SitePoint is planning a series of premium video tutorials for web developers. To kick off this effort, and to get some valuable feedback from the community (that’s you), we thought we’d start by giving you all a free dose of Photoshop eye candy!
There are two versions of the video: one with additional text captions for the hearing or audio hardware impaired (or for those who just don’t like my voice).
Screencast: Photoshop Starburst Effect (10:09, no captions)
Screencast: Photoshop Starburst Effect (10:09, captioned)
These videos are optimized for low-grade broadband connections, but patient dial-up viewers can wait and view the video once it has loaded.
Depending on your feedback, we plan for future screencasts to cover all the same technical topics that we cover in other areas of sitepoint.com, from down-and-dirty coding tutorials to web design solutions.
Let me stress that your feedback is especially important, here. Screencasts like these take time to produce, and we’d like to see a clear vote of support from our community before we commit to producing them on a regular basis. You can either comment on this blog, make use of our feedback form (put it under Blog Feedback), or drop me a line personally at kevin (at) sitepoint.com.
Enjoy the freebie — we look forward to hearing from you!
February 24th, 2006 at 1:23 am
I think the panning/zooming of the camera was a great idea and a wonderful touch, but it was a tad over-used. There were times when the camera panned out and zoomed back in to an area only right next to the originally zoomed in area where a simple pan (no zoom) could have been applied instead.
For something like this, if we’re going to spend 12 minutes watching it, I wouldn’t mind spending more time watching it a bit smoother (and if artistic, a bit more clear). I think you could safely up the frames per second…but perhaps we should hear more comments from users about that.
When Harry did his Wink tutorial example on AjaxProxy, he did a timed capture. Wink’s best feature is the ability to make mouse movement very smooth - no unnecessary movement. If used in combination with timed capture (if needed, like in his example) the end result is a bit nicer. Although I understand why you used a timed capture in Macromedia’s Captivate (or Adobe’s, I guess) because you used voice (and without voice, you needed some gestures to show what you were doing)…but at times, the mouse movement was unnecessary and probably reduced the compression percentage.
My timeline did not scroll along automatically with the screencast. I don’t think it’s a problem with the screencast, but probably more likely a setting on my computer. However, due to this, I was unable to click on the link at the end unless I manually moved the timeline scrollbar to the end.
Oh, and…although personal preference, right clicking on the layer and choosing “Duplicate Layer” is a bit easier and quicker. :) There’s also the shortcut-key and the right-arrow button in the window, but all are much faster to do than Layer - Duplicate Layer (and the last commented two are still viable alternatives to a screencast).
Since this, I think, was more of a test on comments over the screencast itself rather than the content of the screencast, I’d just like to say that although it’s been blogged about before, you did very nicely, Kevin. Your voice is a bit higher than I had anticipated, but who cares. You spoke clearly, fluently, and you were easy to hear. The volume levels seemed quite adequate.
I did like the fact that you also used the “show mouse clicks” option. I think that’s a commonly missed option by other tutorials/screencasts that should be incorporated when trying to teach/show someone something.
Now…as funny as this is, I was offered to create “screencasts” or demos for a software product in exchange for licensing. I basically said “forget it, I’ll do it for free” because it’s easy and fun (and the software has a free version and a pro version, and I don’t need the features of the pro version). While thinking about this, I was thinking about how I told someone just learning HTML to try and find a Visual Learning book…and then I also thought about all the Sitepoint books I own. I put the three thoughts together and wondered if Sitepoint would ever think of mixing the two mediums together. Sell a book with an accompanying DVD (or CD, depending on space requirements) with visual/audio lessons on certain things. It does take planning and thought, but considering how much less time it might take than trying to emphasize your point in examples stylized and typed up with paragraph after paragraph of detailed instructions, not only would it save some effort (which actually still shouldn’t be skipped) but it would garner MUCH more interest in your book line. The ROI for time/money spent would be magnificent.
February 24th, 2006 at 1:29 am
I thought it was excellent. It was clear and easy to follow. I would definatly consider paying for some in the future.
I also echo the panning/zooming comment above. After a while it made me just a tad dizzy so I would cut down on the frequency of it. I would use it for emphasising important points rather then just for general viewing purposes.
Great job! Wouldn’t mind evaluating a few more. (hint hint) :D
February 24th, 2006 at 2:20 am
I think you have produced an amazing Camtasia video.
February 24th, 2006 at 2:34 am
As a deaf user, I applaud the effort made to make a captioned version of the screencast! I truly was able to follow every step with no problems. I did have a problem with the white text at times being used as captioning which was a bit hard to read and the text tended to cover up parts of the tutorial at times where I couldn’t quite see what you were doing.
I would suggest having the captioning being in a placeholder below the actual screen shot of the program being taught.
Another grip would is the quality of the video. It was a bit fuzzy to watch but I’m sure this is all due to it being mainly a trial run.
I think the flow of the program, it’s ease of use and length were very well done.
I am looking forward to see what other screencasts sitepoint has in mind making. I think that it would also be a great idea to include screencasts to supplement the books as well ( as mentioned in previous post )
All in all great effort and keep up the great work!
February 24th, 2006 at 3:07 am
You see, this is why we love our readers so much. Honestly folks, how great was that feedback? Thank you malikyte, we’ll take on board everything you’ve said. Keep em coming folks…
February 24th, 2006 at 5:16 am
I don’t have speakers at work so getting a video with captions is top idea. keep that!
I would suggest you put the text on a solid background, since the video does not play as the text is on screen you could maybe do an 80% black background under the white text to make it more clear?
You really need to up the quality and FPS, it felt kind of cheap and sluggish. If it would have had a 10 mintue loading bar I would have thought it was 1999.
