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canvas size

How Do You Resize a Canvas in ibisPaint?

Use Change Canvas Size to add or crop empty space; use Resize to scale the full artwork or set its pixel or print dimensions.

By ThatPainter Team 5 min read
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Use Tool Selection → Canvas → Change Canvas Size to add or remove blank canvas space without scaling the whole drawing. Use Tool Selection → Canvas → Resize to change the complete artwork’s pixel dimensions or print size. Choosing the right control is the key to avoiding accidental cropping, distortion, or unnecessary loss of detail.

Choose the right resize control

What you want to do Choose
Add blank space around the drawing or crop the canvas boundary Canvas → Change Canvas Size
Scale the whole artwork or change its pixel resolution Canvas → Resize
Set physical print dimensions and DPI Canvas → Resize → Print
Scale only one imported image, object, or layer Use a layer or object transformation workflow, not Canvas Resize

ibisPaint documents these as separate tools: Change Canvas Size alters the canvas boundary, while Resize changes image resolution. The steps below apply to existing artwork. ibisPaint is available for iPhone and iPad, Android, Windows, and Mac, though the interface presentation can vary by platform.

Change the canvas boundary without scaling the drawing

  1. Open the artwork and open Tool Selection.
  2. Select Canvas, then Change Canvas Size.
  3. Choose whether to enable Keep Aspect Ratio. Leave it on to preserve the width-to-height relationship; turn it off when you need to set width and height independently.
  4. Enter the desired Width (px) and Height (px).
  5. Set Origin to determine how the existing artwork is aligned in the new canvas.
  6. Check where the new boundary will fall, then confirm with the checkmark or Done, depending on the platform.

For example, to add room above a character while keeping the drawing at its current scale, increase the canvas height and position the origin toward the bottom. To add space on the right, increase the width and anchor the existing work to the left. To crop from the left while retaining the right-hand content, reduce the width and set the origin so the right side remains in place. The official Canvas Size tutorial identifies Origin as the alignment control.

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Changing the boundary is not the same as resizing the artwork. Increasing it creates more canvas around the existing work; reducing it can cut off anything outside the new boundary. Before confirming, inspect which edge is moving and whether content will be cropped.

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Scale the whole artwork in pixels

  1. Open Tool Selection → Canvas → Resize.
  2. Select Pixels for screen-oriented dimensions.
  3. Enable Keep Aspect Ratio if the artwork should retain its proportions.
  4. Enter the new width or height. With the ratio locked, ibisPaint adjusts the other dimension proportionally.
  5. Confirm with the checkmark or Done, then inspect the artwork.

This is the route for a change such as reducing a 2000 × 2000-pixel image to 1000 × 1000 pixels, or setting dimensions for an online destination. If you enter separate width and height values with the ratio unlocked, the artwork may look stretched or squashed.

Reducing pixel dimensions can make a file smaller and may help ibisPaint run faster, but it discards image information. Keep a separate high-resolution master if you may need to edit or export at the original size later.

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Set a print size

In Tool Selection → Canvas → Resize, choose Print rather than Pixels. Set the physical dimensions, such as millimeters, and the DPI; keep the aspect ratio enabled if the image must retain its proportions. Confirm the change, then check the file against the printer’s specifications.

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ibisPaint recommends at least 300 dpi for clean printed results in its Resize tutorial, but the print provider’s requirements take priority. Pixels are the image’s actual digital dimensions; DPI describes how densely those pixels are placed on paper. Changing a DPI value alone does not add detail to a low-resolution image. Print size, pixel dimensions, and the printer’s specifications all matter.

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Avoid distortion, blur, and unwanted quality loss

Keep the proportions unless stretching is intentional

With Keep Aspect Ratio on, changing one dimension adjusts the other proportionally. Turn it off only when you deliberately need independent dimensions—for example, when setting a new canvas shape with Change Canvas Size. Unlocking the ratio while scaling the whole artwork can distort it.

Choose interpolation for the kind of artwork

When resizing, ibisPaint offers Nearest Neighbor (Pixel), Color Average (Pixel), and Bilinear interpolation. Nearest Neighbor is a practical choice for hard-edged pixel art when you want to preserve distinct pixel blocks. For ordinary illustrations or photographs, a smoother method such as Bilinear may be preferable; inspect the result because the best choice depends on the image. The official tutorial demonstrates the available methods, but no method can recreate detail absent from the original.

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Check the result before exporting

Upscaling calculates new pixels; it does not restore detail that was never present, and the result can look soft. Downscaling can also reduce the clarity of small text, fine lines, and details. Duplicate the artwork or preserve an original export before a substantial change, then inspect edges, small features, and transparent areas on the resized version.

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If ibisPaint is slow or refuses the new size

Maximum canvas size and layer capacity depend on the device, so there is no single safe maximum that applies to every phone, tablet, or computer. ibisPaint’s getting-started tutorial notes that device capability affects maximum canvas size and that larger canvases can slow operation.

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  • If you only have unnecessary empty margins, use Change Canvas Size to trim them rather than resampling the entire image.
  • If the full artwork needs fewer pixels, use Resize → Pixels, understanding that downscaling reduces future editing flexibility.
  • If a new size causes slow performance or the app refuses it, try smaller pixel dimensions and keep a backup of the original.
  • If the artwork has reached its layer maximum, ibisPaint says decreasing image size can increase the available maximum layer limit. This is a separate trade-off from merging layers, which can reduce editability.

Frequently asked questions

Can I enlarge an existing canvas?

Yes. Choose Canvas → Change Canvas Size, increase the width or height, and set Origin to control where the existing artwork sits in the added space.

How do I crop in ibisPaint?

Use Canvas → Change Canvas Size, reduce the dimensions, and set Origin so the part you want to keep remains inside the new boundary.

Should I choose Pixels or Print for social media?

Choose Pixels for screen destinations such as social media. Use Print when you need physical dimensions and DPI for printing.

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Why did my artwork become blurry?

It may have been enlarged beyond its original pixel dimensions. Upscaling interpolates new pixels rather than recovering missing detail; check the interpolation method and, when possible, work from a higher-resolution original.

Do the steps differ across devices?

The documented workflow is through Tool Selection and Canvas, but labels or screen layout may differ slightly on iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows, and Mac.

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