I was wondering though if they could be improved slightly? I think that it would be good to add a bit more information about the kanji sign in question such as readings and meaning and maybe also stroke order?
@マイコー, for the stroke order, have you heard about "Kanji stroke order font" ( http://www.nihilist.org.uk/ ). (also available easily on most linux distrib packaging systems) It can be used freely in documents (like a kanji worksheet pdf). Its foss license is quite permissive.
I think both cover more kanji than the current kanjicafe's gif, and it thus could maybe also be used in the kanji dictionary (like maybe on hovering the main kanji, the css switch to "kanji stroke order font" ?)
I was not aware of that first link. That's really interesting, although I personally prefer seeing each stroke separated out (especially with some of those ones that have "multiple strokes in one".
I am a fan of KanjiVG - the last time I checked (it was quite some time ago), they did not have a set of svgs for download, just the underlying data. At the time, it would have been required that I write the code to build the svgs, which I wasn't dying to do. (笑)
However, I see it has a full download set for the "single image" version. I would love, at some point, to build the svg creator off of the xml files to provide a similar format to what kanjicafe has.
Actually, if I could do that, I could make a whole new set of kanji stroke questions, where it could highlight a single stroke, and ask for which number it is (helpful if you're really focused on drawing, or if you are taking the Kanji Kentei).
I'll consider these as a drop-in replacement, but I will most likely hold off until I can provide both visual options so there isn't a decrease in data (for any given kanji) even though there would be an increase in kanji covered.
Kanimaji is my favourite among those links. Static diagrams (like the Jisho ones) are useful too, though (because you don't have to wait for the animation to finish/start again, especially for kanji with many strokes).
I am not truly a fan of animated images when it comes to learning stroke order,as I find them rather inconvenient to use for this purpose.
For example, a common situation I encoutered when trying to use animated images for learning in the past: while my eyes are still where the last stroke ended and my mind is still trying to comprehend/put together everything seen so far, the next stroke already starts or even is halfway through. This in turn then forces me to sit through the annimation multiple times, while a static image would have allowed me to specifically focus on those stroke order parts I have troubles with.
On the other hand though, those kanimaji animations sure look nice and on some level I kind of would love to see them embedded/incorporated into this site; but I would truly appreciate it if it is possible to somehow still have static images like it is currently.
Well, I do not plan to replace the current images until I can have a static *and* animated solution - after all, the site is built around user customizaton. So don't worry about that!
On the 茜 kanji, there is no 鈎 (hook) on stroke 8 (㇄ instead of ㇟)?
I must admit that the hook is present or not depending on the CJK font used, so I don't know if it's an error in the KanjiVG's data, or another side effect of the infamous Han unification.
By the way, I think KanjiVG do handle that correctly, but just for curiosity, could you check the rendering of :
Kanji with different stroke order depending on the country, like 戈玉有飛方
Kanji with different representation depending on the country, like 与今令免入全具刃化外情才抵次海直真神空者草角道雇骨
The good side of the KanjiVG's data is the 筆順 covering most common kanji.
Its bad side is that the nuances and details of the 筆画 are mostly absent.
Except maybe for the hooks, which are usually present, and if I remember correctly can be quizzed in the kanken.
To be honest, I have little doubt that your knowledge of kanji far exceeds mine, and I would be more or less copying the information you have gathered if I were to post on github myself.
As far as the current data is concerned, though, I think that it is still a net benefit to the site - it would expand the drawings out from about 1500 out to over 6000, and with these, I will also be able to make a number of new stroke count quiz styles in the future.
Finally, I can recreate kanji kentei style questions where they highlight one stroke and have you say which # stroke it is! I'm thinking of maybe some arrange the strokes (in a single kanji) questions too. Not all of the strokes, but a selection of 3-4 out of 10 of them. After enough data is collected, I could start to hone in on which "ranges" of strokes in a kanji cause the most issues.