The part where you made the background a layer (I felt) was more like a “quick tip” and would maybe make more sense if you put it in a bubble or something. I don’t really know but maybe things that could be applied to general photoshop use could be highlighted in some way?
Video tutorials work very well (look at the 3D community) and if you had some sort of premium membership I would use it to get videos like these. (as long as there not all about Photoshop)
Good work Kevin and Sitepoint
February 24th, 2006 at 6:06 am
Liking it alot - really easy to follow. Can I suggest maybe having additional notes to accompany the video on the theory of why some of these affects need to be applied? Its OK saying that you have to polarise something or merge a layer but ‘Why’ do you have to do it this way?
I think this would be a great way for explaining the videos in more depth for those of us who want a better understanding.
Good work all round
February 24th, 2006 at 7:49 am
I like it a lot, although the captioned version is very hard to folow, the captioning is barely visible. The effect is very nice, but the pace of the video is quite high. Also, in the user interface, the progess indicator on the bottom does not wok anymore once you wind back the video a little.
Other than that, great stuff!
February 24th, 2006 at 8:46 am
I had no problems following the tutorial and am confident that i could follow it through again and actually create my own starburst - and I am relatively inexpereinced when it comes to Photoshop.
It was well presented, clear and easy to follow. Kevin’s extra comments provided insights into why he chose certain optiond and not others also helped with my overall undertsanding of the effect and Photoshop in general.
I would certainly consider paying for further screencasts as long as they covered topics that were relevant to me (assuming the price was right of course!).
If i had paid for that screencast, i may have been slightly disappointed at the overall quality of the sound/visuals, but it wouldnt have caused me any problems with regards to following the instructions.
Text is dead. Long live screencasts!
February 24th, 2006 at 8:53 am
Was a bit slow, but I suppose for a beginner that’s a good thing. Overall I was pretty happy with it.
February 24th, 2006 at 9:10 am
I don’t have much to add that hasn’t already been said. A great first example, looks promising though the captions do get in the way of what’s going on at times.
One thing I did note was a tiny little error in the content list on the left side of the video; the second Polar to Rectangular should actually read Rectangular to Polar :)
February 24th, 2006 at 9:27 am
I think it was an excellent tutorial all round, Maybe Sitepoint could start giving us some free video tutorials on all aspects of Web Design.. Programming / Design / etc etc… Or at least provive affordable cbts. Something to think about I guess.
February 24th, 2006 at 10:02 am
Agreed - maybe some incentives could be offered to people who have bought books or who buy a book - some free videos or at a reduced rate? Whats the current cost model sitepoint have in mind?
February 24th, 2006 at 10:33 am
Excellent tutorial. I liked the whole concept, altough it was a little too long. I don’t think every options in any window has to be explained.
February 24th, 2006 at 11:03 am
The tutorial itself was good. Even, as others noted, it was a bit slow and didn’t use the fastest way to do some things (using shortcuts, other method to duplicate layers,…), I think any beginner could follow it without any major problem.
I was, on the other hand, very disappointed by the low video quality (way to low for premium content, IMHO). I would prefer to wait a little longer for the tutorial to load as long as it’s good quality.
And with the overused panning on top of the poor image, I felt like I was seasick (I’m never seasick, but I assume it’s about the same feeling… ;) ). I would have preferred to see the whole screen all the time, even though it would have made everything a little smaller. There was really no details to be shown, even to beginners, apart maybe when you apply the wind effect. So, OK, one zoom effect to show the wind filter details, and then back to fullscreen. And thus no throwing up!
Michaël
February 24th, 2006 at 11:24 am
I enjoyed the tutorial, though I don’t have photoshop. I’m not sure, though, of the need of another video tutorial on photoshop since there are other ones, especially the quality of lynda.com. The cost for the tutorials will have to be substantially less in order for them to be competitive. I’d recommend doing tutorials that are based on the books in the Sitepoint library. That may be your goal. If so, great! I’d love to see it. I’d recommend some kind of cost break for those who own the books and such.
It is a pleasure to see how sitepoint has grown over the years. Thanks for all that you have helped me to understand.
February 24th, 2006 at 11:55 am
I liked the video. Any issues I had have already been discussed. The only suggestion I have is to provide a printable cheatsheet at the end. This would just have the main steps and settings used to create the effect. Once I’ve watched the video and saw how it’s done, I could use the cheatsheet to jog my memory.
February 24th, 2006 at 12:46 pm
Loved it! I find I don’t have much time or motivation to buy books on effects and other cool tricks. With this, I can have it on while I’m having my lunch break. It was also easy to follow and Kevin Yank’s voice can make a wolverine purrrrr. ;)
February 24th, 2006 at 1:40 pm
Hi everyone great tutorial - I like what you’ve got - my only critique is that you should make sure in your tutorials that you name your layers. As your tutorials get more complex, keeping your layers named is invaluable. Plus, you can use some of Photoshop’s native automation functions for those who have newer versions of the software. Naming things is just so important…
Also, I’d do everything by keyboard shortcut, I personally think your viewers will find their work efficiency go through the roof - and even if the turotial is not applicable for their situation, they’ll still have something they can learn. A lot of your instruction could have been condensed with shortcuts - IMHO it’s what separates amateurs from professionals.
As for the video - well, opinions are like a$$holes - so those people with smoking connections and video cards are going to beg for a high res, while those with dialup and win98 are going to need slower connections - just do both - I’m sure y’all know what your doing :)
I think the cheatsheet idea rocks.
I personally think you should divide your tutorial sections into Novice, Intermediate and Advanced, I think this will save a lot of headache dealing with those people who are on different skill levels with Photoshop.
