SIXTEEN TEST PREVIEWS · OCTOBER 24, 2026
Roblox Shirt Template Preview Scaling: Smooth or Nearest?
Scaling method can change a thin shirt-design preview even when the exported PNG is identical. In our white-background test, a one-pixel source stroke produced zero strongly red pixels at 32, 48, and 64 pixels with browser smoothing, but 15, 20, and 28 with nearest-neighbor scaling. At 96 pixels, both methods produced some strongly red pixels. This describes our previews of saved files, not how Roblox renders clothing.
“Strongly red” is a test rule explained below. It is not a human visibility score or a Roblox requirement.
One export, two ways to shrink it
We made two new transparent 150 × 150 source PNGs with centered 45° red strokes, one or two source pixels wide. Each was imported into this site's editor at 45% Image size, positioned on the Shirt FRONT, and downloaded. Both resulting Shirt files measured 585 × 559. For each, we cropped the same 128 × 128 FRONT square specified in Roblox Creator Hub's classic clothing guide. We put the crop over white and drew it at 32, 48, 64, and 96 pixels in Chrome Canvas, once with high-quality smoothing and once with smoothing disabled.
| Source stroke | Preview | Smooth: strong pixels | Nearest: strong pixels |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 px | 32 × 32 | 0 | 15 |
| 1 px | 48 × 48 | 0 | 20 |
| 1 px | 64 × 64 | 0 | 28 |
| 1 px | 96 × 96 | 30 | 45 |
| 2 px | 32 × 32 | 20 | 21 |
| 2 px | 48 × 48 | 32 | 52 |
| 2 px | 64 × 64 | 124 | 124 |
| 2 px | 96 × 96 | 188 | 229 |
We counted a pixel when white minus its green or blue channel was at least 128 on a 0–255 scale. For the one-pixel source at 64 pixels, disabling smoothing changed that count by 28 − 0 = 28. At 96 pixels, the difference was 45 − 30 = 15. The two-pixel stroke crossed the threshold with both methods at every tested size. These numbers describe pixel values; they do not prove that one preview looks better or that the line is visually continuous.
Inspect the actual previews
The images below are the sixteen generated files at their native dimensions. Compare each smooth and nearest pair without enlarging it first. Nearest-neighbor can preserve stronger individual colors while also producing more abrupt pixel edges; the table alone cannot judge that tradeoff.
How to check your own design
- Save the real Shirt PNG. Keep the export as the common input to every comparison.
- Crop one exact region. The FRONT panel is 128 × 128 in Roblox's template map. Moving the crop between trials would change the test.
- Pick the display size. Try the size at which your design will actually be inspected. Do not zoom the preview while judging fine detail.
- Compare both scalers. Make smoothed and nearest-neighbor copies from the same crop and background. If their appearance diverges, avoid deciding from one renderer alone.
- Revise and test again. Widen a delicate stroke or simplify close features, re-export, and compare at the same size. Roblox recommends testing the finished clothing in Studio before upload.
Limits: Two synthetic red strokes, one placement, white background, Chrome Canvas scaling, and four output sizes were tested. Different browsers, colors, backgrounds, screens, avatar views, and Roblox's rendering may differ. We did not run a human recognition test or a Roblox Studio garment test.
Sources and reproducibility
- Roblox Creator Hub: Classic clothing — official FRONT dimensions and Studio test guidance.
- Avatar Shirt Maker editor — first-party import and export tested October 24, 2026.
- Earlier 64-pixel preview comparison — related white-background stroke test.
The test script, two export measurements, sixteen original preview PNGs, and all pixel counts are retained in the project audit folder. The controlled comparison, table, arithmetic, images, and five-step procedure were independently produced for this article.