Beauty is in the Eye of the... Monitor! 8( [GFX]

[The Witch]

Lately, I've been forced to go back and forth between my netbook and my mom's desktop comp (which has my GFX editor on it) anyway, I've noticed that after I upload whatever I've made onto the web it looks good on my GFX comp--but then when I go back to look at it on another computer it looks like complete and utter turd.

and that makes me

I see on tumblr a few people talk about how this happens to them and they usually swear to never look at their stuff on another computer again, a sort of blissful ignorance, I guess I'd like to do that but I can't. I have to know if it looks like crud on other screens so I just check

Anyway, my question is--does this happen to anybody else here? Do you make something you like and then hate it completely when you see it on another monitor/screen? or am I freaking alone here

 

[Exoskeleton]

Well I've never really noticed much of a difference in GFX and screens. o_o I've used my television as a monitor before and noticed that the pixels seem to be more noticeable. Are there any specific changes you're talking about? As for other computers I honestly haven't really noticed much of a difference with school monitors, and such but it probably would effect me if I thought it looked terrible on another screen so you're not alone there. As for having to know if it looks like crud I'd probably prefer to remain ignorant. xD

 

[Lirael]

When I was using my PC, I'd find the GFX I created lacked the depth I had given them on my PC. On my computer screen, my pieces looked beautiful, with a nice balance between dark and light, with lots of colours blending together and coexisting to create something quite pretty. On my laptop, the depth was negligible and effects looked a bit awkward; sometimes, a brush, fragment or line which hadn't appeared on my computer's moniter appeared on my lighter laptop screen, and this little addition totally ruined the flow!

When I make sigs on my laptop, I find they still look good on the computer screen, though sometimes they can be a little on the dark side.

I know what you mean though, Cali, and it always makes me sad to think that the peices I'm proud of could look terrible through the eyes of someone else's computer screen!

 

[Steve-O]

I get this, when i'm bored to hell in uni i tend to do some gfx work, and the monitors are normally brighter than my desktop, soo stuff end up being darkerthan what they should be also stuff that I make on my Desktop seems to either a look too bright on my mac or b, I sharpen or blured way to much, but i can't tell til I look at it on a mac

 

[Mitsuki]

I remember posting something about this back when I was in the clans. I have photoshop installed on two laptops. Unfortunately, the one laptop I've been using to create signatures since 2008, isn't very stable anymore. The screen is completely defunct, so I used a VGA cable and hooked it up on my HDTV monitor. Not the best solution, considering that the screen resolution isn't crisp at all. It's actually a bit blurry.

Now, I have a newer laptop and installed photoshop about two months ago now. I don't have any resources in it, so I hardly use photoshop there. But when I do look at the signatures that I made from the old laptop, and view everything on this newer laptop, I get frustrated a bit. Sometimes the color theme and brightness isn't what I originally had in mind...it's close, but still not what I had in mind. I wouldn't say I end up disliking it, but I do some touch ups here and there as well.

 

[Big Casino]

I was gunna say i think i remember a thread like this before.
I cant say ive ever noticed myself as ive only had my computer. Never seen my gfx through the eyes of another comp. However if you think of yourself in real life. Your body looks likes its changed in different mirrors. You might look in one and think youv really toned up and stuff, lost weight etc and another mirror will make you feel the opposite. It all depends on the lighting and stuff. It doesn't surprise me in the least that it would apply to programs like Photoshop as well

 

[Sexy Beast]

Can't really say this applies to me due to the sole fact that I never used another comp for Photoshop/Gimp. I've always had the same comp for my GFX, but I'm sure I won't mind it that much. It's the brightness settings that might irritate me just slightly, but that's it. xD

 

[The Witch]

Thank goodness other's go through it though. I seriously was staying away from making GFX because it was annoying to go from computer to computer just to see if it looked the same. For me, my sigs usually end up looking dull and flat on another computer... which is embarrassing. But when I try and brighten it, it gets too bright.

Ugh

 

[Kandy-Sugar]

This happened to me when I had photoshop on my old computer.