Thanks a lot for listening I apreciate it greatly!
Paul Huntsberger
Technical Coordinator
Boulder College of Massage Therapy
February 24th, 2006 at 2:04 pm
Very informative!!
February 24th, 2006 at 3:19 pm
I thought the tutorial was good, although the zoom in / zoom back got in the wa a bit for me. I think the hard part of all of this is figuring out how to categorize them so that they are suited to skill levels.
If you start doing them on Coding elements, (CSS, Ajax, JavaScript) you could have issues unless you’re clear about things like whether you need to be running PHP or whatever. In fact, one of these tutorials like this on how to set up PHP and MySQL on a windows machine would rock! But just an idea.
Where I work we do all our development in ASP so a tutorial on Using Ajax in PHP wouldn’t do me much good unless you could keep it at that general level where that might not matter.
I’d love to see some of these tutorials on the coding side, especially on the hot topics like getting started with Ajax and Ruby or how to set up what you’d need to do start doing Ajax or Ruby…
That ind of stuff…
February 24th, 2006 at 3:42 pm
If you’re going to be doing this as premium content I’d definitely bump up the frame rates.. but also try to keep it affordable. Are you looking at a per video pricing plan or can you buy like a 30 Day, 90 Day, 6 Month, 1 Year subscription set up?
Sound quality was also goof for this although I had Kevin pegged as more of a baritone… And hey if you’re looking for more voices to do some script recording for these I know I’d be interested… maybe we could work out a deal for books or t-shirts in lieu of cash… LOL
Are there any plans to make them available as MPEG 4’s? We could download them onto our video iPod’s then… You know… kind of… “..now you can take your tech with you when you’re on the road… Download the latest tutorial at sitepoint today!”
February 24th, 2006 at 4:35 pm
Good tutorial. I really enjoyed the video format, and I’m looking forward to more. Thanks!
February 24th, 2006 at 6:27 pm
Fantastic. I have little idea on things like this, so really appreciated being talked through it. Excellent stuff.
February 24th, 2006 at 8:22 pm
Neat tutorial.
Produces a very nice effect.
Thanks
February 24th, 2006 at 9:00 pm
I love tis format! Keep them coming.
Neat effect as well.
February 24th, 2006 at 9:29 pm
Great tutorial. Need more of em.
February 25th, 2006 at 12:51 am
Hello, Kevin.
Presentation was very good, tone of voice was just perfect.
Is there a chance that you could also write an article or explain the process to create this presentation, eg tools used to capture the screen, create the video, synchronize sound and display the result itself in a browser (I specifically like the zooming effect to focus the interest, marking areas, menu on the left)?
Goog job.
February 25th, 2006 at 12:57 am
Want more! Want more!
February 25th, 2006 at 4:43 am
very nice…
February 25th, 2006 at 8:49 am
Great tutorial, straight to the point & no fluff.
February 25th, 2006 at 10:18 pm
Excellent.
February 25th, 2006 at 11:38 pm
Excellent
I look forward to the next one.
Now if I could just find that trial copy off CS2…
February 26th, 2006 at 5:06 am
Simply Wonderful. My first Photoshop tutorial where my image turned out correctly. Keep em coming.
February 26th, 2006 at 5:57 am
I liked the tutorial very much. It was easy to follow. Maybe you could have mentioned more shortcuts, like how to duplicate a layer without using the menu and such.
February 26th, 2006 at 1:19 pm
I loved the version with the captions i was using a low bandwidth connection in the park and talking with friends but still got a lot because of the video. Will there be any CD versions?
February 26th, 2006 at 6:58 pm
Excellent idea, hope to see many more of these.
February 27th, 2006 at 1:26 am
Great tutorial. Personally, i felt the speed of the instruction was quicker than most and “perfect.” (Usually I get bored.) I agree that shortcuts tips could have helped. (Who uses the mouse? I HATE using the mouse. Anecdotally, I’ve noticed that “PC” people mouse more than Mac people.) The overuse of zooming also got to me a little. It’s more work but i would have rather chosen whether i wanted hi or lo quality res video. Personally, i’d rather wait and surf while a hi res is downloading. I had to pause and play a couple times to get the buffer to clear itself up. Other than that, nice job. I also thought Kevin’s voice would be a little lower but he still sounds as cute as he looks. ;-)
February 27th, 2006 at 3:19 am
Did not like the effect, but love the video and the whole idea of video tutorials.
Keep up the good work.
February 27th, 2006 at 7:24 am
Brilliant - More Please!!!!!
February 27th, 2006 at 7:49 am
Very useful. Excellent. For me speed was good, level ok, voice good. Although the quality could be better, it’s nice it’s loading fast. As others have mentioned, if you up the quality some will be happy but others complaining.
I think that for a photoshop tutorial this concept works very very well. In just 10 minutes you can visualize exactly what’s needed for a certain effect, while this would have taken pages after pages of difficult reading and hard to follow screenshots in a book.
Therefore the suggestion to add such a thing to a book would be great. The book would be good for the basic explaining and reference, the dvd would be very useful to explain a couple of items.
I certainly would be willing to pay more for a combi book+dvd then a book alone. Not sure if I would pay to view a single 10 min. screencast. Maybe the best model would be to give away some for free as teasers and then people can view them all on the dvd/book they buy. Just like you do with the books and free chapters. That apperently works, as you guys have made me buy a lot of sitepoint books :)
February 27th, 2006 at 12:36 pm
Hi Kevin –
Great tutorial . . . I learn best with visual AND hard copy to refer to. My only suggestion is to be able to print out or have a pdf to refer to.
Thanks.
