Wikipedia:Graphics tutorials

Summary

Various Wikipedians have put together graphics tutorials. Some of these are still works in progress. It is preferred to work with open formats (such as PNG or SVG) and free licenses (such as public domain or GFDL) when possible. There are many free software programs available for creating and editing images.

Shortcut
  • WP:GRT

Tutorials edit

Vector graphics tutorials edit

Application edit

  • SVG with Inkscape - Fully featured SVG drawing program, also capable of PNG output
  • Using Dia - page not maintained - Well suited to technical diagrams & flowsheets - PNG output, limited SVG support
  • Using Microsoft Word - page not maintained - Familiar to many users, easy to use - PNG only, no SVG support

Specific tasks edit

  • How to create graphs for Wikipedia articles
  • Displaying a formula with commutative diagrams in TeX, in mathematics
  • How to draw SVG circuits using Xcircuit, in electronics

Bitmap graphics tutorials edit

  • Wikipedia:Basic bitmap image editing
  • Wikipedia:Graphic Lab/Optimizing relief - map-making tutorial using 3DEM or GRASS GIS editors and GIMP bitmap editor (all free programs)

Photo editing tutorials edit

  • How to improve image quality

Combination tutorials edit

  • Picture tutorial: The best way to add your pictures to articles
  • Maps and images for Wikipedia
  • Coloring cartographic maps
  • Keep in mind that images can contain hidden data and that you might want to remove the hidden data before publishing the images.
  • Text can be overlaid onto images using Template:Annotated image or Template:Annotated image 4.

Filesize optimisation tutorials edit

  • Wikipedia:Preparing images for upload - Describes how to keep image file sizes as small as possible.
  • How to reduce colors for saving a JPEG as PNG (using The GIMP)

Open source programs edit

  • pngquant - program that reduces PNG size by automatically reducing the number of colors. Visually lossless most of the time.
  • PNGCrush - Old tried and true program that reduces PNG sizes using multiple zlib compression trials on disk.
  • OptiPNG - Essentially a newer version of PNGCrush, it economizes the trial (reducing from 100s of short ones to a maximum of 7 longer ones) and does everything in memory. Usually produces identical results, and is much faster.
  • AdvanceCOMP - A group of programs designed to reduce ZIP compression in many contexts, including PNGs (using AdvPNG).
  • Jhead - A program for viewing, altering, or removing Exif data of JPEGs. Amongst other things, this allows for reducing file sizes.
  • FileOptimizer - A Windows GUI program (recommended for beginners) that uses multiple open source and freeware tools (including most of those listed here) to optimize a large number of media filetypes. Achieves better compression than any of the others used by themselves. Released under the LGPL.

Freeware programs edit

  • PNGOUT - A program that optimizes PNGs by eschewing the usual zlib compression for a slower but more complete algorithm.
    • PNG Gauntlet - GUI for OptiPNG, PNGOUT, and DeflOpt (similar to AdvPNG in AdvanceCOMP)
  • Image Analyzer - Amongst other things, allows for lossy compression of PNG files. (Often, however, merely posterizing the image at a level that does not produce color banding results in smaller files of the same or higher quality.)
  • JPG Cleaner - Removes Exif data from JPEGs, making the files smaller.
  • JPGExtra and PNGExtra - Programs that losslessly optimize JPEGs and PNGs by cleanly removing all non-image data.

Software used for Wikipedia images edit

Vector graphics software edit

3D software edit

Raster graphics (bitmap) software edit

Word processors with vector-graphics facilities edit

Panorama software edit

  • Hugin (Open source)
  • Autostitch (Non-free; full demo available)
  • PTAssembler (Shareware, based on the open source Panorama Tools)
  • PTGui (Shareware, based on the open source Panorama Tools)

Related topics edit

External links edit

  • Grokking the GIMP: a comprehensive on-line book covering the GIMP, as well as graphic and digital photo editing in general