Best Digital Art Canvas Size for Instagram

Are you raring to know the right digital art canvas size for Instagram?

Probably, you are tired of seeing pixelated or stretched images on your Instagram.

Well, no worries!

Because that is exactly what I will discuss in this article.

So, keep on reading then.

To start with, know that there are three main ways to post photos on Instagram: squares, portraits, and landscapes.

They all have different ratios and resolutions and will make your feed look fantastic if you follow the correct size when posting them.

I will also discuss a common problem of having too large or too small a canvas and an easy way to fix it.

The Canvas and Its Importance

First of all, we need to clarify what a canvas is and why it’s important. 

A canvas means the space where the images are created.

Instagram has different recommendations for several kinds of images that you want to share.

You want to have the best image quality for your Instagram feed.

That’s why it’s important to know what size your canvas shall be for the ideal result.

Do you find it interesting?

Then keep on reading.

Rule of Thumb For Digital Art Canvas Size for Instagram

Canvas on Instagram will be at least 2000 pixels on the long side and 1200 pixels on the short side.

Then it looks adequate on most phones.

The standard sizes for the Canvas on Instagram are:

• 1080*1350 pixels (i.e., 1080 pixels on the width side and 1350 pixels on the tall side) for portraits
• 1080*1080 pixels for squares
• 1080*680 pixels for landscapes

1080 pixels of pictures is a good measurement to use for uploading high-quality photos on Instagram.

PPI and DPI

There is a term called PPI, which stands for “Pixels Per Inch” on the screen.

A good PPI for phones and tablets is 250 PPI.

Dots Per Inch (DPI) is also a commonly used phrase and shows the number of pixels in one inch when printed.

A suitable DPI for web use (e.g., Instagram) is at least 150.

The higher your DPI is, the higher your resolution on the picture will be.

Portrait images are usually preferred in front of landscapes on Instagram.

One last thing is Instagram trims those wide pictures.

Opacity VS. Flow

You usually have two options for your brushes you are working with, and that’s opacity and flow.

Between the two, choosing flow is a better option in this section.

The main reason why flow is better is that you get better image quality and allows you to customize your work more.

Think about flow like the flow from a faucet. 

The more flow there is, the stronger color there will be.

Opacity doesn’t have that many options, just darkness or opaqueness, and hence you are allowed to customize more when you are using flow.

The Ideal Canvas Size for Instagram

The size of Canvas is vital because of several reasons or issues.

An issue that comes if your Canvas is large is that your painting software and the computer will run slow.

Things in your painting process will slow down in general.

Also, keep in mind that if you are uploading a large file to Instagram, it may change the quality of your image.

However, the issue that comes if your Canvas is small comes when viewing your art.

You will perhaps have to scale it up, making the art blurred and not look good.

And also, an image that is smaller than 320 pixels will be enlarged by Instagram.

Don’t forget to check your quality settings in the Instagram app.

So, your quality settings don’t downgrade your images.

Why Brush Size is Crucial

A helpful and easy way to find your ideal size for Canvas is to start by making your Canvas as big as possible without risking that your computer will run slow or lag.

And then increase the size of your art when working on details.

When you work with a large brush, decrease the canvas size.

When you’re working with a small brush, increase the size.

Always bear in mind how your software works when you’re changing the canvas size.

And always resize your photo to the proper size and ratio before you upload it on Instagram.

Three Reasons For Low Resolution

Sometimes your photos on Instagram can be shown in lower resolution than what you have uploaded.

This is because you don’t have the latest update on the Instagram app.

Your phone doesn’t support high-resolution photos.

Or, if your photos are posted between 320 and 1080 pixels, these photos are shared at their first resolution.

Also, if your photo is lower than 320 pixels or higher than 1080 pixels Instagram will increase or decrease and resolve the photo.

Photos that are larger than 1080 pixels can also look blurred in your feed.

And photos that are lower than 320 pixels will not look good either, so keep your size and resolution within the frames.

Share Your Photo As A Portrait or Landscape

As I mentioned in the introduction, you can now publish your photo as both a portrait or a landscape.

