So I'm just finishing up my first ever digital scrapbooking kit (it's the March Designer Challenge--I know, I'm behind!), and I wondered: what size is a good rule of thumb when you are creating alphas? Am I better off creating larger so people can scale down if they need to, or is a too-big alpha annoying? I don't know if this matters, but I've been creating everything at 300 dpi so it is suitable for printing. Any thoughts/insights you seasoned digi-scrappers have would be appreciated.
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I guess part of the answer is "depends on the kind of the alpha" - If you are creating an alpha made from a material that tends to be small - for example, a brad alpha - they can be small. But I guess they can´t exced 2,5 or 3 inches tall (considering a big alpha). Let´s hear other opinions, however... I´m not really a specialist in alphas.
I usually aim around 2 inches. I used to make them much larger, figuring people could scale them down. However, that will throw off texture and other effects. So now I generally make them the size I think is appropriate.
I think somewhere between 2 and 3 inches is a good size. I'm disappointed sometimes when I open a cute alpha and it's too small to be usable.
Good point, Marisa, I hadn't thought of that.
Thanks, Linda--I was thinking the same thing, that too small would probably be worse than too big.
I'm feeling pretty good right now, because my alpha is designed at 2.5", so I feel like I'm sitting in the sweet spot based on these responses. Thank you, everyone!
I make them larger if I am filling with a larger pattern and scale down the pattern a bit as well. That way I can shrink them later and have a better multi-pattern on them. Two to three inches is what I usually make them in the end unless I have only one cap letter and may leave it large for effect on a page etc.
I am not a designer, but a user...
As a user I would prefer to have them too large and then scale them down. It is so frustrating to have an amazing kit with an alpha and then no be able to use it because it is too small.