-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Fwd: Call for screenshots Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2006 20:43:36 -0300 From: bulia byak <buliabyak@...155...> To: Aaron Spike <aaron@...476...> References: <3c78ff030606151411x6334770dp2e1a0a26c4d8a216@...156...>
Aaron,
I sent this to devel and user lists, but gmail is spamblocked again so it bounced. Can you please forward it to both lists on my behalf?
Thanks!
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: bulia byak <buliabyak@...155...> Date: Jun 15, 2006 6:11 PM Subject: Call for screenshots To: Inkscape ML inkscape-devel@lists.sourceforge.net, Inkscape User Community inkscape-user@lists.sourceforge.net, Bob Jamison <rjamison@...192...>
We need more screenshots of 0.44 release for our gallery: http://inkscape.org/screenshots/index.php. So far we only have 6. One feature I would especially like to get more screen space is the docked palette with the new default color set.
For a user, screenshots are perhaps the most important resource at inkscape.org. It's what most people look at first. New users don't like to read descriptions; they want pretty pictures. Existing users considering upgrade don't like to read release notes; they want pretty pictures. Besides, our screenshots are borrowed by a lot of other sites and thus end up all over the web. All this means that screenshots must be as good as Inkscape itself, if not better. The lack or poor quality of screenshots means the entire project's bad health.
What makes a good screenshot?
* The best "feature screenshots" are made by the author of the corresponding feature. Nobody knows the feature better than him/her. In fact, if you contribute a major feature, you are pretty much supposed to submit a screenshot of it in action, much as you are supposed to describe it in release notes. [Note to Bob: Can you please make a good screenshot with several different examples of SIOX at work?]
* However, we also need high quality "work screenshots" showing professional Inkscape work. If you are doing something complex and/or artistic and it turns out well, please take a moment to shoot the Inkscape window with your work.
* Use PNG format (not JPG or GIF).
* The screenshot should be dense and informative. 1280x1024 (the preferred screenshot size) is a lot of space, so don't waste it on just one or two bits. When doing a feature screenshot, combine the various aspects of the feature, add captions and descriptions, demonstrate all relevant tricks and nontrivial things that you can think of. When doing a work screenshot, find the best zoom/view of the document, and consider doing a double view of the same or different documents (as here: http://inkscape.org/screenshots/gallery/inkscape-0.41-CVS-linux-davinci.png). In both cases, open the relevant dialogs, switch to relevant tools, and do a selection so that the statusbar message adds more useful info to the picture.
* When submitting a screenshot, please also submit a blurb (one-paragraph description) that will accompany it in the gallery. Briefly describe the feature you are demonstrating and the most nontrivial aspects of the screenshot. Try to be witty but comprehensive.
* Also indicate what the usage terms are for the screenshot (in case magazine writers wish to use the screenshot in their articles). We recommend that you place your screenshots in public domain, as it saves a lot of hassle in asking for and obtaining permissions.
To submit, please mail a link to your file to the devel list, or directly to buliabyak at gmail dot com.
All this is quoted from a wiki page I wrote some time ago: http://wiki.inkscape.org/wiki/index.php/MakingScreenshots
-- bulia byak Inkscape. Draw Freely. http://www.inkscape.org