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

1 Sep 2015

      Thanks!
And Yes, though there doesn't seem to be a consistent style for writing
"Draw Freely".
This leaves me with some options:
1. I could choose a version I like from the website (my favorite is the one
accompanying the vector Bird graphic). Is there a vector asset for this? I
could trace it from the graphic, but this is more work.
2. I could write it myself, since I have decent handwriting. If like to do
it in Inkscape with my Wacom tablet, however it seems that pressure
sensitivity is broken in my version of Inkscape for the time being.
3. I could ask if there it already a repo for Inkscape branding stuff, and
if there isn't, start one. :)
Any thoughts?
Is the font used in INKSCAPE title an open font? If not, I'm tempted to
raid Google's web fonts for a Libre alternative.
-C
On 1 Sep 2015 1:30 am, "Josh Andler" <scislac@...400...> wrote:
...
Looks great so far! I assume you know already (by your description),
but the assets for "Inkscape" and "Draw Freely" from the about screen
should be used to keep the branding consistent. Looking forward to
seeing the next iteration!
Cheers,
Josh
On Mon, Aug 31, 2015 at 2:21 PM, C R <cajhne@...400...> wrote:
...
Quick video template update (to keep bullshit from walking ;) )
I've almost completed the intro animation, but got bogged down with some
emergency charity work that a friend required last-minute.
I wanted to add in the sound effects, which I've recorded myself, but ran
out of time tonight.
However, here is a quick wip sample for your Monday night amusement:
www.opendesignstudio.org/inkscape/samples/inkscape_intro_animation_wip.ogv
...
The title "INKSCAPE" will fade in underneath and "Draw Freely" will be
scribbled in underneath it as last additions.
Thanks for the patience. Hope everyone's collective weekend has been a
pleasant one. :)
More soon.
-C
On Fri, Aug 28, 2015 at 10:31 AM, C R <cajhne@...400...> wrote:
...
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@lists.sourceforge.net
Subject: [Inkscape-devel] User Help (tutorials)
...

...
...
...
...
...
...

Inkscape-devel mailing list
Inkscape-devel@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/inkscape-devel

...
...
...
...

Inkscape-devel mailing list
Inkscape-devel@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/inkscape-devel

...

Inkscape-devel mailing list
Inkscape-devel@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/inkscape-devel