Collab 2022?

Hey fellow cookies!
happy new year and all to all!

Generally curious, remembering the good times from last years'... is there a collab planned for this season?

'hope so...

: )

Cheers!

  • Peter Varga(rationalrats) replied

    not everyone all at once, please!

    : D

    asking, beside raw wishful thinking, because the biggest obstacle for me taking part in these is allocating the time;
    so, if any kind soul in the know, regardless of if they are staff or crew, cares to share some information on this, they just may increase my chances in tetris of time management slightly... and, they would have my gratitude!

    ; D

  • adrian replied

     Yes Peter! There is a collab 2022..

    @theluthier is planning as we write!

  • Peter Varga(rationalrats) replied

    thanks @adrian2301 ! good to know and, l00king forward to it!
    : )

    I intentionally avoided naming names, or targeting any one in particular by tagging in this query of mine... since the ping has pinged anyway, @theluthier : 'hope to see you this year! learning from you, especially in the collabs format, is an honor and an absolute pleasure... keep it keepin'_ _ _my cordial salute!

  • Peter Varga(rationalrats) replied

    For context and additional information extortion*:


    At risk of coming across somewhere between impatient, needy/ demanding, cynically rude and just plain psychotic (which I’m not! I promise! ; ) I actually need this information (and sooner is better) in order to take part, even theoretically.


    I’ll make an exception to my general policy of keeping my story on need to know basis… 


    I need to either take or refuse a gig offered by the end of this weekend that inherently cannot coexist with the collab.. a judgement call;

    To make an informed decision I need, well, information!

    : D

    now I know, to my genuine excitement of a good kind, that there will in fact be a collab, at all… and that IS great! No sarcasm… if we know when, roughly (not expecting dates here) that would take me even further in this process of mine (emphasis and stress on if)…


    The thing is, these gigs that I speak of and depend on span through months, typically, and are demanding my undivided attention, pretty much throughout their entirety… this particular one that I’m considering now would come at cost of me being benched regarding my involvement relevant to the collab till mid may (best case) or june (realistic projection).


    Collabs are, to put it mildly, events that work best for me, with no real alternative save maybe taking a dedicated university course on physical premises, when it comes to learning blender (among other things);
    the synergy and human connection behind creating an actual complex piece of art, balancing [healthy] competition and cooperation with hundreds of different people with a common goal, challenging self in a selfcontained frame with a feedback loop not simulated but real, all this, and more, in an amazing self managed evolving process that pieces together all these efforts in a unique product is, both an incredible feat (I honestly doubted that we can actually pull it off the first time I was introduced to the concept, and it was significantly smaller then too) and an experience that someone that has set themselves to climb the mountain of 3D for whatever the reason, cannot afford to miss!




    *savingFace while mapping the maze ; )

  • Kent Trammell replied

    I'm so glad to read about your interest in a 2022 Collab, Peter! And your description of it's benefits makes me very happy. You totally get what we're trying to do with the format! 🙏

    @adrian2301 is correct that planning a new collab is in full swing. We've talked a lot about it on discord - feel free to join there for more active, casual chatting. But here's the bullet points so far:

    - The collab period is tentatively planned to be a two-month period (August 2022 - Sep 2022). Different this time around, those 8 weeks are going to be subdivided into a pre-production week (or two) at the beginning with team leaders, production period with contributors (generally the same as you experienced in 2021) for the middle 4-5 weeks, followed by a post-production period with team leads and any straggler contributors for the last week (or two).

    - The goal of this collab is somewhat a return to the spirit of the 2020 collab. It's focused primarily on group-modeling a complex object with some additional challenging tasks. Specifically we've targeted a gundam-like / metal gear-ish robot mech. Here's the pitch video I posted on discord:

    - Also a notable difference with this collab is a desire to maintain a smaller, more refined team. So we're planning an application process. The main goal being to keep the team manageable (since 2021 was too much for me) and try and limit potential drop-outs.

     I've been working feverishly (with several straggler contributors still around in discord) since January to finish the Collab2021 final animation and it's looking GREAT thanks to everyone in 2021! Look for that to be published this month sometime along with more definitive info about Collab2022.

  • Peter Varga(rationalrats) replied

    Thanks @theluthier !

    just a drive by laconic nod, for now...

    from what I managed to skim and scrub through, loving the new direction already!

    not to mention that the [tentative] time frame should work much better than assumed (similar to last year's) for me too (what started the thread; one giant leap for me, a smaller one for mankind ; ) as much as one can actually plan and take plans seriously in 2020s that is : P

    so, hopes up and, see you summer/ autumn!

     

  • Sébastien Lenaerts(slenaerts) replied

    I would be very interested to participate in such a workflow, my 2 questions:

    what level is required in order to be able to participate?

    what is the time investment required (dayjob+kids have to get their spot also in my calendar :) )

  • Kent Trammell replied

    slenaerts I want to split the applicants into 3 skill categories: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. So for example, let's say 6 beginner slots will be open for applicants, 6 intermediate, 6 advanced (numbers are estimates for now). There are pieces of the robot that are quite simple and perfect for a beginner. There are other pieces more complex for intermediate and maybe advanced. But really the advanced tasks of the project will be designing and building A) a hangar for the mech to be assembled in, B) assembly machinery and C) greeble-based interior components of the robot to feel more believable.

    Really I see the robot itself as the easiest task of the project due to explicit reference and very specific expectations. The other aspects will only have implicit reference, like reference gathered from the internet, and will need design + execution.

    As for time, I think only 4-6 hours per week will be needed for robot pieces, especially the simpler ones. This will be a factor for applicants to consider when filling out the application: If they only have 3-4 hours per week available, they can work on a simpler asset. If they have 6+ hours available then they can work on a more complex asset.

  • Sébastien Lenaerts(slenaerts) replied

    Hey @thelutier, 4hours a week is something I'd like to commit to as I can squeeze that into the summer schedule.



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