Aviary is an incredible service. I was hooked as soon as I started using it. It wasn't nessisarilly the applications that impressed me at first; it was the idea that anyone who had a computer could create and edit images. It was a game-changing idea. No longer did you have to buy expensive desktop applications. Oh sure, there are great open source alternatives, but the learning curve of those application is steep. Aviary's applications, which have to run in a user's browser, are pared down to the base features that a graphic editor needs. This has wonderful side effects: The applications are straight forward, and the tools are easy to use. These simple applications are perfect for users who are just learning digital graphics and they are great tools for teachers. Aviary draws many who want desperately to learn; however, with the staff busy building and maintaining the applications, there is little documentation about the tools. Meowza Katz wrote a book of Phoenix tutorials that was a huge success and helped the growing community of artists. His book addresses only one application; there is demand for documentation of the other applications. Last year, Lyxs approached me about creating unofficial user documentation about Peacock, Aviary's most complex application. We collaborated, and with the help of Copper, we created the Peacock wiki, a comprehensive overview of the application. It was well recived and was added to the Aviary site.


Mike Peutz is a graphic designer who has worked in the printing industry for several years. He is fluent with most vector editing programs and has taught himself other image editor programs. He has a bachelor’s degree in visual art. For the past year, Mike has helped test the applications at Aviary, written unofficial documentation for all the applications, and help moderate the site.