[ubuntu-art] Recent wiki edits
Hi! On Sunday, 8:24 CEST, bretcolin created http://wiki.ubuntu.com/Artwork/Incoming/Karmic/Karmic%20Koala%20Concept% 20Art There's a bit on naming at: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Artwork/Incoming/SubmissionGuidelines#Naming But I guess it has to be directly at the form for creating new concept pages. The link above shows you why there should be no spaces ... Bret: If you created this solely for background concepts, those should go in https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Artwork/Incoming/Karmic/Backgrounds under a new heading "Concepts", perhaps. What's up with this attachment? https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Artwork/Incoming/Karmic?action=AttachFile&do=view&target=colorful_koala You shouldn't attach to the Incoming/Karmic page, except if you want to put something on that very page. I guess it's an image but without filetype extension such as .png or .jpg? Then we have this gem of an edit by DSMatthews, who at Sunday, 8:51 CEST renamed Bret's page to http://wiki.ubuntu.com/Artwork/Incoming/Karmic/Petulant%20Platypus The comment on the change is: "I was high on eucalyptus oil at the time and do not remember anything." Thank you DSMathews, great job that deserves to be seen by everyone! -- Thorsten Wilms thorwil's design for free software: http://thorwil.wordpress.com/ -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art
Re: [ubuntu-art] karmic koala art background
Bret, I don't want to be a killjoy, but artwork included in the community art packages has to meet some requirements. As far as i recall, those for wallpapers are the following (you can check https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Artwork/Documentation/Backgrounds anyways): - resolution up to 2560x1600. - file format : PNG or SVG Currently, you're showing us 1024x768 JPG files, with a very very bad rendering quality, and the koala you use on it is already extremely blur, i just don't think the quality of the original image is good enough for making a wallpaper out of it. Also, when picking colours for your wallpapers, you have to be aware of two things: - some colours render well on some screens and horribly on other ones, esp. LCD screens which have a lesser colour range. - artwork meant to be designed for a particular release is usually based on this release's colour palette (eventhough we still didn't receive any information from Canonical concerning Karmic artwork, this probably being the main reason why people are not focusing on it yet). Also, I'm sorry to say it, but a melt of fuschia, red and lime green just looks horrible on my screen. I think you should work with a much lesser colour range, for instance two main colours, that fit well with each other, and only adding a little bit of darkness / ligthness here and there to obtain colour variations. There is an excellent app that helps you to pick colours with a particular difference of shade / saturation : Agave. I really wish to see you focusing on one idea and working on it till you get the best out of it. This is a much more efficient approach than trying a lot of ideas without sometimes taking the time to explore them. Cordially, SD. -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art
Re: [ubuntu-art] ubuntu-art Digest, Vol 46, Issue 54 (Bret Sheppard)
Hi guys, I'm very new at this. I'm just an artist,I don't know a thing about html or your confusing wiki. I'ts no wonder that you guys don't have more contributors, and as far as the non constructive critisism (you know who you are) what good does that do. I'm not some idiot with no feelings nor am I going to pretend I don't have feelings. I'm not a computer program that can be abused nor do I expect any hand holding but could someone please with all sincerity put it in non dislexic terms so that I can understand the process. -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art
[ubuntu-art] Constructive Criticism, was: ubuntu-art Digest, Vol 46, Issue 54 (Bret Sheppard)
On Sun, 2009-04-19 at 04:13 -0700, bret sheppard wrote: Please use meaningful subject lines. > Hi guys, I'm very new at this. I'm just an artist,I don't know a thing > about html or your confusing wiki. Being just an artist isn't an excuse for anything. Being new to certain topics isn't the problem, but you should pay attention. For example, I pointed to our documentation for submissions and told you where concepts for backgrounds should go, but you still created a new page with spaces in the name. > I'ts no wonder that you guys don't have more contributors, and as far > as the non constructive critisism (you know who you are) what good > does that do. No, we don't know who that is. You might be referring to certain one-liners, but you could also mean Steve. I would disagree in the later case, it was spot on and reasonably constructive. > I'm not some idiot with no feelings nor am I going to pretend I don't > have feelings. I'm not a computer program that can be abused nor do I > expect any hand holding but could someone please with all sincerity > put it in non dislexic terms so that I can understand the process. "non dislexic"? What good does this non constructive criticism do? Tell us what exactly is confusing and what needs to be cleared up. -- Thorsten Wilms thorwil's design for free software: http://thorwil.wordpress.com/ -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art
Re: [ubuntu-art] Constructive Criticism
Thorsten Wilms wrote: > On Sun, 2009-04-19 at 04:13 -0700, bret sheppard wrote: > > Please use meaningful subject lines. > > >> Hi guys, I'm very new at this. I'm just an artist,I don't know a thing >> about html or your confusing wiki. >> > > Being just an artist isn't an excuse for anything. Being new to certain > topics isn't the problem, but you should pay attention. > > For example, I pointed to our documentation for submissions and told you > where concepts for backgrounds should go, but you still created a new > page with spaces in the name. > > >> I'ts no wonder that you guys don't have more contributors, and as far >> as the non constructive critisism (you know who you are) what good >> does that do. >> > > No, we don't know who that is. You might be referring to certain > one-liners, but you could also mean Steve. I would disagree in the later > case, it was spot on and reasonably constructive. > > >> I'm not some idiot with no feelings nor am I going to pretend I don't >> have feelings. I'm not a computer program that can be abused nor do I >> expect any hand holding but could someone please with all sincerity >> put it in non dislexic terms so that I can understand the process. >> > > "non dislexic"? What good does this non constructive criticism do? > > Tell us what exactly is confusing and what needs to be cleared up. > Wow. I've been watching Brets submissions and while I personally feel they have a long way to go to be something that can be included in the wallpaper pack every reply I have seen has been rather constructive. Especially Steve's who detailed out issues. Bret: I think you'll find that there is a high standard here that must be met. I welcome your submissions but remember they *must* meet our criteria. I would also like to see you be more descriptive with your submission emails. I just have a hard time taking it seriously when I see a 1-line email like "ubuntu wallpaper", all lower case. Always rings Juvenile. -Cory K. -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art
[ubuntu-art] Gettin' our @$$3$ in gear. or, a team restructuring.