To do that, you have to follow these steps:

First, tap the crop icon to switch from a square to a portrait or a landscape.

Then, pinch the screen to get the right shape.

Next, crop the photo with your fingertip.

Afterward, click next to add a filter or edit the photo.

Finish with pressing next and add a caption and your post!

The aspect ratio for portraits is 4:5.

For landscapes, it is 1.91:1 (or the 16:9 ratio).

Recommendations For Videos On Instagram

Ratios for videos on Instagram are the same as for the photos, with one exception.

The reason is that it’s more convenient and not time-consuming to work with this ratio and not the 1.91:1 ratio.

Other requirements for uploading your videos are 30 frames per second, not more than 60 seconds in length.

The file size shall not be more than 4 GB.

When it comes to resolving the video, it’s recommended that you choose:

• 10870*1080 pixels for squares
• 1080*1350 pixels for portraits
• 1080*608 pixels for landscapes

Size of Canvas For Instagram Stories

In your Instagram story, you can upload text posts, live streams, photos, and videos.

Everything you post on your Instagram story will take up the entire screen on mobiles.

The recommended size for posting to your stories is 1080*1920 pixels and the 9:16 ratio.

Photos with different sizes are trimmed.

It’s good to use the 9:16 crop in your photo editing app.

For photo editing apps, I highly recommend are Snapseed and Foto Collage.

When posting a video to your story, the vertical mode will work.

Remember that story videos should be no more than 15 seconds long.

Also, the story mode is best for posting portraits.

Now there’s an extra function called Instagram reels, a short video used as another opportunity to engage with your community.

They use the resolution 1080*1920 pixels and have a ratio of 16:9.

However, there are some exceptions for reels:

They preview in the feed as for portraits (4:5 ratio)

The caption is shown in the bottom corner of the video.

They are up to 30 seconds (most).

Instagram Advertisement Sizes

You must have a business account to have advertisements on Instagram.

This is an easy thing to fix. 

In the app, click on your profile, click on the settings symbol and scroll down to the option “switch to a business profile.”

Then follow the instructions:

The Ads are added as a portrait or landscape. 

Otherwise, they will are published as a square.

Specification for image ads are:

• Not more than 2,200 characters in your caption.
• The picture shall be in .jpg or .png
• The size of the file shall not be more than 30 MB.
• For squares, the resolution shall be between 600 and 1936 pixels.
• In portraits, the resolution shall be between 600*315 and 1936*1936 pixels.
• For landscapes, the resolution should be between 600*750 and 1936*1936 pixels.
• So pictures not larger than 1936 pixels.

For video ads, the specifications are:

• Your caption shall not be more than 2,200 characters.
• The length of the video shall not be more than 120 seconds.
• The file size is up to 4 GB (most).

The same resolution as for pictures applies here as well.

For stories, the specifications are as follows:

• The format is 9:16.
• The file types shall be .jpg or .png (for photos) and .mp4 or .mov (for videos).
• File size shall not be more than 30 MB (for photos) or 4 GB (for videos).
• The length for photos is 5 seconds, and vice versa for videos is 15 seconds.
• The resolution is in 1080*1920 pixels, where they can’t be lower than 600*1067 pixels.

There are also two more ad sizes for Instagram, and these are Instagram collection and Instagram carousel.

IGTV Size

Instagram TV (IGTV) is where you can upload longer videos for your followers.

IGTV videos are vertical or horizontal.

The vertical videos range from a 4:5 ratio to a 9:16 ratio.

While the horizontal videos range from a 5:4 ratio to a 16:9 ratio.

You can have an IGTV cover photo with a ratio of 1:1:55 and a resolution of 420*654 pixels.

How To Set Procreate Canvas Size For Instagram

When you are painting in the Procreate app, it’s good to start with a big canvas size of approximately 3000 pixels.

This way, you can add more details to your painting and then downscale the image when uploading it to Instagram.

It’s more convenient to paint bigger pictures also.

For downscaling, you can use the Image Size app.

