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Canvas size and image size – confused.
Hi,
I am really sorry about posting again but I cannot understand the canvas and image size function. Why is it if I change the canvas size to 10×3 then the image size also changes to 10×3? I thought the canvas would get larger and the image would remain the same. I just don’t get this at all can someone please explain? Many thanks. -
6 Replies
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Canvas size is the size of your document. If you change canvas size, not the art should change size. If a circle has a 1″ diameter, and the document is 3″x 3″, you have 1 inch of space around the circle. Increase the Canvas to 5″ x 5″, you still have a 1″ circle, but now you have 2″ extra on all sides.
Image size, however, changes that actual image. If you have the same circle and make the image size 5″ x 5″, the circle is now something like 1.7″ diameter.
Does that make sense?
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Hi,
thank you for replying. It makes sense in that it does not make any sense at all! That’s ok though as there will probably never be a time when I will have to have a canvas size of a different size to the image size as I will select my image to be the same size as a one frame of a camcorder. Thank you so much for your help though. I will try to reread your post again and understand what you are saying. Thank you.Mac OSX
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Sorry if that was confusing, I tend to ramble. The canvas size is just the size of the actual document, while the image size is the size of everything, including the art.
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I see. But wouldn’t it be easier for the image to be just the image size and the canvas to just be the document size surely? I don’t understand why photoshop have done things the way you explain as both the canvas size and image size always toggle to be exactly the same size. Just weird.
Mac OSX
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Thanks Jeff. For Meredith, this might help:
image size: get a balloon, write something on it. inflate it. the balloon size increases as well as the writing.
canvas size: get a balloon, past a piece of metal on it. inflate it. the balloon size increases while the piece of metal stays the same.
that’s why adobe give you both options. sometimes you want to increase the whole document size so everything is bigger, as the balloon and the writing. sometimes you want to increase the area of the document to fit more objects, like the balloon and the metal piece.
i hope this helps. my 6 year old got it. good luck!
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Meredith,
I’m with you– this seems strange to me too. I think it would make more sense to have image and canvas size independent. You’re not crazy or below a 6 year old’s intelligence as the last post seemed to imply.Here’s my problem…
I want to print a portfolio page with the image centered a certain way on the page (along with printed crop marks). The only way to do that in Photoshop (as far as I can tell) is to set the appropriate image size and then adjust to a larger canvas size to get the crop marks to show up properly. Unfortunately, this adds a huge number of white pixels, increasing the file size. I don’t want a larger overall image, just a larger canvas (so I get output crop marks). Seems like a pretty straightforward wish– don’t think I should need to go into Illustrator or InDesign to do it. Does anyone know a way to do this in Photoshop?
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