My old computer was only used for photoshop and then when I was done with the piece I was working on, I would transfer it to my new computer to upload to photobucket (as I didn't have the old one hooked up to the internet).

However, when I transferred it to my new computer I was like .

I think that was what put me off from photoshop (besides the fact my old computer blew up). I kept thinking that because it looked shit on my good computer that it must look shit to everyone else. >.<

 

[Coco]

I notice this whenever I go to a computer shop and I look at some photos I've uploaded then I feel like clawing at the screen. It can't be helped though and you can't please everyone (even more so because of this)

What's even more frustrating is when you print something you edited because it usually comes out as a huge disappointment

 

[Dragon Mage]

I have known of this problem myself for a while and it is the sole reason I have not moved all my GIMP files from my laptop to my desktop. My desktop monitor has many varying 'default settings' for Game, Movie, etc. and I have not found one analogous to my laptop screen. Therefore, working on my laptop provides consistency, if not comfort.

However, I have found an easy monitor color calibration method for photoshop users: http://photoshop4artists.blogspot.com/2009/05/how-to-calibrate-your-monitor.html

This site provides a reliable and easy test to see if your monitor is up to snuff: http://www.imaging-resource.com/ARTS/MONCAL/CALIBRATE.HTM It is because of this test that I use my laptop still -- my laptop monitor is perfectly calibrated, according to this.

I am still looking into a more mundane method for GIMP, however. Though this page for microsoft: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/calibrate-your-display seems to be the best solution so far.

 

[The Witch]

A different monitor... a different look

Alright, I don't know if this will sound stupid and i dont really care so long as i get an answer. when i look at a graphic piece i made or a html code on a different monitor the colors are really drastically different. i made a similar thread titled 'beauty is in the eye of the... monitor?' we talked about it but we didnt give any fixes. this crap discourages me from doing themes and gfx work. it's like, what's the point if the pearly-pink you see looks like a neon orange to someone else, right?

so is there a way i can make my monitor as 'neutral' so that the colors i see match up the the majority of other monitors? i know people use their own settings but i mean, there's gotta be something i can do

 

[AuronX]

I think what you're looking for is color management profiles. I actually don't fully understand them, but I know that if you use them properly they should minimize the differences between displays. There will always be some differences, especially right now--the monitor industry is in flux, what with cheap, bland-looking LCDs, their much richer-looking IPS brethren, OLED with their susceptibility to lovely burn-in and moire, etc. etc. Different technologies will look slightly different, but the trend is definitely leaning in the direction of deeper saturation as compared to the displays of the past. If you're using a good color profile and designing with high saturation in mind you should at least be able to address the widest possible range of users.

 

[Jake]

Also I'm not sure if it would help in your case, but if you find your monitor is a lot different to what you're seeing with everyone else's then maybe you should pick up one of those colour calibrating tools? (I totally forget if they have a proper name. You place them on the screen to calibrate). We use them at uni for graphics work. I suppose it's a bit different there as you're changing settings to achieve consistency with "real" colours and not everyone's monitor is going to be calibrated the same, but at least then you know it's not on your end. Or something.

//shrug. I'm tired and rambling

 

[Mitsuki]

Yep, you can buy something to calibrate your monitor. Datacolor Spyder, X-Rite, etc.

Check this out as well: http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-to-calibrate-your-monitor/

But from what my professors tell me, it's best to actually get a tool for it. They cost quite a bit, naturally: http://www.amazon.com/Datacolor-S5X...446177154&sr=8-1&keywords=calibration+monitor

That's actually one of the more reasonable prices.

One of these days I'd like to get one for my laptop, but it's not priority by all means. It is, however, frustration as you say. I remember almost quitting GFX a few years back because of it too. Unfortunately, there isn't much you can do. Everyone's monitor has different profile management, so even if the colors look perfect to you, it may look completely different in someone else's monitor. :/

 

[The Witch]

Wow, thanks everyone. I never knew. Especially about that tool-thing. That is awesome. I obviously can't buy the tool so I'm going to try and follow that tutorial you gave me mits.

Thanks everyone!