Apart from the title this email aims to take a no-holds-barred look at who we are and how we are put together. I have been looking at ways to give this team more structure and noticed something we lack in concrete leadership or anyone with any authority to enact change. Nobody with definitive word. We generally throw around loose ideas, someone edits the wiki and it looks official. 'Till, the next guy comes along. God. The wiki must have gon through some major shuffle every release. So I propose: 1. Clearing out the current LP art team and starting from zero. Closing it and making it a moderated team. The Launchpad team means and does nothing. I really don't see the need for a open team. Karma? No. I want to give it meaning. Being on this team will mean your a trusted member and you have demonstrated some ability/aptitude worthy of meaningful contribution to the team. Which is how a good many of the Ubuntu teams work. Weather it be actual art, packaging, documentation or credited art/design knowledge (you know what you're talking about basically). Acceptance on to the team will be voted upon by the Art council. This would also be the bug contact for any packaged efforts in the repos. 2. The current mailing list will be a discussion list and the new list (already waiting in the wings) be for LP team members only. This would mostly be a name change. Everyone on the "ubuntu-art" list would stay as-is the list would just rename to "ubuntu-art-discuss". The new list would be "ubuntu-art-devel". /Maybe/ the need to have "community" put in there somewhere. Up for debate. And the latter list like I said would be for approved members of the LP team. 3. Formation of a 5-person (or so) art council to be made up of currently trusted members. Pretty much self-explanatory. I would propose: (and this is just off the top of my head. don't feel slighted if I don't list you) * Kenneth Wimer - Our Canonical contact and generally smart dude. * Thorsten Wilms - Great command of design theory and good documentation skills. * Jonathan Austin - Great artist. (if he's up to it) (just a quick list. I'm sure there's more) So this is what I feel is needed for us to really take control of the team and give it focus. Right now, we're just too loose a bunch to really be effective. Discuss. -Cory K. -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art
Re: [ubuntu-art] Ubuntu Powder
@Matthew It's been about 3 weeks since the last word on this. This was an idea with alot of steam that has seem to fallen down. Like all of us I know you have many duties but there was a lot of interest in this and I hope you haven't missed your opportunity Did you say you were gonna have some research up like 2 weekends ago?. -Cory K. -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art
Re: [ubuntu-art] Gettin' our @$$3$ in gear. or, a team restructuring.
On Sun, 2009-04-19 at 12:52 -0400, Cory K. wrote: > 1. Clearing out the current LP art team and starting from zero. Closing > it and making it a moderated team. Agreed. > 2. The current mailing list will be a discussion list and the new list > (already waiting in the wings) be for LP team members only. > > This would mostly be a name change. Everyone on the "ubuntu-art" > list would stay as-is the list would just rename to > "ubuntu-art-discuss". The new list would be "ubuntu-art-devel". > /Maybe/ the need to have "community" put in there somewhere. Up for > debate. And the latter list like I said would be for approved > members of the LP team. This is a bit tricky. What do we want? * Focused discussion (no unfounded one-liners, participants have to have a clue) * A certain level of quality in artwork submissions * Proper email etiquette for efficiency * A chance that other designers at Canonical join in * Be open for newcomers, if they are willing and able to work on our level or to improve until that is the case. For all but the last, I would propose to keep one only-members-can-post list. Making it moderated would provide a point-of-entry, but then we need moderators. What I don't want is to have one list for serious business, while still having to deal with a noisy one. If all of the "inside" group would retreat from a still wide open list, that would mean all others can entertain themselves getting nowhere. Not fair and what a waste. > 3. Formation of a 5-person (or so) art council to be made up of > currently trusted members. > > Pretty much self-explanatory. I would propose: (and this is just off > the top of my head. don't feel slighted if I don't list you) > > * Kenneth Wimer - Our Canonical contact and generally smart dude. > * Thorsten Wilms - Great command of design theory and good > documentation skills. > * Jonathan Austin - Great artist. (if he's up to it) > > (just a quick list. I'm sure there's more) I'd take an official role as long as real life doesn't interfere. I don't expect it to make much difference. Meritocracy and all ... and editing the wiki, nobody stopping me ;) Kenneth decides. -- Thorsten Wilms thorwil's design for free software: http://thorwil.wordpress.com/ -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art
Re: [ubuntu-art] Gettin' our @$$3$ in gear. or, a team restructuring.
