Are small resolution page sizes in DPAINT possible?

[Ral-Clan]

Hi,

Deluxe Paint allows you to specify the "page size" for the image you are working on, regardless of the actual screen resolution you are using.  For instance, if you are using a 640x400 screenmode in DPaint, you can still edit a 800x600 resolution image by only viewing parts of the larger image at a time and scrolling around.

But I can't seem to get DPaint to accept SMALLER page sizes than the screen that is showing.  For instance, if I want to create an animated GIF that is 150x150 pixels, I thought I could just open up a 320x200 resolution DPAINT screen (a standard Amiga Lo-Res screen) and then go into the Page Size menu option and specify a lower resolution page size of 150x150.

But this doesn't seem to work.  The page size remains the full 320x200 resolution of the Amiga Lo-Res screen and when I go back into the Page Size menu option I see it didn't accept my 150x150 specifications.

So....I'm just trying to confirm here with anyone else who is a DPaint user - is what I'm trying to do in DPaint impossible?

Thanks.

[Mrs Beanbag]

You can pick a small area of an image as a brush and save it, it's the same image format. That's what I do.

[Gilloo]

No, DPaint can't animate smaller than the screen.
but you can grab and save an animbrush, with can be smaller than the screen (available since DPaintIII). Animbrushes got the same file format as anim, less screen mode.

[ChaosLord]

I have drawn small gfx in dpaint many times.  I have to do that for making game gfx.

What I do:
1. Decide how big my gfx is allowed to be.

2. Draw 2 lines in the upperleft of the screen at 1 pixel beyond my gfx max size.  So I know I have to stay inside this "box".  2 lines like this: _|

3. I draw my gfx into the upper left of the screen inside the "box".  I use the rest of the screen to cut and paste other gfx or to do experiments and things.

4. When I am done I pick up my gfx as a brush.  Then save the brush to disk.

[Ral-Clan]

That's a good tip, ChaosLord (to use visual margin lines).

What I want to do is make an Amiga animation in DPaint that has a 16:9 screen ratio.

The resolution, will of course be low (something like 640 x 377) but when enlarged will fit onto a 16:9 television screen without black bars at the side or cutting off the top and bottom of the animation.

I know Personal Paint (DTV clone with RTG compatibility) can deal with custom screen resolutions, but the animation tools in DPAINT are better.

[ChaosLord]

Can't you just make a fullscreen anim in Dpaint using 640x400 NTSC mode and just don't use the bottom of the screen?

Draw a line across the bottom of the screen at y=377 (or whatever) and don't draw anything into that area.

At the end you could just erase the line.  Then save your full screen anim.

I have not really done fullscreen anims in Dpaint.  Maybe I made 1 or 2 as an experiment a century ago and now I forgot?  Donno.  My gf was the one who made fullscreen dpaint anims.

[Ral-Clan]

Yeah, that's the way I will have to do it (line marking the part of the screen that will later be cut off in the video editor).

Too bad, as it would save a little memory to be able to work in a, say, 200 x 200 screen without having useless margins you are just going to cut off later.