February 28th, 2006 at 3:08 pm
Great tutorial. Although the pans and zooms increase editing time, they provide a more compelling user experience. I agree that a printable version of the script would be nice. Keep it up.
February 28th, 2006 at 5:49 pm
That was a great tutorial. I really learned a lot. Nice work.
February 28th, 2006 at 6:54 pm
Thought it was brilliant. Concise, to the point, and lots of little extras that I also didn’t know about. The format was great as well - being able to concentrate on the screen and work at hand, rather than the presenter, made it much more informative. Great job, well done.
March 2nd, 2006 at 3:16 am
Very good and concise
March 2nd, 2006 at 3:27 am
I think that the video tutorials are definitely a good idea. A picture is worth a 1000 words. Likewise, an animation is worth a 1000 pictures. :)
March 2nd, 2006 at 3:28 am
A well done tutorial.
March 2nd, 2006 at 3:31 am
This video is way cool — it shows how to do something that isn’t obvious just by pulling down menus and clicking filters! Thanks!
March 2nd, 2006 at 3:34 am
Very nicely done, efficiently teaching the steps while showing you… I’d like to see more of these!
March 2nd, 2006 at 3:37 am
Liked that a lot. Do more.
March 2nd, 2006 at 4:00 am
Kevin
Good job! I like video tuts in general and I like the fact that yours is clean, to the point and still manages to say why you are doing stuff - not just doing it and saying “follow me”
March 2nd, 2006 at 4:24 am
That was a great way to present a tutorial. I really learned a lot more by seeing it done.
However most people learn best with visual & a hard copy to refer to (could also be kept as reference). It would be good to have a abreviated (short) doc or pdf to print out to refer to.
Thank you very much.
March 2nd, 2006 at 4:30 am
I think this is a great offering. This tutorial is really well done. I particularly like the great screen management that it uses. The window is made smaller than the actual size of the screen in the video to help optimize it for web delivery. The view is moved and zoomed appropriately to help the viewer keep on top of what is actually happening when detailed views are needed. This is further accentuated by the red circles that ping out from the cursor whenever a mouse click is executed. Together this really helps with understanding, subtle as it is. Refreshingly, the video once again zooms out when details aren’t needed to allow the viewer a more complete view of the changes that are taking place.
Some thought is given to making allusions to the future consequences and possible directions of tasks he is performing, particularly when managing layers. Although, I feel there are a few places where it would be important to give more, I think this is one of the best tutorials that I’ve seen in a while. Overall, there are places like Lynda.com that could learn something from this tutorial’s screen management, prefacing techniques, and editing to pay attention to the cursor and actions taken. One standout example of where it would help to have prior information would be in letting us know that we’re switching to polar temporarily to accomplish an effect and will be undoing the polar switch shortly when the task is completed. I think this would greatly enhance the viewer’s ability to comprehend the reason for the switch and remember the procedure for it with their first viewing. Generally, teaching the reasoning behind the actions taken in these type of tutorials helps tremendously. I would like to see more of that in this tutorial to help make it more effective. I would also like to see a short glimpse of what we are shooting for in the end with this tutorial during the introductory explanation. I always find it easier to pay attention to how I get somewhere if I already have an idea of where I’m going.
Thank you for this well done tutorial. I will definately be coming back.
March 2nd, 2006 at 4:34 am
Kevin,
Excellent tutorial, i love video tutorials and it’s especially neat to see them coming from sitepoint. Having such great books from sitepoint, i would be no surprise to see visual versions of it’s books in video format.
March 2nd, 2006 at 4:36 am
Really nice tutorial. Well done guys, there’s a reason Sitepoint has a reputation for being on the leading edge. I’d enjoy seeing more of these in the future.
March 2nd, 2006 at 4:50 am
Very good video tutorial (managed to get it all on my measly dial up modem). I am not currently a Photoshop user but can see now why I should be.
I would be very interested in more videos, especially if they are all going to be as clear and easy to follow as this one.
Thanks.
March 2nd, 2006 at 4:54 am
Excellent tutorial, though I must agree with a lot of the other folk here that I would be a good idea to include a DVD or CD with some (or all) of your books.
I have bought quite a few over the last couple of years and sometimes (even with diagrams) need to be read several times to get it into my old brainbox, where-as a video would show things much clearer.
As to whether I would purchase premium online content would depend on the cost and the “need” for that particular video.
All in all I think you have made a great start to something that could make Sitepoint even better than it already is.
Keep up the good work!!
March 2nd, 2006 at 5:08 am
Great video up until half way - then it refused to play any more… My system is a fully software-updated Mac OS X 10.3.9 / Safari 1.3.2 v312.5 / Flash 8.0.22.0.
March 2nd, 2006 at 5:24 am
Excellent. Liked the use of polar co-ordinates to get the effect.
I think the pace and detail provided was just right.
March 2nd, 2006 at 5:28 am
After looking at it again, I realize that I made a mistake when I said
Sorry about that. It is there and prominantly displayed. Being new to Sitepoint I just took it for your standard logo.
But while I’m making a fool of myself I thought I might suggest that you specifically point out that we’re making an image similar to the one being shown for unobservant people like me. Also, I was thinking that it might be helpful to give a visual breakdown of the seperate layers and how they will come together to form the final image during this intro time. You probably wouldn’t even have to say anything about it then; The movement would attract my attention.
Many comments have been made about the menus and the absence of keyboard shortcuts. There are a number of repeated commands in this tutorial and it might be a good idea to use the alternatives and at least state the keyboard shortcut the second time around. This is assuming the tutorial will be something a viewer can rewatch when they miss something.
