Wiki Artwork

The wiki is sometimes a beginner's first exposure to detailed information on Ubuntu. This means that these pages need to be as accessible as possible. However, sometimes the documentation can appear a bit too formal and dry.

This is where you come in. The documentation could benefit from your artwork and design ideas, so that the text can be embellished and broken up to make it easier on the eye. The result? Better usability and comprehension.

This can improve beginners' early experiences of Ubuntu and has the potential of enabling them to become more proficient in a shorter period of time. In the short-term, this benefits the beginner; in the long-term, better informed users benefit the whole Ubuntu community.

When you submit artwork, others working on the documentation will have a resource to refer to when they wish to brighten up their work. The idea is to enable people to browse artwork pages, looking for images and media to use.

There is, of course, nothing to stop you from also including your work in new or existing wiki pages.

How to help

Essential Reading

First off, it might help you to get a feel for some of the basics of Ubuntu Documentation. Take some time out to become familiar with some of the Wiki pages. You can also take a look at the following guidance pages for new contributors:

What's Needed

Use your initiative. Many different forms of media could be incorporated, like:

Photos
Vector Graphics
Screenshots
Desktop Recordings

Ultimately, you're a Ubuntu user, so your judgement counts as much as anyone's. If you think a piece of artwork might be helpful, submit it.

Tools

There are a number of graphical tools available to Ubuntu users for achieving different tasks. Here's a selection.

Software

Agave - Color themer
Blender - 3-D Modeller
Gcolor2 - Color picker
TheGIMP - Complex image editing
Inkscape - Vector Graphics
ImageMagick - Graphics Editing
Istanbul - Record desktop events to video

Hardware

Graphics Tablets (e.g., Wacom Volito2)

Hints and Tips

Don't forget, you don't have to think of your contribution as being the finished article. Even a rough outline can be helpful: it lets others learn about your idea and they can pick up and develop it.
Don't worry! Design should be enjoyable, not a chore. The worst that could happen is that others won't find an appropriate place for your piece of artwork. Even so, it's still likely that you'll help others to think of new ideas.