Thats alot of ideas :P. >1. Clearing out the current LP art team and starting from zero. Closing >it and making it a moderated team. > >The Launchpad team means and does nothing. I really don't see the >need for a open team. Karma? No. I want to give it meaning. Being on >this team will mean your a trusted member and you have demonstrated >some ability/aptitude worthy of meaningful contribution to the team. >Which is how a good many of the Ubuntu teams work. Weather it be >actual art, packaging, documentation or credited art/design >knowledge (you know what you're talking about basically). Acceptance >on to the team will be voted upon by the Art council. Hang on a second... Have you thought about how tricky this would be to moderate? The candidates you selected were great choices, but nonetheless this would be tricky. For the bug control team this works fine, B Murray just asks you for some examples of bug triaging. With art, i'm not exactly a great artist, but I still help out with the team, and I can code various types of theme. What will the guidelines be for entry? Because you can get absolutely superb wiki documentors who haven't even heard of a clone brush, are they not allowed in the group? I can help out with artwork stuff and do GDM themes etc, but i'm no artist... And I want to join :(. I'm not saying its impossible, but choosing who joins - and who doesn't could be complicated and tricky... Ben From: Cory K. To: Discussion on Ubuntu artwork Sent: Sunday, 19 April, 2009 17:52:47 Subject: [ubuntu-art] Gettin' our @$$3$ in gear. or, a team restructuring. Apart from the title this email aims to take a no-holds-barred look at who we are and how we are put together. I have been looking at ways to give this team more structure and noticed something we lack in concrete leadership or anyone with any authority to enact change. Nobody with definitive word. We generally throw around loose ideas, someone edits the wiki and it looks official. 'Till, the next guy comes along. God. The wiki must have gon through some major shuffle every release. So I propose: 1. Clearing out the current LP art team and starting from zero. Closing it and making it a moderated team. The Launchpad team means and does nothing. I really don't see the need for a open team. Karma? No. I want to give it meaning. Being on this team will mean your a trusted member and you have demonstrated some ability/aptitude worthy of meaningful contribution to the team. Which is how a good many of the Ubuntu teams work.. Weather it be actual art, packaging, documentation or credited art/design knowledge (you know what you're talking about basically). Acceptance on to the team will be voted upon by the Art council. This would also be the bug contact for any packaged efforts in the repos. 2. The current mailing list will be a discussion list and the new list (already waiting in the wings) be for LP team members only. This would mostly be a name change. Everyone on the "ubuntu-art" list would stay as-is the list would just rename to "ubuntu-art-discuss". The new list would be "ubuntu-art-devel". /Maybe/ the need to have "community" put in there somewhere. Up for debate. And the latter list like I said would be for approved members of the LP team. 3. Formation of a 5-person (or so) art council to be made up of currently trusted members. Pretty much self-explanatory. I would propose: (and this is just off the top of my head. don't feel slighted if I don't list you) * Kenneth Wimer - Our Canonical contact and generally smart dude. * Thorsten Wilms - Great command of design theory and good documentation skills. * Jonathan Austin - Great artist. (if he's up to it) (just a quick list. I'm sure there's more) So this is what I feel is needed for us to really take control of the team and give it focus. Right now, we're just too loose a bunch to really be effective. Discuss. -Cory K. -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu..com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art
Re: [ubuntu-art] Gettin' our @$$3$ in gear. or, a team restructuring.
On Sun, 2009-04-19 at 12:52 -0400, Cory K. wrote: > 3. Formation of a 5-person (or so) art council to be made up of > currently trusted members. > > Pretty much self-explanatory. I would propose: (and this is just off > the top of my head. don't feel slighted if I don't list you) > > * Kenneth Wimer - Our Canonical contact and generally smart dude. > * Thorsten Wilms - Great command of design theory and good > documentation skills. > * Jonathan Austin - Great artist. (if he's up to it) Oh, and in this order: * Cory K., because he kicks our @$$3$. * Sebastian Porta (though I bet he prefers to stay the most productive of all of us ;) * Anton Kerezov * Saleel * John Baer * (Rico Sta Cruz, if he ever comes back) Any additions, reactions? -- Thorsten Wilms thorwil's design for free software: http://thorwil.wordpress.com/ -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art
Re: [ubuntu-art] Gettin' our @$$3$ in gear. or, a team restructuring.
