How To Use The Memories
I'm writing this post as a detailed guide on how best to use the memories of this community. It's not in reaction to any particular recent set of events, it's because I want to be able to archive it specifically and link it in the User Info. Cheers.
1.) Pick a category.
Entries may be listed in up to five categories. Try to think about your problem in a variety of ways. If you're having trouble optimizing an animation in Image Ready, for example, try, "Image Ready," "animation," and "saving icons." Also, the "Full Icon Tutorials" are extremely useful because they cover all kinds of effects in the middle, often with screen captures of the graphics program in question.
2.) Pick a keyword to search.
There are a lot of memories, and you need to be able to look through the keywords quickly. So if you're looking for instructions on making patterns in PSP7, then go to the "Paint Shop Pro" category and look for the word, "pattern."
Your browser has a search function that can help you with this. On a Windows machine it's ctrl+F; on a Mac it's apple+F. Yes, the hundreds of memories in the PS or PSP sections may be daunting, but if you hit ctrl+F and type in, "pattern," it'll take you right to each title on that page that has that word.
Bear in mind that you may need to think of additional ways to describe your issue. For example, memories discussing frames that jump around in mini-movie animations often have the term "jitter" in their description, but some have "shaky" and some have "jumpy." Try them all. Images that are mostly black and white but have a single object colored are described as "Greyscale," "black and white," or "b/w." I could write an infinite list of synonyms, because the English language is just like that. So be aware that the way you describe something may not be listed, but that doesn't mean the problem's not.
3.) Once you have found a post, read its comments!
Nine times out of ten, a post is archived because of the comments, not because of the original post! Read through all the comments. That's where the information is likely to be, and likely to be clearest.
4.) Be creative and use your brain.
The Memories are like a big, specialized research library. I am happy and honored to function as a librarian, but you still have to do some of the work yourself. If someone in the community says, "there are seven tutorials on outlining text under the 'text-related' category of the memories," then go look for them, don't say, "show me one" or, "I didn't find any."
5.) And finally, a warning about icon-making in general.
It's a skill, and that means that it's something that has to be learned over time and practiced. If you're heading into this community or into the memories looking for the holy grail of icon tutorials, you're not going to find it, because the best way to learn is to experiment. However, if you have a specific problem or question, or need a feature explained, then this is the place for you. :)
If you find something in the memories that cannot be accessed, that has been erased, that you think is mis-categorized, or that has some other kind of problem, feel free to contact me either through this post, in my own journal, or through the contact info on my profile.
Also, if you have any suggestions for more tips and tricks for using the memories, based on your own experience, feel free to comment.
Thank you!
*Etoile
1.) Pick a category.
Entries may be listed in up to five categories. Try to think about your problem in a variety of ways. If you're having trouble optimizing an animation in Image Ready, for example, try, "Image Ready," "animation," and "saving icons." Also, the "Full Icon Tutorials" are extremely useful because they cover all kinds of effects in the middle, often with screen captures of the graphics program in question.
2.) Pick a keyword to search.
There are a lot of memories, and you need to be able to look through the keywords quickly. So if you're looking for instructions on making patterns in PSP7, then go to the "Paint Shop Pro" category and look for the word, "pattern."
Your browser has a search function that can help you with this. On a Windows machine it's ctrl+F; on a Mac it's apple+F. Yes, the hundreds of memories in the PS or PSP sections may be daunting, but if you hit ctrl+F and type in, "pattern," it'll take you right to each title on that page that has that word.
Bear in mind that you may need to think of additional ways to describe your issue. For example, memories discussing frames that jump around in mini-movie animations often have the term "jitter" in their description, but some have "shaky" and some have "jumpy." Try them all. Images that are mostly black and white but have a single object colored are described as "Greyscale," "black and white," or "b/w." I could write an infinite list of synonyms, because the English language is just like that. So be aware that the way you describe something may not be listed, but that doesn't mean the problem's not.
3.) Once you have found a post, read its comments!
Nine times out of ten, a post is archived because of the comments, not because of the original post! Read through all the comments. That's where the information is likely to be, and likely to be clearest.
4.) Be creative and use your brain.
The Memories are like a big, specialized research library. I am happy and honored to function as a librarian, but you still have to do some of the work yourself. If someone in the community says, "there are seven tutorials on outlining text under the 'text-related' category of the memories," then go look for them, don't say, "show me one" or, "I didn't find any."
5.) And finally, a warning about icon-making in general.
It's a skill, and that means that it's something that has to be learned over time and practiced. If you're heading into this community or into the memories looking for the holy grail of icon tutorials, you're not going to find it, because the best way to learn is to experiment. However, if you have a specific problem or question, or need a feature explained, then this is the place for you. :)
If you find something in the memories that cannot be accessed, that has been erased, that you think is mis-categorized, or that has some other kind of problem, feel free to contact me either through this post, in my own journal, or through the contact info on my profile.
Also, if you have any suggestions for more tips and tricks for using the memories, based on your own experience, feel free to comment.
Thank you!
*Etoile