Re: [Inkscape-devel] User Help (tutorials)

PS- Speaking of crowd-funding, be sure to visit Synfig Open Source Animation Studio's crowdfunding campaign and show them some love! :) https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/synfig-free-animation-software#/story On Fri, Aug 28, 2015 at 9:39 AM, C R <cajhne@...400...> wrote: > >> >> So I'm getting late to this discussion. I guess it sounds like people >> are >> ready to do this! >> > > This will be an ongoing project, so input is great at any stage. You're > not late either, it's early times still. :) > > >> (sorry, kind of long) >> >> > Also never a problem. More information is better! > Welcome to the discussion, and thanks for your advise! > > >> I'm of the opinion that there is no lack of tutorials in the Inkscape >> community. I've done some both intensive and extensive searching for >> Inkscape tutorials, to compile a centralized source of tutorials, for the >> community (something I saw lacking in the community, and wanted to >> provide). >> http://forum.inkscapecommunity.com/index.php >> >> > Thanks for the link, and for your work collecting and vetting these > resources! :) I'll have a look through these, I'm sure they will be quite > useful not only in determining the best way to proceed, but in terms of > information content and possible linking from the finished documentation > (pending approval from the parties that made them). It may also be good to > have two video sections that link off the main Inkscape.org website, one to > a set of official tutorials, and the other to the growing set of excellent > community-done resources. > > For the tool feature videos, it would be useful to have small official > videos to accompany the documentation. I find that it's quite a matter of > preference which people prefer (written or video tutorial). Even my own > preference changes depending on my moods, so having both available is no > bad thing. > > Official videos have manifold purpose: > > -They provide concise context-relevant information that we can include > alongside the documentation for Inkscape. This saves time having to google > for videos of the information at hand, so more time can be spent learning > in a streamlined way, that it may not be possible to get from even a list > of several thousand user-contributed videos. There will be a lot of > repeating concepts that are covered in user-videos, but there will also be > be a lot of gap-filling as well. > > -They provide more content-rich inkscape.org, which adds to the > professional image of the project, and is important for trust and provides > a nicer experience for new users. I've lost count how many times people > posting on the forums have been told to "google it" (even though I reached > these comments BY Googling!). Why should they have to google it? Users can > spend more time learning, and less time reading what other users think > about their issue on forums (that's time saved in hours across possibly > hundreds of comments). We are in the unique position to provide an answer, > on the spot, that is guaranteed to be the correct one. :) > > -They are a resource under the project's control. One of the criticisms > that our open source community faces is that information is scatter-shot, > and you may not be able to find resources, or links may be broken to the > original content, or the content may only be available in some countries. > Having control over our content ensures we can reach the most people. > > -They give us another opportunity to connect with more users. This is > important not only for development purposes, but also for social media > campaigns for development acceleration, appearing at graphics conventions, > etc. (I do all my convention-booth graphics in Inkscape, btw. So thanks > again to all the Inkscape devs for making life easy for me!) > > -It enhances the public image of Inkscape as a professional resource for > serious designers. Great-looking well-thought out videos are a must for a > project like Inkscape! :) Every video serves as yet one one more > advertisement for the Inkscape project. The more of them there are, the > more eyes are likely to see them. We can capture search keywords as well > with each video, gaining the project more exposure. > > -It provides an opportunity for us to teach best practices for > professional design workflows, as well as educate new users, and ease the > transition from commercial software packages. (If you Like Illustrator, > you're going to LOVE Inkscape!) :D > > > >> So I'm bewildered with complaints of people not being able to find >> tutorials. I did that all with my handy internet search engine. Nothing >> fancy, I can assure you! I wonder if maybe those folks just have not >> ventured outside of DA, in their search? >> > > Or their search terms didn't turn up any relevant videos. One of the > problems with video content is if you are looking for something very > specific, you may have to hunt through lots of complete tutorials, hoping > they cover the thing you want to know. This problem is solved more easily > with feature-focused videos, accompanied by all relevant keywords. The > inkscape.org website should also contain a search box to search these > keywords in our own collection of official