March 2nd, 2006 at 5:37 am
Really liked the video. Great idea when time is precious. Only been at my desk 20 mins this morning and learned something already. I would pay for individual video tutorials like this if you made a series of them.
March 2nd, 2006 at 5:45 am
Kevin,
As a mere Photoshop dappler, I can only say that your presentation taught me many things apart from “starbursting” that I didn’t know.
As a former university extension instructor and author, I can say that your manner, tone and clarity are excellent. Friendly, well-paced, continuously informative and easy to follow.
Overall a four-star performance.
Thanks.
Emojo
March 2nd, 2006 at 5:57 am
Thumbs Up - Cool!!! :)
March 2nd, 2006 at 6:01 am
Oh MAN! That’s beautiful! And such a creative use of the filters and effects! Amazing! I’d love to see more of your magic, Kevin!
March 2nd, 2006 at 6:02 am
Super Cool - thankyou
March 2nd, 2006 at 6:31 am
Cool! Nice and handy chaptering!
More of this is welcome!
Thnx!
March 2nd, 2006 at 6:42 am
Videos are good!
March 2nd, 2006 at 6:48 am
Hi Kev,
That’s the best tutorial style I’ve come across and the lesson was very clear and understandable. I wish I’d had you as my instructor from scratch instead of the moron who assumed that teaching was a waste of time and went out of his way to prove it! Keep up the good work and give us MORE, please!
March 2nd, 2006 at 6:48 am
Food for thought. Really need to start using the power of PS more..after 9 years ! lol
March 2nd, 2006 at 6:55 am
About the tutorial. For me, as a new software engineer, with not so many years experiance is this tutorial simple fantastisk. Exact was I needed to come further with my web pages. Thank You Site Point
March 2nd, 2006 at 6:59 am
Excellent.
March 2nd, 2006 at 7:17 am
Outstanding!!
March 2nd, 2006 at 7:18 am
Yes, please keep up the videos they are VERY helpful !!!
March 2nd, 2006 at 7:28 am
Excelent video tutorial !
March 2nd, 2006 at 7:33 am
Hi
Simple to follow and useful to know - especially working with multiple layers and how they interact for this particular purpose.
Thank you very much!
Mike
March 2nd, 2006 at 7:39 am
Thanks for a great tutorial - well paced and very clear - easy to follow. Cheers!
March 2nd, 2006 at 7:57 am
Fine tutorial, that leaved me say ‘WHAW’!
March 2nd, 2006 at 7:58 am
Terrific tutorial! We want more!
March 2nd, 2006 at 8:01 am
Very nice tutorial, with little touches like this your whole site is becoming one of my most vivted.
Keep it up, thanks.
March 2nd, 2006 at 8:14 am
absolutely brilliant..thanks guys
March 2nd, 2006 at 8:15 am
Clear directions and instructions and it is very impressive way to learn the basic as well as advance steps in a short time while watching the true effects.
March 2nd, 2006 at 8:27 am
excellent tut
http://www.web-garden.be
March 2nd, 2006 at 8:28 am
Very straightforward, direct and respectful of my time.
I learned a few things I didn’t know in the process of the tutorial.
I’ll waiting in great anticipation for more tuorials.
Bravo!
Watch out NAPP!
March 2nd, 2006 at 8:29 am
excelent tutoral
keep up the good work.
:)
March 2nd, 2006 at 8:30 am
super tutorial / splendid results / a bit fast for me, but i can always look at it again.
fantastic results ! (how does one find these tricks ??)
March 2nd, 2006 at 8:56 am
The best tutorial I’ve seen to date and as a photoshop instructor I have tried them all. I have been using photoshop since it’s first release and I haven’t seen this creative filter effect. The video is clean and easy to understand and Kevin is a true tutorial genius! I would pay for individual video tutorials like this if you made a series of them.
Great job Kevin!
March 2nd, 2006 at 9:11 am
A great tutorial clear, and easy to follow.
Love all your books too. But the video’s WOW you just can’t get any clearer than that! I want more!
Thanks!
sward :)
March 2nd, 2006 at 9:13 am
Kevin,
What a fantastic tutorial! You have created a clear, concise video model that others should/will try to emulate!
Thanks
March 2nd, 2006 at 9:20 am
Excellent Job Kevin!
March 2nd, 2006 at 9:21 am
A previous starburst effect just had me making bars and distorting them until I got the effect. Problem was, I didn’t get the effect I was looking for. This is it!
March 2nd, 2006 at 9:23 am
Excellant!
March 2nd, 2006 at 9:25 am
Great tutorial. The best part was that you did not assume that we knew where the tools were or how to do something, but showed every step of the way.
March 2nd, 2006 at 9:26 am
Outstanding and easy!
March 2nd, 2006 at 9:29 am
This is great. The instructor was so good. I want more.
March 2nd, 2006 at 9:34 am
Please, sir, can I have some more??!
LOVED the tutorial…am panting at the bit for more of the same!
March 2nd, 2006 at 9:58 am
Hey guys, kick ass! I’m a future web developer that’s in school (graphics design), and I take a LOT of online tutorials/courses (text, and video). I really love the side bar feature that shows you what step that you’re covering. That’s extremely helpful and it gives an instant overview of whatever process you’re going to cover. Keep ‘em coming, that’s my vote. Sweet deal guys. Take ‘er easy.
March 2nd, 2006 at 10:01 am
Great presentation! Thanks for it. Are you going to give more? Are you going to have a CDROM or download subscription available?
Also I had stuttering of the audio and had to pause and wait for the streaming catch up.
March 2nd, 2006 at 10:05 am
I really enjoyed the video tutorial. Great pace, and a useful trick/tip that I’m sure to use in the future. Thanks.
