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Training sessions/Proposals/SVG illustration workshop

From Wikimania 2016 • Esino Lario, Italy
Title:

An introduction to SVG and illustration techniques with Inkscape

Author:

Shyamal, cmglee and anyone else willing to share tricks and tips in a skill-sharing session.

Description:

A picture is worth a thousand words. Illustration using Inkscape is much easier than realized and a few tips and tricks are offered in this workshop. We will also get to learn a bit about advanced ideas such as interactivity and animation that might have greater application in the future - which will also be continued in the afternoon session by Gordon Lee.

Outline:
  • What vector images are.
  • Inkscape concepts
    • objects, paths, groups, combine, text, object properies, effects, text-on-path, layers
    • Beziers, path operations - union, intersection, difference
    • Tracing - automated, manual
    • Importing from R and other software (esp. maps and graphs)
    • Getting participants to produce desired output
    • SVG event handlers - interactivity
  • Advanced SVG features
    • Simple animation
    • Element highlighting using hover and click
    • Python GIF animation to SVG converter for interactive timelines and simple 3D viewer
    • Python/SVG near-polyglot scripting framework
Purpose:

Good illustrations can greatly enhance Wikipedia and making them is a useful skill for all content creators to have.

Targeted participants:

Any Wikipedia content developers with an interest in gaining some illustration skills.

Preparatory readings or materials:
  • Laptop with mouse.
  • Participants are welcome to preinstall Inkscape on their computers and have an illustration to make in mind.
  • For Advanced SVG features: your favourite text editor, and for Python features, Python 2 (may work with Python 3 too)
Links to examples
SVG animation: en:SVG_animation
Element highlighting: File:6-set_Venn_diagram_SMIL.svg, File:Demo_group_highlighting_SMIL.svg
GIF animation converter: template:gif_animation_to_svg.py
Python/SVG framework: en:user:cmglee#animal_hearing_frequency_range.svg_.E2.98.8E_26_Oct_2014
Interested attendees
  1. Satdeep Gill (talk) 14:41, 14 March 2016 (UTC) (Map of Punjab)[reply]
  2. Rehman 15:52, 15 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]
  3. Dyolf77 (talk)
  4. Bodhisattwa (talk) 11:42, 30 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]
  5. cmglee (talk) 21:42, 30 March 2016 (UTC) (Also a collaborator)[reply]
  6. CristianNX (talk)
  7. Slashme (talk)
  8. --MB-one (talk) 17:10, 15 June 2016 (UTC)[reply]
  9. Sebastian Berlin (WMSE) (talk) 08:25, 17 June 2016 (UTC)[reply]
  10. Gikü (talk) 15:59, 17 June 2016 (UTC)[reply]
  11. Laura 22:20 , 24 June 2016
  12. Vitor Mazuco (talk) 17:23, 7 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]