On Sun, Apr 19, 2009 at 9:53 PM, Thorsten Wilms wrote: > * Cory K., because he kicks our @$$3$. > * Sebastian Porta (though I bet he prefers to stay the most productive > of all of us ;) > * Anton Kerezov > * Saleel > * John Baer > * (Rico Sta Cruz, if he ever comes back) > > Any additions, reactions? I'll be glad to be part of the team and will help as much as I can in my very limited free time (if that doesn't bother you though). -- A.K. -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art
[ubuntu-art] Gettin' our * in gear or, a team restructuring.
Hello, I don't think my point of view is worth the one of the actual artists here, as I'm more or less a spectator, but I'm still going to give it. I must say I don't totally agree on the fact that this team lacks leadership, and I think you're handling this role pretty well, Cory, since you're one of those who take upon themselves to follow the progress of the projects going on here, to give advice to people when they're going on the wrong direction, etc. Since there is a lot to do there, I think having a "council", a group of moderators/administrators may be the most suitable way to go. But this would be useless if there is nothing to lead/manage. And that's where I totally disagree on the idea of splitting the ubuntu-art list into two lists, a public one for customers, and another, private, for artists. I don't believe it would cause any problems in the first months, but the risk here is to repel newcomers who may be great artists but don't feel confident enough to go in the process of being accepted as "members". Also, I fear that this cuts you, the artists (pretty brilliant, I must say) from *us* (obviously i belong to this group, but in no means i intend to speak in the voice of anyone but me), the community members, the ones who will use your artwork on our computers. I think the role of the mailing list is to let anyone make a first step in the direction of the team, and to exchange ideas, and I must say I'd be quite disappointed of not being able to follow what's going on here, just because I like keeping in touch with those who make the artwork I use, and because it's always a good occasion to learn a few things. If you are worried about the idea that anyone can post (and thus, it's true, disturb a serious process, even if I don't think it happens that much), then, yes, you should make this list moderated. But I would like to know the criterias for having a voice. Would it be only for artists, as persons who are capable of making high quality artwork with opensource tools, or would there also be a place for community members, who don't have anything to offer but feedback, and who are just not skilled enough to actually contribute ? About the idea of cleaning the LP group, I totally agree with you. It could be used as a mark of recognition for the people who do contribute, and would fit this role much better than the mailing list, in my opinion (and I must say that since I joined it, I've been totally inactive there, just because there is nothing which I can be of use in it). Anyways, I for sure will keep in touch with the team, with the means that I will be able to use. Cordially, SD. -- Steve Dodier OpenPGP : 0E5E4ECB IRC : SiDi on irc.freenode.net Jabber : s...@im.apinc.org steve.dod...@gmail.com https://launchpad.net/~sidi -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art
Re: [ubuntu-art] Wiki content.
On Sun, Apr 19, 2009 at 7:27 PM, wrote: > Then we have this gem of an edit by DSMatthews, who at Sunday, 8:51 CEST > renamed Bret's page to > http://wiki.ubuntu.com/Artwork/Incoming/Karmic/Petulant%20Platypus > > The comment on the change is: > "I was high on eucalyptus oil at the time and do not remember anything." > > Thank you DSMathews, great job that deserves to be seen by everyone! > I hope my good humored response to the antics on the wiki made a point, there is a fine line between creativity and mischief, when people cross that line it is best dealt with in a light hearted manner, lest we find our selves feeding trolls. :-) -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art
Re: [ubuntu-art] Gettin' our @$$3$ in gear. or, a team restructuring.
