3D Artists Co-Op

 

Being in the Game Art and Animation major, I have been thinking how I could get involved in a community of 3D artists after my graduation.  From searching I know there aren’t many 3D artist communities around the valley nor online where I feel I could evolve and expend my knowledge base as well as give back to the community.  Many such places are forums which aren’t so newcomer friendly.

 

I would like to start up a virtual community of artists on a virtual platform.  I want to help established artists grow and newcomers build the skill they need to succeed in doing what they love.

 

It would start with a group of diverse artists such as content creators, 3D clothing designers, homes and building designers, scripters, etc.  It will essentially become a place of learning, but virtually.  In the beginning we will be focusing on the setup and organization of the group.  Setting up lists of skills for each individual so it’s a clear understanding of what we have to offer and how we can grow our skills, as well as help others.  

 

The second phase of this group will focus on helping others.  There are many newcomers that I encounter in the virtual platform of Second Life almost on a daily basis who are looking to learn 3D skills.  They are requesting help in rigging, modeling, texturing, or animating.  I want the group that I plan on creating to be able to help these individuals in a friendly setting where there is an equality no matter of skills or age.

 

Building this environment would take place on a virtual land which will be divided up in sections based on skills wanting to be learned.   There will be a clothing area, a scripting area, prop and building construction, and texturing area.  Classes will be set up with a weekly, or monthly, schedule.  Each class will be focused around one project and they will be taught in a school like environment.  The project will be announced before the beginning of classes and posted on a board where new members will land on arrival.  Everything will be split up by skills required for each project as well as software requirements.  Efforts will be made to utilize software that is free to own or has at least a 30-day trial period giving individuals plenty of time to finish the project they will be working on and have a fairly good understanding of the program in order to decide if they need to purchase it.  

 

To not limit the usage of our group to beginners only, more advanced courses will be taught in each category offered.  A new user will have a clear understanding of the difficulty of the projects before signing up for one.  To ensure this, detailed skills will be listed under each project.

 

User can participate in each class by filling out a form ahead of schedule.  This will allow the instructor to plan accordingly and also making sure enough users will be interested before running a class.