Episode 058 is now posted. In it I demonstrate how to use a few filters in the newest Inkscape 0.46.

This episode is also the first video where we made the switch from 800×600 resolution to 912×684 resolution for both AVI and FLV. Inkscape has always been a little difficult to shrink down to 800×600 so Richard and I are left recording with a slightly bigger window size and then scaling that to a standard resolution when we encode the video. Version 0.46 of Inkscape is even more challenging to make the application window smaller.  We prefer to record in the same size that we encode into so that the video is as clear as possible. 800×600 to 912×684 isn’t a big jump but it might be enough to annoy some of our viewers. The format that we ended up with is middle ground between Inkscape and screencasting. We hope that it will be alright.

If you hate the larger resolution video then please send all complaints to Richard Querin, P.O. Box 567, French Lick, IN, 169…uh…wait…never mind…better respect his privacy.

In Episode 057, I demonstrate one way to create a pseudo-realistic page curl effect. I started playing around with the idea when one of our viewers, Don Waters, sent an email in with a nice example of one. Of course it got put on the back burner like everything else in my life.

Anyway, I probably attempted to record this sucker about 4 or 5 times before I finally got through it passably. And even after that I decided to re-encode it just because of all the mistakes I made. In this final version, about 10 seconds after I start talking, you can hear my dog’s collar chime as he shakes. After that it pretty much settled down and turned out ok.

I’m not happy with the colour gradient I chose for the paper curl in both the intro and the full screencast. A little thing, but annoying. I should have chosen something much closer to the paper shade.

Enough regrets. It’s up, take it or leave it… But please take it.