I am totally enthusiastic about a plan like this, if this is what it takes to get Ubuntu looking more "sophisticated." Because in my personal opinion, there are some very "amateur" things about Ubuntu (although I love the distro) mainly that being the graphical end. What I would love to see is a lot higher standard on the "overall look," and "feel." Just my 2 cents... Jent Kyle -- Freelancer Graphic Artist On Apr 19, 2009, at 10:52 AM, Cory K. wrote: > Apart from the title this email aims to take a no-holds-barred look at > who we are and how we are put together. > > I have been looking at ways to give this team more structure and > noticed > something we lack in concrete leadership or anyone with any > authority to > enact change. Nobody with definitive word. We generally throw around > loose ideas, someone edits the wiki and it looks official. 'Till, the > next guy comes along. God. The wiki must have gon through some major > shuffle every release. > > So I propose: > > 1. Clearing out the current LP art team and starting from zero. > Closing > it and making it a moderated team. > >The Launchpad team means and does nothing. I really don't see the >need for a open team. Karma? No. I want to give it meaning. Being > on >this team will mean your a trusted member and you have demonstrated >some ability/aptitude worthy of meaningful contribution to the > team. >Which is how a good many of the Ubuntu teams work. Weather it be >actual art, packaging, documentation or credited art/design >knowledge (you know what you're talking about basically). > Acceptance >on to the team will be voted upon by the Art council. > >This would also be the bug contact for any packaged efforts in the >repos. > > 2. The current mailing list will be a discussion list and the new list > (already waiting in the wings) be for LP team members only. > >This would mostly be a name change. Everyone on the "ubuntu-art" >list would stay as-is the list would just rename to >"ubuntu-art-discuss". The new list would be "ubuntu-art-devel". >/Maybe/ the need to have "community" put in there somewhere. Up for >debate. And the latter list like I said would be for approved >members of the LP team. > > 3. Formation of a 5-person (or so) art council to be made up of > currently trusted members. > >Pretty much self-explanatory. I would propose: (and this is just > off >the top of my head. don't feel slighted if I don't list you) > >* Kenneth Wimer - Our Canonical contact and generally smart > dude. >* Thorsten Wilms - Great command of design theory and good > documentation skills. >* Jonathan Austin - Great artist. (if he's up to it) > >(just a quick list. I'm sure there's more) > > > So this is what I feel is needed for us to really take control of the > team and give it focus. Right now, we're just too loose a bunch to > really be effective. > > Discuss. > > > -Cory K. > > -- > ubuntu-art mailing list > ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com > https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art
Re: [ubuntu-art] Wiki content.
On Mon, 2009-04-20 at 05:54 +1000, Daniel Scott Matthews wrote: > I hope my good humored response to the antics on the wiki made a > point, there is a fine line between creativity and mischief, when > people cross that line it is best dealt with in a light hearted > manner, lest we find our selves feeding trolls. :-) Hmm. To me it looked like you renamed the page Bret created before he managed to edit it, to turn it into what is now the 2nd attempt: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Artwork/Incoming/Karmic/Karmic Koala Concept Art Only now I have to think of the other explanation for all of this :/ In any case, no bad feelings towards you, Daniel. -- Thorsten Wilms thorwil's design for free software: http://thorwil.wordpress.com/ -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art
Re: [ubuntu-art] Gettin' our * in gear or, a team restructuring.
Steve Dodier wrote: > I must say I don't totally agree on the fact that this team lacks > leadership, and I think you're handling this role pretty well, Cory, since > you're one of those who take upon themselves to follow the progress of the > projects going on here, to give advice to people when they're going on the > wrong direction, etc. > While I can chime in about certain things with some amount of credulity I don't feel I am quite the guy for the lead of this team. I manage projects under the team fine but as a whole, it's not something i want. > Since there is a lot to do there, I think having a "council", a group of > moderators/administrators may be the most suitable way to go. But this would > be useless if there is nothing to lead/manage. Sure. I'm thinking of the council as the group that set policy and overall team direction. > And that's where I totally > disagree on the idea of splitting the ubuntu-art list into two lists, a > public one for customers, and another, private, for artists. > > I don't believe it would cause any problems in the first months, but the > risk here is to repel newcomers who may be great artists but don't feel > confident enough to go in the process of being accepted as "members". > > Also, I fear that this cuts you, the artists (pretty brilliant, I must say) > from *us* (obviously i belong to this group, but in no means i intend to > speak in the voice of anyone but me), the community members, the ones who > will use your artwork on our computers. > > I think the role of the mailing list is to let anyone make a first step in > the direction of the team, and to exchange ideas, and I must say I'd be > quite disappointed of not being able to follow what's going on here, just > because I like keeping in touch with those who make the artwork I use, and > because it's always a good occasion to learn a few things. > > If you are worried about the idea that anyone can post (and thus, it's true, > disturb a serious process, even if I don't think it happens that much), > then, yes, you should make this list moderated. But I would like to know the > criterias for having a voice. Would it be only for artists, as persons who > are capable of making high quality artwork with opensource tools, or would > there also be a place for community members, who don't have anything to > offer but feedback, and who are just not skilled enough to actually > contribute ? > This is how the current Ubuntu development lists work (split into 2 lists) and it works quite well. It's pretty much my model. Still not something I'm hard set on, but feel it needs chat. Some of the reason for a split. is to lower the signal to noise. (small part) another would to be to discuss policy and maybe a quieter place to interact with what/whomever (Julian?) at Canonical. -Cory K. -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art
[ubuntu-art] Constructive Criticism
