On Sun, Apr 26, 2009 at 3:08 AM, Mandy <[email protected]> wrote: > Personally, I prefer PDF's as normally there are instructions that I can > print out. PDO's tend to be the file only, and I don't have my computer > sitting next to me to refer to the way they are put together. :) I like > instructions... but don't get me wrong - I like the challenge of the > non-instructional PDO's. XD > > Yep. Back from my holidays! And didn't do any papercraft! Horror! > Mandy
Mandy, Designing paper models that are buildable by someone other than the designer requires several different skill sets: one must be an engineer of sorts to make the model work; an artist and/or designer in order to make it attractive; a technical writer and illustrator in order to make the instructions work. I'd break those down respectively as 1/6, 1/6, and 2/3 of the design effort for a complete model kit, ignoring the initial step of choosing a subject. The advantage of .PDO is that it allows people who can't read the language of the designer to still build his models. The rotatable, highlightable, 3D model on the screen is often all that's needed, whereas a page (or pages) of written instructions, even with diagrams, can often be useless to the builder if they're not in his language. I, too, prefer models in .PDF format with text instructions and diagrams, *if* the designer has used vector art for scalability, and embedded fonts so that the text can be copied to a translator. A .PDF wrapper stuffed with embedded .JPEG images is a poor use of the format. -- Mike Hungerford http://users.sdccu.net/chthulhu2/models.html Fools! I will destroy you all! (Ask me how!) --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Papermodels II" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Papermodels?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
