[update: Libre Graphics Day returns to linux.conf.au 2011 in Brisbane!]
Libre Graphics Day - I was really pleased with the outcome of our efforts to create the first spin off event based on the hugely successful Libre Graphics Meeting that's been taking place in the northern part of the planet for the past 5 years. In the end we had a nice mix of sessions. I had some nervous moments early in the day when I got word 2 of our speakers had been diverted to Auckland due to bad weather, but they arrived in time, did their stuff, and all was good.
After Jon Cruz kicked off proceedings with some background on the Libre Graphics gatherings and opened the day, Ralph Giles took us through Ghostscript's ICC based color architecture. It was great to hear about the history of this project which I so totally take for granted. He gave great insight into the complexity the developers contend with, and laid out the roadmap for how they're trying to streamline and simplify it for the future.
Vik Olliver took us through some Graphic Design Apps - Beyond the Pixel and talked about a range of open source tools that can be used to bring creativity to life and make it real. Famous for the RepRap Vik talked about the kinds of tools used to design 3D objects and some of the gotchas you need to learn first.
Jon Cruz stepped up to say Hello Scribus! on behalf of the Scribus team who couldn't join us. Time zones and internet connections were against us getting the finished slides on the day, but they are now up on the website. Jon talked to the outline notes, and Andy Fitzsimon demo'd some of the shiniest new features. I can't wait to try and create my next slide deck using Scribus, and give the transition feature a whirl.
After lunch Andy Fitzsimon got things rolling again with a madcap race through Die Flash Die, SVG has arrived. He showed us how live SVG on the web can be used with javascript to create some pretty impressive effects. I'm looking forward to really digging into this further.
Next up was Elizabeth Garbee who talked about how using FOSS graphics tools to pay for college, and more importantly, participating in the community that creates such tools, has prepared her for the serious task of getting into college, and applying for scholarships to help her survive once she's there. My take away from her talk is that when you use FOSS tools you have an opportunity to broaden your experience beyond getting the task at hand done, you also have an opportunity to engage with others, expand your horizons, and potentially contribute to the ongoing improvement of the toolset. Be a maker, not a consumer.
Arriving just in time to give his talk on Cairo Graphics - Intro and Future Thoughts, Carl Worth took us behind the scenes for graphics and outlined where this cross platform 2D graphics library fits in the scheme of things.
Following afternoon tea Lance Flavell gave us a whirlwind introduction to Blender 3D Modeling and Animation and somewhat demystified its inscrutable interface by providing the crucial clue that modifier keys are the secret!
Jon Phillips delivered something of a farewell to graphics talk as his energies switch towards status.net with All the Libre Graphics tasks I said I would do are DONE! - a pretty impressive list of achievements.
The day finished off with lightning talks from Andy Fitzsimon, Peter Lieverdink and myself - and a round of applause for all our speakers and participants. Good work. Great fun.
If Libre Graphics Day left you hungry for more - then you should set your sights on LGM in Brussels 27-30 May