> Hi guys, I'm very new at this. I'm just an artist,I don't know a thing > about html or your confusing wiki. I'ts no wonder that you guys don't have > more contributors, and as far as the non constructive critisism (you know > who you are) what good does that do. I'm not some idiot with no feelings nor > am I going to pretend I don't have feelings. I'm not a computer program that > can be abused nor do I expect any hand holding but could someone please with > all sincerity put it in non dislexic terms so that I can understand the > process. > Hello Bret, I believe you're writing this message because you got me wrong on my last comment, and I also believe you're pointing a finger at em, thus I'll allow myself to answer you. I honnestly, in no means, try not to be constructive when I write on this list. Before speaking of what is actually important, I still would like to make a few things clear : - The reasons why there are no contributions at the moment are mostly that, with the release of Jaunty in a week, everyone who has a role in packaging / bug management is pretty busy with their other responsabilities, but also that we are 6 months from Karmic Koala, the UDS has not taken place yet, and everyone is working on his own side, thinking about what one could work on in the next months. If you'd joined a few weeks before, you would have noticed the impressive amount of work that has been done by the subscribers of this list, and the seriousness with which everything has been done (for instance, the documentation and use/case testing of the Impression theme. I personnaly don't use it, that's a matter of taste, but I respect it's author for the huge amount of work he's produced, and for the quality of his work). - About the Wiki, it's something that anyone can edit (and also, that anyone can break) pretty easily. As you can see, there is a lot of discussion going on at the moment about it. If you've never used a Wiki before, I suggest you to train with it (just use it's preview feature, to see what you're doing, and when you're doing wrong, wipe everything and try again till you manage to use it). This will help you a lot when you write specs for your artwork. The rest is about knowing how to use The GIMP / Inkscape / Blender / any free (as in freedom) piece of software you can think of for artwork. Now, let's speak about the thing that matters, your contributions. You've been posting quite a lot of wallpapers lately. Some of them were just the previous one, with something added to it. The best way to work on a project, and offering yourself the possibility to look back at what you've done and to decide wether you're going in the good direction or not, is to keep a track of your work. This is the role of the Wiki, with which you can post the different versions of a same wallpaper, and also grab comments from users about the modifications you bring to it (usually we just write a "comments" section at the end of the Wiki pages for this purpose). As you could read in my previous email, I didn't like the last wallpaper you posted, because it was too blury and because I didn't like the choice of colours. That's my point of view, it's worth what it's worth. Now, let's be positive a little, I looked at the wallpaper you posted on the wiki (i won't argue about the fact that it is a very low resolution, and in a JPG format). I like the concept. I believe it's far from achieved, but I really like the idea of drawing a koala inside of clouds, eventhough i think you should make it's eyes softer (they look like two dark balls right now, and there are no dark balls in the sky ;) ), and you should of course work at a much higher screen resolution so that you can put more details in it and you can render it for all of the currently used screen resolutions, which is compulsory for inclusion in the community artwork packages. I hope this will help you to notice that noone here is trying neither to abuse you nor to deceive you, but trying to help you express the best of yourself. You feel confident about the fact of being an artist. All I wish is that you take the time to own the tools that are used here and show everyone the best of you. Cordially, SD. Ps : if you're wondering, the reasons for which you won't see me contribute artwork in the next few months are the following : - i'm not able to use Inkscape / the GIMP. I learnt on my own free time how to use Photoshop, and i'm currently learning, little by little, how to use those tools, because i perfectly understand and agree that i can't advertise a tool if i don't believe its worth me to use it. - i don't do wallpapers because i'm getting nowhere as soon as i work on resolutions bigger than 1000x1000 (i have a little screen, and i also have little skills, i assume it :) 1000x1000 is enough for what i'm asked). - i don't have enough time to give to actually try to produce something, and come back on it dizens of times, to take into account the advice of the pe
Re: [ubuntu-art] Gettin' our @$$3$ in gear. or, a team restructuring.
Kyle Family wrote: > I am totally enthusiastic about a plan like this, if this is what it > takes to get Ubuntu looking more "sophisticated." Because in my > personal opinion, there are some very "amateur" things about Ubuntu > (although I love the distro) mainly that being the graphical end. What > I would love to see is a lot higher standard on the "overall look," > and "feel." Well the work would only be seen in the community packages but who knows what the future holds. But the point of all this would be to get more focused and organized. There's many questions that pop up that nobody can definitively answer because really, nobody's in charge. A council IMO will solve this. And yes. This approach will raise the barrier for entry and be exclusionary. I don't feel that's a bad thing. We *need* to be more than a collection of nutcases (myself included) and try to provide a place where only the best art comes through. -Cory K. -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art
Re: [ubuntu-art] Wiki content.
On Mon, Apr 20, 2009 at 6:34 AM, wrote: > On Mon, 2009-04-20 at 05:54 +1000, Daniel Scott Matthews wrote: > >> I hope my good humored response to the antics on the wiki made a >> point, there is a fine line between creativity and mischief, when >> people cross that line it is best dealt with in a light hearted >> manner, lest we find our selves feeding trolls. :-) > > Hmm. To me it looked like you renamed the page Bret created before he > managed to edit it, to turn it into what is now the 2nd attempt: > https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Artwork/Incoming/Karmic/Karmic Koala Concept Art > > Only now I have to think of the other explanation for all of this :/ > That is one of the brilliant aspects of the wiki concept, you have complete freedom, yet the revision history also gives you an audit trail and full accountability. I would like to think that my edit actually inspired the final (more relevant) version of the page. ;-) -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art
Re: [ubuntu-art] Gettin' our @$$3$ in gear. or, a team restructuring.
