wallpaper sizes

[violamay]

I'm just getting into making wallpapers for myself and also to give away. I know what resolution my laptop screen has and consequently what resolution to make a wallpaper for my own use. But how do you approach making various resolutions for others? Do you have to remake the wallpaper in different sizes? That seems like a huge pain. But if you don't, then how do you resize it without distorting it? What are the sizes that you make your wallpapers for general use?

Thanks in advance.

Comments

[sara]

What I would do is make it in the biggest size I were going to do, then scale or crop down from there.

[violamay]

I made my first one at 1366x768 for my own laptop, which is a widescreen (16:9). I guess I'll have to play around and see if it can be cropped and still look good for other ratios. I put an awful lot of work into it and hate to have to start over. ::sigh:: Oh well, it's been a learning experience. Next time I'll start with a larger size.

Thanks for your comment.

[dragonwolf]

Check out the wallpapers on http://digitalblasphemy.com/ . Specifically, check out how he does the multiscreen vs single screen wallpapers (for the largest contrast, compare the tri-screen and 5:4 versions of some of his wallpapers). It will probably help you come up with some ideas for how to crop/scale your wallpapers without starting over.

[violamay]

It is helpful to see the various sizes he makes and to compare the versions as far as I can see without joining his site. He really does gorgeous work. Thanks so much for the link!

[rivenwanderer]

Seconding the advice to make the biggest version first. Depending on the wallpaper content, I'd also recommend making use of layers whenever possible--that way you can crop and scale the background differently than the foreground.

[violamay]

Got it. Thanks. I think I'll go to my saved version that has all the layers and see if I can play with it to make other sizes.