> If we want to expand a software project beyond the realm of the hobbyist, we
> must first provide competitive software. We presently can't do that without
> making some compromises. The industry is too advanced, and too integral to
> cinema, gaming, and commercial video to be ignored, or waved off as
> unimportant. Blender knows this, and supports Unity 3D, as well as file
> formats for CAD programs, and various proprietary closed source technology.
> This is why they are popular

There has been no newer survey, but this should give you a slightly better idea:

http://www.blenderguru.com/articles/the-big-issues/


Neat. Thanks for that link.

It seems that almost half of all blender users surveyed use it in a professional capacity. That's a lot more than I would expect, actually.
74% have used commercial software 3D programs - 3DS Max, Sketchup, Maya.
3rd party software support was the 3rd largest request. After rendering Engine and Simulation (almost just as much).

The fact that most people don't currently use blender to make money is a bit troubling... mainly because hobbies often fall by the wayside for more important things in life. It means Blender may lose a substantial portion of our users over time if we don't push to make Blender 3D ubiquitous with 3D graphics in the industry. It's come a long way towards doing that, and I think these figures show it.


> They stay
> true to their own open-source roots by providing all their code, while not
> expecting the world to conform to their personal software creedo. That is
> the only thing that moves Open Source software forward, and the only
> companies that are making a success of it are the ones that understand that.
> We stick to our FOSS morals, and we invite people to join, we do not demand
> it.

Doesn't work for GIMP all too well, though. I suggest you think of
Blender more in terms of "providing education", "growing an ecosystem"
etc. Again, that will give you a slightly better idea.

Sure, but it doesn't make them any less FOSS to support interchange formats in my opinion. It makes it more likely that Blender will become a viable option for an increasing number of VFX professionals.
 
> We could immediately up the excellence and quality of Inkscape, as well as
> professional user base, by being able to read and write the file formats
> that work with industry-leading tools like Illustrator.

Inkscape opens both .AI and .CDR. What other industry-leading apps do you know?


Yea, and it's a horrible mess. lol
It also does not write AI files back out, which packaging companies are notorious for requiring.
 
>> David Revoy switched from GIMP to Krita, and when he did he found a
>> welcoming project that paid attention to his needs as an artist.
>
> Like supporting .psd Photoshop format to be able to work with other industry
> artists without requiring them to learn a new software package.
 
I'm sorry, but I'll have to facepalm here. David joined the fun around
2010, when there was no support for PSD support in Krita _whatsoever_.
The PSD plugin was written about two years ago. The reason was that he
had to jump between GIMP-Painter and MyPaint with his OpenRaster files
all the time, so he eliminated this by switching to Krita. If you
argue history, at least please study it :)

That was not my history lesson lol. 
My argument was not about the history either, it's about the function, and one of the reasons why Krita is now a more attractive option for digital artists.

We really need something that works much better with Photoshop files (including all the effects, etc).
If a client sends you a psd, scolding them for not using an open format is not going to convince anyone.

 
>> So, imho, there are a number of things that come before growing a
>> massive userbase. And if we are going to use loose terms as
>> "popularity", I'd say "credibility" should come first.
>
> "credibility" is just as nebulous a term. At least "popularity" is
> quantifiable by number of users = user base.

That makes no sense whatsoever, and I can argue about that till I'm
blue in the face :) 

Photoline is probably about as much used as GIMP. How much have you
heard of it? Have you seen astounding work made with Photline that you
can recall immediately? I bet you haven't. Because, like many
free/libre projects, this proprietary app doesn't do enough
PR/marketing. They exist on the edge of the world dominated by
Photoshop, while providing about as many core/advanced features
required to get complex work done.

There is no fixing that with quantity. This is not how marketing works.


I would not say that GIMP is a shining example of something everyone knows about either.
Very few know about it compared to Photoshop. People want professional artists doing spots for GIMP, etc, you've got to provide software that is compatible with the industry established software, and yes, press is very very important as well. You can have all the press in the world though, and if people pick up the program and found out it can't handle what the industry expects, it's not going to do a whole lot of good for most graphic designers. There is not enough incentive to switch, and hurdles that cost time (a lot of time) and business.

> We could put together Inkscape showreels of this and post it
> on social media platforms and Youtube. That will get people of all types
> interested in Inkscape.

Posting won't do it. Sharing and promoting might. Talking to leading
online magazines and writing articles for them might. Writing for
Envato et al. might.

Let's do it. :)

-C