On Sun, Apr 19, 2009 at 12:52 PM, Cory K. wrote: > 1. Clearing out the current LP art team and starting from zero. Closing > it and making it a moderated team. If nothing else, this really should be done. The LP team is basically useless in its current state. According to the members page we now have: 152 active members 784 inactive members I'm not entirely sure what LP uses to designate active members, I imagine that it is simply whether or not some one has logged into LP recently. Either way, it's definitely not representative of the actual people doing work. Making the team moderated would make it much more useful. As it is now, it's just another badge on your profile page. > > 2. The current mailing list will be a discussion list and the new list > (already waiting in the wings) be for LP team members only. Agreed. I imagine art-discuss being much like the current list. People sharing things the are working on ect... The moderated list could focus more on decision making processes ect... It should also be set up (like ubuntu-devel) so that non-members may still subscribe. I think there might be some misconceptions that this would be a secret list of some sort. > 3. Formation of a 5-person (or so) art council to be made up of > currently trusted members. Agreed. What this team needs more than anything else are some defined goals and projects. Right now, it's mostly just people throwing things against a wall to see what sticks. The steps you propose would go a long way to help. - Andrew -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art
Re: [ubuntu-art] Gettin' our @$$3$ in gear. or, a team restructuring.
Its probably a good idea to have council created, if just to give direction and create guidelines. The largest problem this team seems to have is a lack of collective focus, everyone is attempting to develop something different rather than looking at designs submitted and working together to develop the aspects of each that are good into a cohesive theme. Currently insane amounts of times are wasted on developing ideas that end up not being included. I would avoid trying to give the task of managing the artwork development to the council because it will likely be time consuming and many of people I've seen suggested have limited time available. In terms of making the team no longer open, again a good idea but have a clear way to get accepted documented in the wiki, and note what sort of contributions your after. Id also suggest to create focus groups for theme development (both code and art), backgrounds, and for the wiki maintenance and make acceptance based on contributions to one or another group (likely via a recommendation by a focus group lead). Id also suggest you make a spot for people that contribute purely through well thought out critique. Someone who can do that can be incredibly valuable even if they cant create anything more that stick figures. -Matthew Lye You can do anything you set your mind to when you have vision, determination, and and endless supply of expendable labor. On Mon, Apr 20, 2009 at 7:29 AM, Andrew wrote: > On Sun, Apr 19, 2009 at 12:52 PM, Cory K. wrote: > > 1. Clearing out the current LP art team and starting from zero. Closing > > it and making it a moderated team. > > If nothing else, this really should be done. The LP team is basically > useless in its current state. > > According to the members page we now have: > > 152 active members > 784 inactive members > > I'm not entirely sure what LP uses to designate active members, I > imagine that it is simply whether or not some one has logged into LP > recently. Either way, it's definitely not representative of the actual > people doing work. > > Making the team moderated would make it much more useful. As it is > now, it's just another badge on your profile page. > > > > > 2. The current mailing list will be a discussion list and the new list > > (already waiting in the wings) be for LP team members only. > > Agreed. > > I imagine art-discuss being much like the current list. People sharing > things the are working on ect... > > The moderated list could focus more on decision making processes > ect... It should also be set up (like ubuntu-devel) so that > non-members may still subscribe. I think there might be some > misconceptions that this would be a secret list of some sort. > > > 3. Formation of a 5-person (or so) art council to be made up of > > currently trusted members. > > Agreed. > > What this team needs more than anything else are some defined goals > and projects. Right now, it's mostly just people throwing things > against a wall to see what sticks. The steps you propose would go a > long way to help. > > - Andrew > > -- > ubuntu-art mailing list > ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com > https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art > -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art
[ubuntu-art] Gettin' our @$$3$ in gear. or, a team restructuring.