videos. I also recommend an > expandable tree-style map of our videos providing a way to click down and > feel out what you are searching for (handy if you don't know what a feature > is named). > > > For example, a piece of the tree could go: > > +Tools > -Select and Transform Tool > -Edit Paths By Nodes Tool > +Tweak Objects Tool > - Tool Overview > - Using Different Modes > - Width, Force, and Fidelity - Getting the effects you want > + FAQ / Troubleshooting > - Why does the rest of my shape turn into a glob? > - It's only working on some objects, but not others > - etc. > -Zoom Tool > -Measurement Tool > -Rectangle/Square Tool > -etc. > -Working with Shapes > -Working with Layers > -Working with Groups > -Selecting > -Filters > -Exporting > +Using Colours > -What is a colour space? > -What is a colour system? > +FAQ / Troubleshooting > -My printer wants an Illustrator (.ai) file, arrrgh! > -My greens are looking too Blue in print > -My blacks are too grey in print > +What should I use for my project? > +Can Inkscape use PANTONE colours? > -Pre-Press Considerations > -etc. etc. > > > Note that only certain branches of the tree need videos. Others could > have a quick animated gif with a text explanation. It's important to > include all the written and video materials together, so visitors do not > have to visit different sections of the website to find the information > they are after. > > >> Nevertheless, I do think it's important that there are "official" >> tutorials. >> There was some talk a few months ago about building a Documentation team, >> and I would certainly look forward to participating in such a group >> (although iirc, it was only going to happen when someone had more >> time.....I >> don't remember the exact details anymore). >> > > > I would be happy to assist the Documentation team. > I would be equally happy to help assemble it if those involved previously > do not presently have the time. > > I think more *official* tutorials are needed, than the 6 or so currently >> available. But I have serious reservations about video tutorials with >> music >> background and no narration. I have never seen such a video that I found >> was helpful, in my opinion. > > > There will be narration, it will just be textual, step-by-step, rather > than voiced over. > There is nothing preventing people from adding voice overs, but I'd like > to start cranking out as many of these videos as possible, and I'm not > convinced my voice would be pleasing enough. :) > > >> (You may notice there are probably less than 5 >> YouTube vids on my page. It's because I haven't found many worthwhile, >> that >> aren't connected to a proprietary venture.) >> > > Yes, control over the videos is a key benefit of doing them ourselves. > > >> Videos from the Screencasters (heathenx/Richard Querrin) series are still >> the best video tutorials around, imo (even though now somewhat dated). I >> think they represent the standard we should strive for, if there is some >> consensus that video tutorials are needed more that text tutorials. >> Although I haven't seen any indication of a need for video tutorials, >> more >> than text. It's just trendy, afaict. >> > > For the longer videos, I'd agree, but for feature documentation videos, > we will need more concise and much shorter videos with less banter, and > none of the "subscribe, rate, etc." stuff. :) > > That sounds like a cute idea for an intro to the tutorials (the > bouncing > >> bubbles, etc.), but honestly, that's the fun part of making tutorials. >> Has >> anyone volunteered to make the actual tutorial part of the videos? (I >> haven't finished with reading the whole thread yet.) >> > > I'm volunteering for both at this point, but once we have the kit (which > includes the finished intro/outro, and caption overlay), it will be easier > to enlist others to help with the tutorial parts (screen-captures, and > captioning). > It may sound fun and trivial, but the intro, format and templates are the > ground-work for a professional video series. They will make the tutorial > content consistent, and MUCH easier to do. The point of these initial steps > is to produce a kit that we can use to make quick, professional looking > videos with Inkscape branding. While I will have the initial sample > completed this weekend, I suspect we will change it a bit based on feedback. > > >> Thanks for listening, >> brynn >> > > Thanks for your input and thoughts! They help tremendously. > > -C > > > >> -------------------------------------------------- >> From: "Martin Owens" <doctormo@...400...> >> Sent: Tuesday, August 25, 2015 7:53 AM >> To: "Inkscape Devel List" <inkscape-devel(a)lists.sourceforge.net&gt; >> Subject: [Inkscape-devel] User Help (tutorials) >> >> > >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> > >> >> >> >> > _______________________________________________ >> > Inkscape-devel mailing list >> > Inkscape-devel(a)lists.sourceforge.net >> > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/inkscape-devel >> > >> >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> _______________________________________________ >> Inkscape-devel mailing list >> Inkscape-devel(a)lists.sourceforge.net >> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/inkscape-devel >> >