In the app, you put the recommended size for Instagram (i.e., 1080*1350, 1080*1080, or 1080*680 pixels), and it’s done.

You can upload your image directly to Instagram.

If you don’t want the downscaling issue, you can paint your picture in the regular 1080*1080 pixels.

For images, a phone is more convenient to publish, whereas, for videos, an Ipad is a better choice.

Procreate work only for Apple users, though.

How To Set Photoshop Canvas Size For Instagram

Using photoshop for your images, simply drag the image to your photoshop page.

And then unlock the background layer by clicking twice on the layer icon.

After that, click on the image menu and select “image size.”

Next, you select your dimensions for your work. 

Instagram uses 612*612 pixels.

Henceforth, click “image” and select canvas size.

To add a new layer, select the “new layer” button and drag it to the bottom of your image.

Then you can color your new layer to the desired color.

If you like, you can watermark your image by playing with the opacity.

Now it’s time to save your project and then email it to yourself to download the photo on your phone.

Well done!

Promoting Your Work On Instagram

First of all, it’s essential to interact with other people on Instagram so you can create a community there.

Secondly, you have to think about your captions. 

They have to be interesting and also communicate what you want to say.

A good recommendation is to use click-bait captions that draw people’s attention.

My last piece of advice is to not over-publish because if you do, Instagram can interpret it as you’re spamming and limit your reach on your work/images.

Think about your idea before posting and what you want to share with your community.

What Image File Format Shall I Use to Upload on Instagram?

JPG is probably the best format to use for uploading your photos/images into Instagram.

This is because it supports high resolution and is a small file size, making it easy to save and download on your device.

PNG is the second-best format to use because it offers high quality but also has the disadvantage of larger file sizes than JPG.

So it depends on your purpose which file format you choose to upload your images.

Instagram also supports the file formats JPEG, non-animated GIF, and BMP.

Why Is An Artist Biography Important?

If you have read this long in the article, you probably are an artist.

Now, I will discuss why and also how an artist biography is essential.

An artist’s biography is a summary in a few paragraphs describing you as an artist.

It’s good if it contains your qualifications and any training you have undertaken.

It’s important to write one.

So, you can differentiate your work from the mass and get your potential customer to know what you are offering.

Follow this link if you want to dive deeper into how you will create your artist biography.

Three Ways To Make Money As A Digital Artist

Digital products such as your art is a great way to make money.

In this section, I will discuss some ways that work.

First, I will discuss Art printables which are your artwork you can sell as a digital download.

You can scan your existing artworks and convert them to grayscale using Gimp.

Or create a new drawing and then scan it. 

It’s very easy.

If you have the Procreate app, you can create it electronically.

A reasonable price to sell your art printables is $1.

It’s good because you will sell more at a low price.

It’s also good not to make a file larger than 1Mb and add a copyright declaration.

Next, I want to discuss how print-at-home works.

You can either print your artworks yourself or create a digital copy for people to download and print themselves.

They are created in the same way as your art printables.

These products can be charged more than your art printables.

A good way to start selling them is for $5, but you can charge even more!

The third option is to upload copies of your art via third-party print on the demand marketplaces (e.g., Redbubble).

They are produced in the same way as I described above.

Moreover, Redbubble will process the payment and ship the product to the customer.

You will earn a commission of 20% and up for selling on Redbubble.

However, be aware of not charging too much commission if you don’t have a strong following for your artworks.

For more information on ways to make money with Digital Art and Digital Products, visit Wasted Talent Inc – All About Art.

Final Thoughts

In this article, I have discussed which digital art canvas size for Instagram is the best to use for your IG feed.

The canvas size is vital because several issues, such as your painting software, can run slowly or your photos will look blurred.

It’s important to keep your photos and videos to the sizes and resolutions I suggested because otherwise, your feed will not look nice.

It’s good to remember that landscape photos and videos differ in the aspect ratio.

Somehow, it’s because the ratio 1.91:1 ratio is difficult to work with.

Canvas sizes are essential to follow so that your feed will look as good as it can.

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