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GlassSphere
Aug 8th 2008
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stacye
Aug 8th 2008
I think your basic idea boils down to tutorial sets. I've noticed that tutorials on this site are linked by keywords under the title. For example: The "Create a Surreal Environment Using a Photo" tutorial has the key words of "Design, Effects, Photo Editing, Photoshop". I can click on those key words, and pull up any other tutorial associated with "Design, Effects, Photo Editing, or Photoshop."
Perhaps there could be a better description of what the keywords mean? I understand that tutorials tagged with Design may mean that the tutorial is open to interpretation, and you will have to make some of the design choices. It will most likely not look like the finished product on the site.
If I want to see more tutorials on Text Effects, then I can search for text effects, or click on the Text Effects keyword in my tutorial.
Is this a solution to what you're looking for? -
stacye
Aug 8th 2008
Oh, and I would also like to comment on the repetitive tutorials. I don't think they are bad. Sometimes the tutorial writer may show a different way (quicker) to do the same thing another tutorial writer did. I'm grateful for those kind of repetitive tutorials. =D
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Jana
Aug 10th 2008
The repetitive tutorials are indeed helpful sometimes. Like for example if there was a very long detailed tut for creating something but was more intended for people whos skills are above average or good, someone else might repeat the tut, showing a bit more cheating easier way to achieve the effect. This might help newbies to the designing world etc. as while you're getting to know certain things and learning where to apply them best, you might not need the detailed, pro approach as much as understanding the idea of it. -
GlassSphere
Aug 10th 2008
I've seen what your talking about, and thats great. But when I say repetitive, im talking about the same effect achieved nearly the same way each time. If you want an example, look up "fire text" on pslover.com . You have variety, but you also have a bunch of clone tutorials. Thats what I was getting at, clone tutorials. But the way to achieve effects are often repetitive too. You do find a ton of them using filter-render-clouds. While that filter is extremely useful, it is very recognizable as well.
There are link collector sites that collect every single tutorial link in existence like pslover.com, then there are other link collector sites that sortof have a list of their favorites that are generally higher quality and less cloned tutorials such as pixel2life.com
But yea this is just me trying to categorize what I've seen to be the major trends in tutorial sites.
Tutorial9 is different and doesn't really fit in any of the ones I mentioned. While it seems to have a bit of the blogger style yet it is a fully functional site so it doesn't really fit in that category.
As for tags being organizational things, thats not really what I was thinking. Things like text effects, brush effects, web layouts/buttons etc. , can't be limited to just a 'set' of tutorials. There are nearly infinite methods to making those. But you can teach why certain text makes your eyes bleed, how to turn parts of photos into brushes, and why is everything becoming so shiny/glossed on the internet. I guess I'm talking about expounding on the school of photoshop thing. Like college of photoshop :P
A good example of what I'm trying to say about tutorial sets, is space art. Space art has various elements within it, stars, nebulae, planets, asteroids, etc.. I know it would be really dumb to just come up with a few methods for it, and make it into a set saying 'this is how to make space art' when there are plenty of other methods. But maybe there could be a tutorial set that looks into the various methods, and shows the strengths and weaknesses of each, while also teaching theory in it. I don't think it's possible to exhaust every method in existence, but what I'm talking about is an educated overview. -
stacye
Aug 11th 2008
I think you might be unjustly faulting many tutorial sites doing the same tutorials, because pslover.com is an aggregate of tutorials.
The School of Photoshop set is easy to categorize because it is introducing you to commonly used tools in Photoshop. Matching effects to a specific art would take the creativity out of making things.
For example: The main effect emphasized in this tutorial (Amazing Photoshop Light Effects) is the changing of the brush to make a dust looking effect.
The same principal is used in this tutorial (A stitch in time), but it looks MUCH different.
This same effect could be used to make space art, but it could also be used in fantasy art, a country quilt, or a coupon insert.
I think what the tutorial writers want you to take away is HOW to do it. If you want to make your planet, then they show you how to make a sphere in one tutorial, they show you the gradient in another tutorial, they show you depth of field in another, and they leave it up to you to put them all together to make your planets. -
TylerBramer
Aug 11th 2008
Posted By: stacyeI think what the tutorial writers want you to take away is HOW to do it. If you want to make your planet, then they show you how to make a sphere in one tutorial, they show youthe gradientin another tutorial, they show youdepth of fieldin another, and they leave it up to you to put them all together to make your planets.
That is a great perspective on tutorials Stacye. Tutorials are meant to teach others how to use certain tools and learn new things, and also be able to use all sorts of techniques to make the finished product look clean. -
GlassSphere
Aug 12th 2008
gargh, I'm not reviewing tutorial sites! I'm saying two words!
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Comprehensive
Sets
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I'd try to explain that but the more I write the more it makes less sense.
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I've noticed that the more popular/emerging tutorial sites are using the 'blog' tutorial style. I feel comfortable with this, as I know whenever I encounter one that the tutorials will be of a lot higher quality. The problems I do have with blog styles is things aren't really organized well. You have to hunt somewhere on the sidebar for categories, which is normally in small text. I like seeing buttons, I don't know why, but buttons are like really appealing containers. Plain small text feels more like opening a filing cabinet than a present. The content on the site seems more like something posted on a board, than information integrated into the site.... aha, integration, thats the word I've been muddling for. Blog style tutorial sites tend to have poor integration between their information, and the website itself.
The most common tutorial site we probably all know to be the link gatherer sites. Pretty much these sites occasionally put up a tutorial of their own, and the rest of the content is actually off-site, but of course with their bar overlay thing. The quality of these tutorials tend to be low and repetitive (can anyone say filter-render-clouds?) but its those occasional gems that keeps us coming back. I pray that this site will never succumb to posting more external than internal content :D
Other sites are Artists websites, which tend to have either very opened ended tutorials (nothing more than a series of images and an explanation thats way too short) or the really massively detailed tutorials that go on for 7+ pages (I like!). There are also sites that only find really high quality art and tutorials, but most of the time the tutorial in its ability to teach isn't that high quality, but rather the fancy picture created was why the site adds it. Lastly there are graphics forums which the users submit tutorials in threads.
Now I had a few thoughts questions about this site. How hard is it to add sections like the school of photoshop into the website? I really love this idea of a tutorial set. And thought it would be interesting if there were other tutorials made (by users?) That were fused and polished (by admins) into similar compendiums. Say, a whole section on brushes, and the various effects you can achieve with them in detail, how to make them, what to look for (high res), what to look out for (edge lines in imagebrushes) Etc.. I don't know how things like that would or could be categorized but I just thought it would be cool if that was an option, to co-op with others to create really comprehensive tutorial sets on all sorts of subjects. I guess what I'm really asking, is the site able to expand without taking it's engine out?
Some sites are designed to grow in certain ways. Blog style tutorial sites just amass more comments and post more blog/tutorials. Link databases get more links. fourms get more posts. Art appreciation sites feature more artists, better artists. I just think it would be interesting if this site grew in the two ways that it's shown to be unique:
1: Every tutorial has another tutorial behind it to explain a tool or method that the reader may not understand. Beginner friendly while still not compromising the quality and effect of the tutorials. There is a consistency to each tutorial as it gives plenty of information, extra tips, and links to other tutorial that may help the reader understand things more.
2: Comprehensive tutorial sets! people have seen stray tutorials wandering the far reaches of linkcollectopia, but whats this! A band of tutorials, working as... one?! Who are these masked crusaders? Only time will tell.
annd i need sleep, 3:30 am, I'm probably way off my intended course of topic and now my first 4 paragraphs could probably be deleted out of unneeded-ness but I don't want to after typing that much :P