Will my smartobjects be effected if I change the ps-file 72 dpi to 300dpi?

[Defineyourgoal]

Hi, 

I created all my layers in ai, copy+pasted them to Photoshop and since I will animate the ps-files scaling up in Ae - I need a higher resolution. First: will the quality of the smart objects be affected if I change the ps-file 72 dpi to 300dpi? The same goes for masked brushes, will they also be affected by this change?

Also, how can I select all of my ai layers (say 40 for this example), copy-paste them all at once into Photoshop? Importing the ai document just gives me all the layers as on layer. I need them all separated. Like: illustrate in ai, import to Photoshop to create brushes, and then import the ps files to ae. I'm just starting to use Photoshop in my illustration-work instead of Ai so perhaps this is a crazy workflow. 

Thanks
/Pär 

[JJMack]

All smart are not created the same way how smart object layer behave/works depends on the smart object and what you are doing with the smart object layer.   Some Smart Object are Photoshop objects some smart objects are not Photoshop objects. If you double click one at smart object Layer's Content Thumbnail in the Layers Palette to open it and work on it. Photoshop will create or has create a temp work file in temp space  and it will be opened for you to work on.  If it is a Photoshop object it will open in  Photoshop.  If it is a RAW object it will open in ACR. If it is a Vector object it will open in your vector application  Illustrator.  Smart Object have pixels generated for them that photoshop will use.  These pixels are harden and can not be changed by Photoshop tools. There is a transform for smart  object used to create the smart objects Layer's pixels.  When you transform a smart object layer what you are doing is editing the existing object transform to scale the object to a different size. transform interpolate or copies object pixels to generate the layers pixels.  However, there are exceptions Vector Object AI objects  are processed with vector graphics.  Photoshop does  not have support for Vector Files.  Photoshop has an imported that can via vector graphics create a pixel layer the size the user set.  Basically Photoshop Imports the Vector Object's file the appreciate size to replaces the prior old harden image pixels that get transform 100% to the layers pixel. There are no vector in photoshop for vector objects.  The vectors are in the vector object's file the ai file. You need to get you AI asset into Photoshop as smart object later.  I do not install AI there may be a way to paste in AI file as smart object,.  When I use paste I either paste a clipboard pixels image or clipboard text. I would think Adobe could have  a copy and past object between their applications. I can Placet in AI file as Smat Objects.

[Defineyourgoal]

Hi JJmack, thanks for your input!

So by copy-pasting one vector layer from Illustrator to Photoshop, that smart-object has been given a set amount of pixels depending on Photoshops document settings. Any changes to the dpi in Photoshop will then make the smart illustrator-layers quality bad and I need to recreate the asset unless I use the "transform" tool you mentioned. Even if I double-click on the thumbnail in Photoshop and make changes in Ai, the same pixels are used, have I understood you correctly?

If the latter, opening in ai and scaling the layer up, won't that actually be the preferred way to scale things up then? The problem then is that I have 40 single layers to scale up separately and this cannot be the best way to solve the issue.

[Bojan Živković]

'Even if I double-click on the thumbnail in Photoshop and make changes in Ai, the same pixels are used, have I understood you correctly?'

If you open illustrator object in Illustrator you will be working with paths not with pixels. Photoshop will render pixels on its layer for its document but in background you will still have paths created in Illustrator which you can change and modify in Illustrator. Even if you scale document Ps should use vector data to generate pixels for use inside Photoshop.

Simply changing resolution from 72 to 300 with Resample turned off won't do anything.

[Defineyourgoal]

Slowly getting a hang of this. What's the difference between selecting all of my smart objects in Ps and scale them up using the transform tool as JJMack mentioned VS changing the dpi from 72 to 300 and have the "resample" button check with "automatic" setting? 

Once my ps-file in ae is updated, I see no difference in quality no matter what I choose of the above. Just want to make sure I do this the right way before I start creating my illustrations and be on the safe side if the client says "make a zoom in the animation here" or "let's print this frame".  

[D Fosse]

Short answer: as long as it remains a smart object, it's fine whatever you do in Photoshop. It's still vector data.

The issue is that sooner or later, you have to rasterize it for any kind of output from Photoshop. That's when the Photoshop resolution kicks in. That's when you need to count your pixels to see if it's enough for your intended output.

[Defineyourgoal]

Short and clean, nice!

If the ps-file is just dragged and dropped into ae, nothing will be rasterized - not even in my renders from ae. If I will export my frames from Ps for print, then it's another issue. Is this correct? 

Cause I have created a my illustration in ai, pasted the layers manually to ps (one by one), added brushes with masks in Ps, and then dropped the ps-file in ae. Then I needed to scale the ps-file in ae which get pixlated (same comp size in all programs, 1920x1080). Then I saw that my dpi is 72 instead of 300. Is it so, that sinze ae only reads 72 dpi, the only time I want to have 300dpi in my ps-file is when I need to send a frame for print? Therefor the correct solution on my scalin issue in ae is not to change the dpi and instead change the size of the layers? I'm getting confused now haha!

[JJMack]

"Cause I have created a my illustration in ai, pasted the layers manually to ps (one by one), added brushes with masks in Ps, and then dropped the ps-file in ae."

The thing is you can not add brush stroked to the actual object file in Photoshop.  Photoshop's Smart Object Pixels are harden they can not be changed by Photoshop tools.  You can add Smart Filters and Adjustment layers and make stoke stroke overlay layer. You can only change the actual vector file in AI. Anything you add in Photoshop is in Photoshop not the vector file. Photoshop does not have support for Vector Files Photoshop can not Edit Vector files. AI can.   Photoshop additions will be in the Photoshop saved files not in the AI files AE would be working with the Photoshop File not the AI vector file. I do not edit video so I do not install AE does it even support Photoshop Layers  I would think that AE would support Pixel Image Frames video files. Photoshop Time lines Frame animations and Video animation etc

[Defineyourgoal]

Silly me, of course, the brushes are pixels. Thanks for clarifying. 

For the ps-brushes made in 72dpi, that needs to be converted to 300dpi, I basically am screwed and need to redo them all?

Yes, Ae supports Ps layers.