about that now that I think of it. And I truly do appreciate those sites that make it so unobtrusive that you never even realize it's there.

You are obviously a fan of Flash effects. I know almost nothing about them really. I do know that it is a fact in the way of the world that unless something is loud and/or annoying it really isn't noticed that often. And perhaps since the only Flash I am aware of is that which I find annoying, then that is what I have (erroneously perhaps) based my opinion on.

If you are knowledgeable about how Flash actually works (or is supposed to work), maybe you could start a thread in the Salon giving a basic explanation of it to us who are currently ignorant of it's positive side...?