Just A Quick question for tutorials

[hseiken]

Hi, I was thinking of making some 'generic vector graphic' tutorials as one of the things that really bugs me about the graphics industry is that lessons are always tailored to 'how to do x in program y' without touching on the fundamentals which all programs must adhere to. Case in point, there's not much, if anything (outside of low resolution pixel art) that talks about the fundamentals. Xara works within this narrative, too; 'how to achieve x-effect in Xara', etc. My approach will be more broad based, and cover what's going on underneath the hood and how to 'think in vector' rather than 'think in terminology associated with the tool used'.

This might be counter-intuitive sounding, but it's a gap I feel is missing. When in art school, we learned to achieve our results with pencil and paper then moved to the computer to apply those lessons, solving the problem of achieving the effect with said program while in the process. It is my own assumption that I think this is a huge hole within the graphics industry; teaching to the tool, indoctrinization to be dependent on the what program you learned on rather than work with your own ideas and bending the tool to your desire...

That said, I will be using Xara for these video tutorials and I thought about a few lessons already, but I was wondering from people who use xara (who all have very different methods I've seen for achieving similar effects, from highlights, to 3D perspective, to cartoons, etc.) and it's not my intention to show any specific technique, but rather show 'the ideas and concepts to think about when approaching a graphic'.

And so my question is this:
What kinds of lessons would you all like to see? The current ideas I have include:
Working with shapes and thinking of shapes instead of completed images (discussion would include analogy to thinking of cutouts with examples of characters from South Park, constructivism imagery, and other pop references)
Working with shading/gradients (discussion would include analogy of thinking about light sources, 3D graphics, and blending objects)
Working with light (an extension of shading/gradients to construct 'solid images' from flat cutouts)
Working with Grids I: Square grids (this would cover elements associated with page layouts for things such as brochures along with re-visiting shapes and using a grid to create unique patterns for image elements)
Working with Grids II: Odd Grids (this would cover thinking in terms of constructing your own objects from shapes as snap points for non-standard grid types as well as isometric 3D graphics and pattern designs)
Working with Text (this would cover how text is fundamentally a key point in vector graphics as they are shapes to, and ways to decorate and design letterforms based on previous lessons)

Any input would be great. Again, I'll be using Xara for these lessons and so those with Xara might find some use for this, but the overall ideas should ultimately be universal and not tied to specific software or images, though I will be using specific images that I deconstruct and then use the basis of that deconstruction to create new images with multiple examples)

I've not decided on any kind of format for length, delivery or anything, but I am pretty sure I will be doing this as a video series with videos ranging from 5-15 minutes, though that's also not set in stone. It will all depend on how deep the lesson goes, an I'm quite certain the first video of 'working with shapes' will be the longest as my experience in design school has shown me that those who are accustomed to raster image creation in tools like Photoshop have a very difficult time wrapping their head around the basics of resolution-less image creation and sometimes even approach the medium thinking in terms of this, despite the fact there are no pixels in vector graphic files, the computer creates the pixels when it displays it (much like 3D isn't about pixels but about space definition on a 2D display).

Thanks for any input and if anyone would like to contribute, feel free, I will credit everyone. These lessons will be free, so keep in mind contributions of lesson materials will be voluntary...I am not even going to allow ads on the videos if I can help it.

[wizard509]

I would be interested to see your take on "Working with light (an extension of shading/gradients to construct 'solid images' from flat cutouts)"
I know how I think of this but would be interested to see your views.

[hseiken]

I would be interested to see your take on "Working with light (an extension of shading/gradients to construct 'solid images' from flat cutouts)"
I know how I think of this but would be interested to see your views.

You bring up a good point about 'ways of approach' and yeah, i'm definitely going to harp mostly what what works for me, but I do want to have different perspectives (pun) on the subject and so I will be doing a little research/trial and error in how other people approach things. For instance, I saw an interesting aspect of drawing anatomy that i could also use for anything spherical that's foreshortened, but the basic premise is you draw spirals to fill the form out, first practicing on what it looks like from a side view, but then you change the perspective, using same number of loops to get the 'feel' of the angle, and it was a trick no one else I've ever seen had taught before and it's been a real life saver when I draw characters, but also even in mechanical drawings as well, such as, say a car jack at an angle.

Ultimately, it will hopefully end up at least teaching people that are experts .01% new information at minimum they can take and use on a project at some point. Even myself, when I start feeling complacent or stagnant with my own work, I do seek out random tutorials to give me new ideas on approaching a subject matter, and even if the technique itself is nothing new, the examples vary so wildly that I can discover a new way to use an old trick.