I wish there were some magic way for creating tutorials – some wonderful software program that one just plugged info into and the directions would appear! Unfortunately there is no such thing and writing a tutorial takes a lot of time and effort.There are all kinds of tutorials and sometimes the quality is wonderful with easy to understand directions, illustrations, and/or photos. There are unfortunately some that are of poor quality with literally no visuals. My brain has a difficult time deciphering instructions that only contain words…in my case, a picture is worth a thousand words! I need good visuals, which is why I’m really particular about taking closeup step-by-step photos for the patterns I design. I recently received an inquiry from another beader asking for advice regarding how one goes about creating a tutorial. I can’t speak for other designers, but this is what I do…I start with a design idea and select a palette of beads suitable for the project. Then I get to work and after I have completed the first few stitches, I take a photo and write notes pertaining to the step I’ve just completed. I crop and edit the photo to its best advantage and then I type the directions for that step from the notes I’ve made. I do this with each step of a design. There are often twenty or more steps in my beading designs – the more complicated the design, the more steps that are entailed to complete a project. It’s a lengthy process for me, which is why in the last three years I have thus far produced only twenty beading tutorials, all of which are available in my Etsy shop. Up until recently, I’ve only sold hard copies of the patterns, but now I offer digital tutorials, which save a great deal of time because the purchaser can immediately download the tutorial rather than wait for mail delivery. It also lowers the cost of a pattern considerably because it saves on ink, paper, and wear and tear on my printer. Beading and jewelry kits that I offer in my Etsy shop do contain hard copies and those who prefer to receive a printed pattern are welcome to contact me. Feedback left for me on Etsy has, thankfully, been very positive and comments posted state time and again; “easy to understand and great visuals”. I must be doing something right!
Creating tutorials is hard work!
by Barbara | Apr 27, 2013 | An Aside, Beading, Beads and Materials, Designer Patterns, Handmade, Inspiration, Jewelry kits, One-of-a-Kind, Tutorials | 2 comments
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The tutorials that you write are mind-boggling…I am in awe with how you keep track of everything. Besides graphing out the project…Colors, amounts of beads, number of stitches…and on and on. AND then everything comes out perfectly!
Thank you so much, Verda…that’s the best feedback I’ve received regarding my patterns ever!