How to scale down a image without losing quality

[ArcLight]

Im using GIMP to edit and Im trying to make a skinny image, but problem is it loses quality... help?

[Thop]

Be more specific. Are you using the scale tool and just increasing/decreasing the width/height?

[Violeta]

did you start with a png, jpeg, or something else?

[Azza ☠]

It's more ideal scaling down, not up, however...

Since you are using GIMP, try:

Image » Scale Image. Enter your desired dimensions.

Under the Quality section choose "Sinc (Lanczos3)" as Interpolation method and click on the Scale Image button.

[Thop]

I'm just going to add that if you fallow what they said above and change the entire image at once, you can maintain it's quality by holding control while you scale. Alternatively when the scale tool window pops up, you might notice this chain looking thing to the immediate right of the height and width box. If you click it, then the height to width ratio will be maintained.

[ArcLight]

Publicado originalmente por Sashie:

did you start with a png, jpeg, or something else?

It was a mix of images, if you want to be more specific I was trying to make a youtube banner

[Thop]

Publicado originalmente por Aertew:

Publicado originalmente por Sashie:

did you start with a png, jpeg, or something else?

It was a mix of images, if you want to be more specific I was trying to make a youtube banner

So what are you trying to stretch? The entire banner or just one of the images you used to create it.

Since you appear to already be editing it, the file type should not matter atm.

[ArcLight]

Publicado originalmente por ¿dlǝɥ:

Publicado originalmente por Aertew:

It was a mix of images, if you want to be more specific I was trying to make a youtube banner

So what are you trying to stretch? The entire banner or just one of the images you used to create it.

Since you appear to already be editing it, the file type should not matter atm.

I'm trying to stretch the pictures one by one as layers is that possible to keep the quality? If not then let's say I am gonna stretch one of the images in a separate gimp screen.

[Thop]

Publicado originalmente por Aertew:

Publicado originalmente por ¿dlǝɥ:

So what are you trying to stretch? The entire banner or just one of the images you used to create it.

Since you appear to already be editing it, the file type should not matter atm.

I'm trying to stretch the pictures one by one as layers is that possible to keep the quality? If not then let's say I am gonna stretch one of the images in a separate gimp screen.

Hmm, if you're making a youtube banner, why not just leave the layers on top of one background layer?

Maybe I'm just confused, could you upload what you have done onto steam so we can look at it? I feel like if we could see what you were trying to do the advice would be a lot better.

[ArcLight]

Publicado originalmente por ¿dlǝɥ:

Publicado originalmente por Aertew:

I'm trying to stretch the pictures one by one as layers is that possible to keep the quality? If not then let's say I am gonna stretch one of the images in a separate gimp screen.

Hmm, if you're making a youtube banner, why not just leave the layers on top of one background layer?

Maybe I'm just confused, could you upload what you have done onto steam so we can look at it? I feel like if we could see what you were trying to do the advice would be a lot better.

Ok I can try I guess, but basically all I want to do is have the quality of the images stay the same when lowering the height and increasing the width.

[Propiniukas]

HOW TO ROTATE TEXT IN MS PAINT.

ECKS DEEE DEEE

[print(name)]

Publicado originalmente por Aertew:

Publicado originalmente por Sashie:

did you start with a png, jpeg, or something else?

It was a mix of images, if you want to be more specific I was trying to make a youtube banner

If you're trying to fit several images in one big image then you should crop the images instead so it fits. Some details will be cropped out but that's much better than messing with their dimensions as that will be horrible and look bad. Just downscaling an already "fitable" image is completely fine, though.

[ArcLight]

Publicado originalmente por Lommemannen:

Publicado originalmente por Aertew:

It was a mix of images, if you want to be more specific I was trying to make a youtube banner

If you're trying to fit several images in one big image then you should crop the images instead so it fits. Some details will be cropped out but that's much better than messing with their dimensions as that will be horrible and look bad. Just downscaling an already "fitable" image is completely fine, though.

But the height is really small, as like I said before it's for a YouTube banner, so I think the height is tiny, the images I use wouldnt fit even if I cropped some parts out.

[print(name)]

Publicado originalmente por Aertew:

Publicado originalmente por Lommemannen:

If you're trying to fit several images in one big image then you should crop the images instead so it fits. Some details will be cropped out but that's much better than messing with their dimensions as that will be horrible and look bad. Just downscaling an already "fitable" image is completely fine, though.

But the height is really small, as like I said before it's for a YouTube banner, so I think the height is tiny, the images I use wouldnt fit even if I cropped some parts out.

If they are orginally larger than the one you're trying to fit them in then you can downscale by decreasing their heights to the banner one. Just make sure they keep the aspect ratio in the scaling by clicking on the "chain" icon next to the values input. Gimp will automatically adjust the width while you decrease to the required height.

[print(name)]

Publicado originalmente por Mr. Mister:

the only way you can scale down an image without loosing quality is if it's a vector graphic... you're always going to loose some degree of quality when shrinking a pixel based (raster) graphic.. the more you scale it down, the more you loose...

I wonder if OP is messing with the aspect ratio to make it fit. Instead of downscaling with fixed ratio or cropping it if neccesary.

[WERElektro]

A nice trick I always used was the old ms paint..
Open picture, press ctrl+s, profit.
I don't know how this worked, but the file size reduced by more than 50% while the image quality remained the same. Really. Nothing about the image changed... nothing visible that is.
Magic.
Unfortunately that doesn't work with the later paint versions.