March 2nd, 2006 at 10:06 am
This was really great - I can’t wait to try it. Appreciate how each step was shown in the tutorial, and on the side. Great job!
March 2nd, 2006 at 10:07 am
Great tutorial! Clear audio instructions matched with excellent visuals. The visual images extending beyond my 17″ monitor, though, making it hard to follow all the cursor movements. Maybe make screen size a percentage instead of fixed?
March 2nd, 2006 at 10:10 am
This tutorial was really well-narrated, and well-produced. As a PhotoShop tutorial nut, I have to say that this was one of the best I’ve seen.
Thanks! I learned a couple of new tricks!
Nicole
March 2nd, 2006 at 10:11 am
Sorry I don´t remember my user name.
I think this tutorial is GREAT!, I´m going to use the idea.
Please send more of this kind of tutorials, they´re really helpfull.
thanks!
Rita
March 2nd, 2006 at 10:23 am
Loved it!
I’m a big fan of online video tutorials and this one was very good.
March 2nd, 2006 at 10:24 am
Great tutorial … always nice to add something to the bag of tricks.
Thanks
March 2nd, 2006 at 10:29 am
Great stuff. Keep up the good work. Looking forward to the next tutorial.
March 2nd, 2006 at 10:40 am
Tutorial on starburst effect using Photoshop was EXCELLENT! Please let me know if there are more like this.
Thanks
Marlene Ferguson
kfergus1 -at- rochester.rr.com
March 2nd, 2006 at 10:41 am
Excellent! A nice little lesson to get the creatice juices flowing! Interesting techniques, too. *I* would’ve done it differently, buy Kevin’s approach is a bit more elegant. Hence, the kudos!
March 2nd, 2006 at 10:45 am
Overall that was quite good. There’s a point about 2/3 of the way through where the menu clicking picks up its pace a bit, that feels like you’re rushing through. The only improvement I can suggest is to review your pacing so it remains more even from start to finish.
Looking forward to more!
March 2nd, 2006 at 10:48 am
Great tutorial, good speed, good screen movement that really allows you to see what your clicking on. Good pace also. Love the chapters on the side so you can go back and watch a certain section again without having to scrub through.
March 2nd, 2006 at 11:12 am
I’ve been using Photoshop for a long time, but I learned a couple of tricks that were new to me. Thanks!!
March 2nd, 2006 at 11:16 am
Wonderful! Learned some great shortcuts and techniques.
March 2nd, 2006 at 11:21 am
This was a really cool tutorial! thanks
March 2nd, 2006 at 11:35 am
Great information and presentation! Would love to see more! One small thing - it’d be helpful to have the length of the presentation noted somewhere on the page - i.e. duration: 16 minutes.
March 2nd, 2006 at 11:39 am
Loved it, I would like to see two things (already listed above) printable cheatsheet and duration.
March 2nd, 2006 at 11:44 am
Some very cool tips and tricks in there. I’ve never used the polar coordinates filter, but I like its effect! This video made it very understandable.
Was a bit jumpy though, even a little after I let the video fully buffer. But I could still understand it.
March 2nd, 2006 at 11:46 am
Kevin,
Back when you first gave this tutorial, I was able to successfully use the effect on a job. I would not have been able to travel out to the Polar Coordinates and back safely without this instruction. The teaching style in this video is very good.
The graphics are fuzzy in the video. The sound stuttered when I raised/lowered the volume. I also experienced stuttering when I dragged the video’s “progress marker”.
I viewed it in Safari, on a Mac G4, 867 MHz, OS X 10.4.5, broadband cable connection.
Thanks much for the very useful teaching.
March 2nd, 2006 at 11:47 am
I like it, very cool Kevin, nicely presented…I’m going to use this effect the next chance I get. I’d love to see more just like this one in the future on SitePoint, my favorite site design forum…
DougB
March 2nd, 2006 at 11:47 am
Great tutorial! Clean, easy to follow and duplicate. Keep up the good work.
March 2nd, 2006 at 11:48 am
The great thing about this video was that I not only learned how to do this effect and use the tools to accomplish it, but I also learned other simple things along the way. For example, holding CTRL and selecting the thumbnail. There were a variety of techniques that I picked up along the way that you don’t neccessarily get from a written guide.
Nice work.
March 2nd, 2006 at 11:49 am
At my current job as the graphic designer for a medium sized customer feedback & surveys company, there is a great need for similar online video tutorials for their online reporting software. After considering my options for screen capture software, I too chose Camtasia. It’s great to see that I’m on the right track! I also took some notes on the great comments.. Besides that though, learned a couple tricks from the tut as well! Nice work!
March 2nd, 2006 at 11:50 am
I really like your video tutorial. Thanks
March 2nd, 2006 at 11:52 am
The tutorial was very helpful and useful … thanks.
March 2nd, 2006 at 11:55 am
great tutorial! hope to see more in the future.
March 2nd, 2006 at 12:00 pm
loved it - everything about it worked well. and i was able to follow along and do each step with the author. awesome.
March 2nd, 2006 at 12:06 pm
Great - thanks.
March 2nd, 2006 at 12:09 pm
I found the presentation informative and will use the techniques. Is it possible to print any of this info out for reference as I attempt to replicate what I learned?
March 2nd, 2006 at 12:13 pm
That was awesome. Hope to see more tutorials. Thank you.
March 2nd, 2006 at 12:20 pm
THIS WAS AMAZINGLY HELPFUL!! I dont know a lot about photoshop but use it for hours daily.. Im self taught so to speak This was great!!!! I got so much out of it! I can’t wait to see more. Keep up the amazing work
March 2nd, 2006 at 12:21 pm
Took a while to load and I have DSL. Couldn’t figure out what was going on… whether it was loading, or just stuck.
