- One of the most annoying obstacles for new digital artists
are lines that just seem to look jagged no matter what.
There are several reasons why this could be happening,
and once you know how to fix the problem,
your digital line work is instantly
going to look smoother and more professional.
(pencil scratching)
(paper ripping and scrunching)
My first tip is to beware of the resolution
that you're using.
You do not want to use a low resolution
if you want to avoid jagged lines.
If you use a small brush on a low resolution canvas,
then you're always going to get jagged lines no matter what
because there just aren't enough pixels
to make a smooth line.
Instead of that low resolution canvas,
try starting at a larger scale.
Let's say your intended print
is going to be eight by 10 inches.
Well instead of eight by 10, start at 11 by 14,
or even larger than that.
Or you could also increase the resolution of the file.
Increasing the resolution means
that there will be more pixels in your line.
So as you can see in the 72 PPI version,
the line is a little bit more jagged because it has fewer pixels.
And as we start to increase the PPI,
the line starts to get smoother and smoother
because it contains more pixels.
But there are downsides to increasing the resolution
or the dimensions of the artwork.
For example, it can make your art application run slower,
(crickets chirping)
and it creates very large file sizes.
Another thing you could try
is making your brush just a bit thicker.
Add some thickness to it
and you won't see those jagged edges quite as easily.
Another important consideration is to make sure
that you're using an anti-aliased brush.
Some art applications have anti-aliasing options.
Aliasing means that the edge is going to be more jagged
than an anti-aliased edge, which means that the pixels
will be smoothed out along the edge,
giving a visual appearance of the brush being smoother.
Don't want to deal with resolution?
I don't blame you.
Then you can make you artwork in vector format
using something like Adobe Illustrator, CorelDRAW,
heck, even Clip Studio Paint has vector drawing tools.
Using the vector format will make sure that your lines
always appear smooth on screen,
so long as the image remains in vector format.
However, if you rasterize and scale the image down,
or if you print the image at a low resolution anyways,
then of course, those jagged edges are going to come back.
Tip number two is to pay attention to
the file format that you're saving as.
For example, if you're saving as a lossy file format
such as a JPEG, JPEG is going to compress your image
to make the file size smaller,
and in the process it might throw away some detail
and make your edges a little bit more jagged,
or create jaggedness throughout your artwork.
So when possible rather than saving as a JPEG,
save as a PNG, and that'll make sure that you get
fewer jagged artifacts when you're saving your artwork.
You might also keep in mind that if you're working in BMP
or bitmap format, and you may notice that line art
made in the bitmap format looks particularly jagged.
Tip number three is to beware of too much enlargement.
Zooming in to an image past 100% will cause jagged lines,
because the image's pixels are being viewed from closer.
Likewise, enlarging an image beyond 100%
is going to cause jagged edges too,
because you're inflating the pixels and making them bigger.
So if you're concerned about jagged edges,
don't zoom in past 100%.
Or if you do, just make sure that you zoom out often enough
to get an idea for how the lines really look.
And do not enlarge your line art.
Start large and then reduce the image down if you need to.
Tip number four is know the limitations of your hardware.
Your screen and your computer have a limitation
to the amount of pixel density that they can display.
If you zoom your canvas out too far,
your screen may actually be the cause of the jagged lines.
Make sure you're using the highest resolution
that your display can support.
This is often the default resolution.
You could also view your artwork on a secondary monitor
that's in a higher resolution.
And in the case of display tablets that you draw onto,
you could upgrade to a display tablet
that supports a higher resolution such as QHD or 4K.
Tip number five is coming up next, but before that,
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And my final tip number five
is to be aware of your tablet sensitivity.
(slow sad piano music)
If you've tried everything I've mentioned previously
and you're still getting jagged lines when you're drawing,
then it's possible that it's your drawing tablet
that's causing the jagged lines.
Some cheaper alternative brand tablets
just create wobbly lines no matter what.
I think it has something to do with the sensors
in the tablet being too sensitive.
What you can do to fix this
is you can enable Brush Smoothing or Stabilization.
Now this is going to slow your line down ever so slightly.
If you add more stabilization, then of course
it'll slow it down more, making your brush more stable.
That does a great job of smoothing out jagged
or wobbly lines, but it comes at the expense
of making your brush feel a little bit laggy.
This can make it very difficult to sketch and draw loosely
because your brush is moving
a lot more slowly than your hand.
If you don't like this, then really your only option
is to get a better drawing tablet
that offers a better pen experience.
I'll also mention that the pressure sensitivity of your pen
can also control the jaggedness of lines.
For example, if you're using a drawing tablet
that has 512 levels or less of pen pressure,
then you may find that the transitions
between light and heavy pressure are a little bit jumpy,
and thusly, a little bit more jagged.
Again, getting a drawing tablet that has a better pen
is going to help with this.
Alright, so now you know how to draw smoother lines
without those artwork-ruining jagged edges.
If you're interested in learning more about Brush Smoothing,
check out my next video which is a discussion about
whether or not brush smoothing will hold back your art.
Thanks for watching and I'll see you next time.
(groovy music)