On Sun, 2009-04-19 at 19:51 +0100, Cory K. wrote: > Apart from the title this email aims to take a no-holds-barred look at > who we are and how we are put together. > > I have been looking at ways to give this team more structure and > noticed > something we lack in concrete leadership or anyone with any authority > to > enact change. Nobody with definitive word. We generally throw around > loose ideas, someone edits the wiki and it looks official. 'Till, the > next guy comes along. God. The wiki must have gon through some major > shuffle every release. > > So I propose: > > 1. Clearing out the current LP art team and starting from zero. > Closing > it and making it a moderated team. > > The Launchpad team means and does nothing. I really don't see the > need for a open team. Karma? No. I want to give it meaning. Being > on > this team will mean your a trusted member and you have > demonstrated > some ability/aptitude worthy of meaningful contribution to the > team. > Which is how a good many of the Ubuntu teams work. Weather it be > actual art, packaging, documentation or credited art/design > knowledge (you know what you're talking about basically). > Acceptance > on to the team will be voted upon by the Art council. > > This would also be the bug contact for any packaged efforts in the > repos. > > 2. The current mailing list will be a discussion list and the new list > (already waiting in the wings) be for LP team members only. > > This would mostly be a name change. Everyone on the "ubuntu-art" > list would stay as-is the list would just rename to > "ubuntu-art-discuss". The new list would be "ubuntu-art-devel". > /Maybe/ the need to have "community" put in there somewhere. Up > for > debate. And the latter list like I said would be for approved > members of the LP team. > > 3. Formation of a 5-person (or so) art council to be made up of > currently trusted members. > > Pretty much self-explanatory. I would propose: (and this is just > off > the top of my head. don't feel slighted if I don't list you) > > * Kenneth Wimer - Our Canonical contact and generally smart > dude. > * Thorsten Wilms - Great command of design theory and good > documentation skills. > * Jonathan Austin - Great artist. (if he's up to it) > > (just a quick list. I'm sure there's more) > There are two very powerful team principals to remember. The first is exclusion. No one wants to feel they are left behind or what they have to offer has no value. The second is inclusion, everyone is welcome and everyone has something to offer. 1) The question becomes why would I want to be a member of the ubuntu-art-discuss list if all the real work is occurring on ubuntu-art-devel list? Does the 5 member art council want to get into the business of deciding whose in. Just to illustrate my point, I have no knowledge of Jonathan Austin. 2) Is the two list approach being used elsewhere? It is common to have folks who desire to contribute affirm they have read and agree with the approach and the manner in which the group interacts (code of conduct). I appreciate your desire to improve the status quo but maybe we are not as "broke" as it may seem. What I have observed over time is when folks feel their effort might be included as part of default the level of participation rises and the quality of the work is good (inclusion). To illustrate this point, how would the development of Breathe change if you were told it would be the default icon theme for 9.10? When folks feel no matter what they do, no matter how good, the changes to Ubuntu will come from elsewhere participation falls (exclusion). My guess is many folks feel that way now. I believe the solution is community-themes. * My desire is to encourage folks to join, get evolve, and post submissions. * My desire is we present opportunities to those who decide to participate which encourages others to join. * My desire is our submissions are forward thinking and challenge the status quo. Success in my opinion is when there are so many good choices available Canonical is challenged on how to include them. Ubuntu depends on Canonical, Canonical depends on community. My suggestion is to improve our processes. I would divide our submissions into categories. Submit to one, or submit to all. Categories would be bound to a series (e.g. Incoming/Karmic). * Backgrounds (e.g. Incoming/Karmic/Backgrounds) * GTK Themes * Icons or Icon Themes * Sounds or Sound Themes * Usplash Themes * Other(?) Let this categorization be the bases on how community themes are packaged. I would keep the best of show package small, and if desired because we have to many good choices (Yea!), make an "extras" package. Add to the above creating count-down banners, posters, and responding to other art related requests (e.g. wiki artwork), this team will become very active. John -- ubuntu-a
Re: [ubuntu-art] Hanso Theme
On Sun, Apr 19, 2009 at 6:46 PM, James Schriver wrote: > I'm in the process of developing a highly usable dark/hybrid theme for > Karmic. I've been using the theme for over a week and it's very usable > in it's current state. > > The focus of this theme is to make something a bit different from the > normal hybrid theme and demonstrate that brown can be beautiful while > still saying "Hey, is that Ubuntu?". A majority of all dark gtk themes > is that a majority are black/grey. This theme is a dark rich brown with > pronounced gradients on the toolbars. This may appear a bit obtrusive > to some but the effects will grow. A majority of sites (Google Docs, > Sprint, etc) use this type of gradient on their toolbars and it does > give a modern dimensional appeal to it. > > Another common issue I had was with darker themes, is that they looked > highly detailed with contrast during the day, but as the day grew on and > the lighting environment darkened, the dark themes became a bit bland > and washed out. I seem to have managed to mitigate that issue, at least > for my eyes. > > The metacity theme is a modification of DiMetacity, by Ken Vermette, one > the most talented artists to work with the Ubuntu community, > > I will make a Wiki page when I have some time, but overall it's mostly > complete. All trouble applications seems to work as well. > > Thanks to SiDi for the suggestion of darkening the menu_items and > lessening the gradients on the menubar. This proved to be a usability > issue over time as the window border was not as pronounced. The menubar > is now striped utilising murrine. > > Please report any bugs / suggestions. > > The code can be found at: > > https://code.launchpad.net/~dashua/+junk/Karmic-Themes > > > > -- > ubuntu-art mailing list > ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com > https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art > > It reminds me of dark chocolate, and now I am craving it. :( Good work, though! It is a very good job! One thing from your screenshot, are there two different menubar backgrounds? smartboy -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art