March 2nd, 2006 at 12:23 pm
I loved the tutorial and have already been thinking of all the diffrent applications and veriations. I have read Kevin’s book on MySQL and PHP, he is a clear communicator.
Thanks.
March 2nd, 2006 at 12:26 pm
I watched the Starburst effect video. It is the first video tutorial I’ve seen from Sitepoint and I have one word, fantastic! I already knew how to make the effect, so I was interested to see how you present it. I am now interested in seeking other Sitepoint video tutorials. Keep up the great work!!
March 2nd, 2006 at 12:43 pm
Thanks for that - i learned a lot of cool techniques
March 2nd, 2006 at 12:53 pm
Really nice, no wasted time and info. Also helped to reinforce some things I’d learned about Photoshop at the “school of hard knocks.” I have Photoshop 6 so would have to do a little digging to get all this done. Perhaps a related link to CS2 -> Photoshop 6 mapping of the effects choices would help those like me who haven’t yet found the spare change to upgrade to CS2.
Keep this kind of stuff coming, because these are the sorts of things that help web-heads like me to effects that differentiate my sites, and add a very professional touch.
March 2nd, 2006 at 1:02 pm
Excellant!! Will more than likely view it a few more times. Hope you have more of this coming.
March 2nd, 2006 at 1:06 pm
This is cool. Thanks for showing us how to do this. ;-)
March 2nd, 2006 at 1:15 pm
I just saw a comment from malikyte about why not “right click on the layer and choose ‘duplicate layer’” and other power user shortcut suggestions.
It is MUCH easier for beginners to see you use the menu bar to do things. People can always use shortcuts when they are more comfortable, but learning first using shortcuts guarantees people will never learn the “big picture” of what they are doing. So, as a teacher, THANK YOU for a tutorial my beginning students can follow.
Lastly, I second malikyte’s excellent idea of SitePoint including an accompanying DVD or CD. You could make it an extra charge so as not to exclude poor people, I’m sure the majority of people would buy it.
Thanks again.
March 2nd, 2006 at 1:16 pm
Loved it. A great idea for presenting knowledge. Please keep them coming.
March 2nd, 2006 at 1:43 pm
Exhilarating! Repeat forever.
March 2nd, 2006 at 1:56 pm
Hope you have more of this coming. Amazing
March 2nd, 2006 at 2:00 pm
Brilliant! And I could understand it as well. I nice speed of information. Not too fast or slow, not condescending or sales clap trap.
March 2nd, 2006 at 2:06 pm
eASY TO UNDERSTAND AND CLEAR TO FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS
March 2nd, 2006 at 2:16 pm
Excellent. I hope I can find this again when I need it. Thanks.
March 2nd, 2006 at 2:17 pm
This was a good presentation. I think the total length was great, not too long and the speed of delivery was good.
I tried the captioned version first but found it distracting to have them over the work area. I guess for those who don’t have English as a first language it makes it easier to catch everything. Maybe the captions could be smaller?
It’s always cool to watch someone else’s techniques to accomplish the everyday things we do and I learnt a new way to do something in this presentation (besides the whole effect).
Good stuff.
March 2nd, 2006 at 2:22 pm
Brilliant!
More please.
March 2nd, 2006 at 2:23 pm
I loved the video tutorial!
I read so much about web design, that it is nice to watch a tutorial for a change. Excellent work - short to the point (which is good).
I hope others voice their support too!
I look forward to future installments.
Ken Vandegrift
Beaverton, OR
March 2nd, 2006 at 2:24 pm
What a fabulous tutorial. Excellent format and duration, long enough to do a proper job and not too long that you have to set aside dedicated time. Bring on more “top tips” like this please.
Well done.
March 2nd, 2006 at 2:34 pm
Excellent. Kevin avoids one of the common pitfalls of his type of tutorial, where we often only see the button pushing sequence. Here though, he gives us the concepts behind what he is explaining. As a result, it is quite easy to see how one might use other applications than photoshop. Well paced and clear. As someone else said, I hope I can find this again for future reference.
March 2nd, 2006 at 2:42 pm
Very cool! I’d like to see more videos, especially about development. I’d like to have the starburst action script so I don’t have to go through all those steps. I recognize that the action would obscure some of the fine touches.
Thanks!
Jim
March 2nd, 2006 at 2:44 pm
Absolutely wonderful! Is there a print out of the instructions?
March 2nd, 2006 at 3:00 pm
That was an easy to watch video that anyone can follow. Good Work!
March 2nd, 2006 at 3:04 pm
As one not very learned on Photoshop I thought this was an excellent presentation and the effect is fantastic.
March 2nd, 2006 at 3:39 pm
Outstanding! After being “Yanked” to attention by the presentation, I salute Kevin for his fine work.
March 2nd, 2006 at 3:40 pm
Well done a job mate. Continue record some more examples like these and we become experts :)
March 2nd, 2006 at 3:50 pm
This was great! Keep them coming…this could be huge for you guys. I hope to see tutorials on everything from php to photoshop, colfusion to actionscript!
Thanks for the tips!
March 2nd, 2006 at 3:53 pm
Awesome! It’s neat just to know that this kind of stuff can be done.
March 2nd, 2006 at 4:09 pm
Your Photoshop Starburst tutorial is great. I enjoyed the tutorial and it was really useful. I really hope that sitepoint will have more video tutorial like this. Great Job!
March 2nd, 2006 at 4:31 pm
Peerfect, keep up the good work.
