I’m going to be honest right off the bat and say I just can’t stand video tutorials!

With tutorials for everything in there absolute abundance all over the web it is easy to find what you need without a lot of effort.

Using Good-Tutorials now and then to find quick fixes can be helpful but it can quickly turn into a long haul adventure trying to find a tut which avoids all the fine details. Video tutorials often turn up with far more information than an advanced user would need and still too dull for a beginner.

Getting to the point

Video tutorials, when created by professionals, can be a useful and a gentle guide to creating that great effect for your next project, but do you ever find that ‘average Joe’ tutorial just does not get to the point quick enough? If you’re in a hurry to complete a project and desperately need to work out how to light this bit or colour that half then having to sit through a video presentation of each fine detail can be very painstaking.

If you are going to create a video tutorial then remember:

• Always have a “final result” image either on the page or at the beginning of the video
  Show what you are creating without having the user download the whole video first
  
• Make sure that you do not take too long to do simple things such as moving an object
  Unless it is a guide for new users then you can keep a good pace - keep it quick and precise
  
• Edit your video properly - by all means go into detail when making it but cut what’s not needed before publishing
  This will save advanced users a lot of time.
• If you tutorial is for an advanced effect then use advanced instructions.
  Catering for every level of designer/developer is going to add a whole lot of extra instructions to your video

Text/image tutorials

Using a page of text broken up with images will provide the easiest to read format for tutorials.

Text tutorials can cater for a wider audience as not only can advanced readers skip additional instructions but readers who are new to the topic will not miss out only the extra help they may need.

Starting a tutorial, especially if it spans a few pages, with a “final result” image can really inspire the reader to proceed with your guidance and it also secures their trust that it is worth it. If possible also ‘rate’ your tutorial with a brief description of its difficultly - this may put some readers off but it will also challenge others and help more experienced readers skip through quicker.

Things to remember when writing

• Use a “final result” image at the very beginning of your tutorial
  Having the complete image inspires the reader to continue
• Highlight physical instructions such as “blend mode > overlay” to allow quicker reading
  A confident user may not need to read anything more than “overlay” to understand the instruction
• Provide any links to resources used if they are essential to complete the tutorial
  “I used fluffies Hard_brushpack1″ with no link would leave the reader stuck
• Write a conclusion but if you are going to show a “this is what you could do next” image then write the basic instructions on how to get there
  Keeping the reader interested past the end of your tutorial will generate returning users and feedback (if possible)

The end result

At the end of the day keeping everyone happy is difficult; there will be new users who will ask questions that you are sure anyone would know and also advanced users who may get frustrated. The problem simply arrives when you try to deal with both extremes and end up over complicating matters. Write your tutorial based on the difficultly of achieving the end result but still leaning slightly on the side of the new user.

Text tutorials are by far easier to follow especially if your are at work or unable to view the video due to lack of a flash player or audio. Being able to move back and forth throughout the tutorial without having to pinpoint that tiny little bit on the time line will greatly help the user achieve the end result in their own time

Feedback welcome as always. Screen shots taken from PSDtuts which is an awesome Photoshop Tutorial site and has great examples of good tutorial writing.