March 2nd, 2006 at 4:31 pm
Perfect
March 2nd, 2006 at 5:02 pm
very nice explanation
March 2nd, 2006 at 5:03 pm
If you did classes, I would attend, without a doubt. This is fantastic stuff.
March 2nd, 2006 at 5:24 pm
Thank you for the starburst tutorial.
It was easy to follow: I liked the outline of the steps on the left, the pace of the tutorial, the red circles around controls and the voice over. I look forward to seeing more.
Elizabeth Hamilton
http://www.handcraftedsites.com
March 2nd, 2006 at 5:33 pm
Awesome job! I would certainly like to see more of these tutorials.
March 2nd, 2006 at 5:45 pm
Well produced, well paced and easy to follow. It’s easy to find “hoaky” effects. Please continue with hot new effects and you’ll have a huge following.
March 2nd, 2006 at 5:55 pm
Hello,
yes, I agree with the crowd, very well done lesson, nicely presented, good length (reminds me of Total Training). Not a great quality but good enough for this purpose.
However, I also experienced a bit of stuttering, mainly when I switched to other application during the presentation.
Many thanks, and yes, I am interested in more.
Viewed on PowerBook G4 1.5MHz, 1 GB RAM, OS 10.4.5, Safari 2.0.3, T1 Ethernet
Bronco Hyrman
Kodak (formerly Creo)
Vancouver, BC
Canada
March 2nd, 2006 at 6:32 pm
I thought the tutorial was great. Since I’m not a Photoshop user, what interested me was how you did the video. I’d like to see a tutorial on how to put together videos like this one.
March 2nd, 2006 at 6:43 pm
That is really good stuff! Easy to follow, saving hours if trying to learn that on one’s own. Thanks.
March 2nd, 2006 at 7:15 pm
You make it look so easy! Great video!
March 2nd, 2006 at 7:43 pm
I thought is was GREAT! NOt only learned the starbust bu other neat little tricks and other ways to do something I was alrady doing. (and probably get a nicer look) Would love to see more.
March 2nd, 2006 at 7:55 pm
Hi Kevin,
This is a great idea. I like the tutorial on StarBurst. I can’t wait for the web design tutorials.
All the best,
Larry Carter
March 2nd, 2006 at 8:21 pm
Very straight forward and easy to follow. Hope to see more…It kinda beat reading a book !
March 2nd, 2006 at 9:09 pm
That was great! Look forward to more!
March 2nd, 2006 at 9:32 pm
That was an awesome video. Thanks!!!
March 2nd, 2006 at 9:35 pm
Whooohoooo! MORE! MORE!
Can these be available with any other tutorials so that we can download them and view them at our leisure offline?
Well done! Keep up the good work!
BTW Good to finally put a voice to your face Kevin :)
March 2nd, 2006 at 10:52 pm
It was extremely well done and thought out. The steps were clear and this was the first video tutorial that I was able to keep up and complete just on the first try. Excellent work and I’m sure we all will look forward to the next tutorial. Cheers.
March 2nd, 2006 at 11:43 pm
I liked it. Very well done.
The only thing I might add is some sort of printable copy to follow when trying to apply it on our own…. or let us download it for our home code libraries.
March 2nd, 2006 at 11:44 pm
Excellent.
Agree with comments above - a printable summary would be very helpful for those of us with poor memories.
Look forward to more.
Thank you.
March 2nd, 2006 at 11:55 pm
Excellent. Voice was very clear. Process was at a good speed so I could stay with it.
March 3rd, 2006 at 12:35 am
Very well done! I second everyone who is pleading for more!
March 3rd, 2006 at 1:13 am
Great,
The more the better. Very appreciated.
March 3rd, 2006 at 2:19 am
YES! YES!! YES!!! I thoroughly enjoyed it! Thanks, Kevin. I also like the idea of being able to print a hard-copy cheat sheet, especially if we will be paying to watch it (which I certainly would). I also learned a little something “extra” unexpectedly… bonus!
Keep them coming!
March 3rd, 2006 at 2:58 am
I thought it was great! I like having it narrated because it allowed me to have it running in a window behind my Photoshop program!
March 3rd, 2006 at 3:11 am
Great tutorial. And a great medium for presenting it. Keep them coming!
March 3rd, 2006 at 5:52 am
HELL YEAH
I’ve got no problem following a tutorial, I’m a developer and so books are my ‘friends’… But seeing it on screen really helps visual things stick in my mind.
Keep doing that!
March 3rd, 2006 at 6:24 am
FANTASTIC!!!
I loved it!!!
Great effect!
March 3rd, 2006 at 7:29 am
Great Stuff.
Well explained.
Let’s have more!
March 3rd, 2006 at 8:11 am
Hello!
I liked the tutorial! The navigation stops are very practical! I’d prefer to learn the shortcuts for some steps (i.g. Ctrl + J for duplicating the layer and so on).
In general: in the brave new world of ipod, podcasts and broadband capacity: how many tutorials over photoshop make sense? And will there be any time left for real work?
Susanne
March 3rd, 2006 at 8:34 am
First of all that was a Super effect which came out. The presentation was very very intuitive. I was listening to my favourite music (so didnt hear the voice over) and followed the Captions and paused them and worked on Photoshop.
Liked it. Want more.
March 3rd, 2006 at 9:17 am
BRILLIANT
The Captions are brilliant (A Bit Difficult to see but.. BRILLIANT) Deaf people have been excluded for toooooooo long. Good to see Site Point providing access to deaf people.
Hope you provde more tutorials like this.
Dafydd
March 3rd, 2006 at 9:40 am
Awesome! This tutorial could even make me an artist! :)
March 3rd, 2006 at 11:11 am
Awesome tutorial! Easy to follow. Learned a new Effect (which I would have neve