The Proposal

The Most AWESOME COLLABORATION IDEA EVER!!!

a.k.a. something that has been stewing in Heliodus's head for a few years.

Alrighty people, here’s what’s up.

This site is dedicated to collaboration, and creative collaboration at that.  The goal is to create a self-produced catalog of YOUR works (yes, you) that you and your partners have made within a couple of months.  Sounds interesting?  Read on.

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The Proposal:

Take a mutually agreed concept, idea, or theme – and create concept art for it for one whole month.

 (So, that can mean fairytales, buildings, whole worlds, stage designs,
game art, bathrooms, ANYTHING.  Yes, ANYTHING~!)

Each theme will be a “book” in the catalog, and the artist’s concept work will be considered as chapters for that book.

There should be a SHORT summary of the theme (at the start of each “book”), and each artist should also include a proposal to briefly explain their ideas and work.

Your concept art can be anything from sketches to computer art to sculpture.  It’s up to you to decide!

Some Guidelines:

(Hey, the freedom is awesome, but if you have too much of it, then you might not be able to do anything, yeah?)

• the pages of the book should be on 11X14 paper (for economical reasons, consider this as the standard.)
• If your work is smaller, mount it onto 11×14 paper; if it is larger and not on paper, take a photo and mount it on 11×14 paper.  Computer art can be printed out on smaller paper and also be mounted on 11×14 paper too.
  
• You are encouraged to show other people your work to get more ideas, but in the end, your partner is the one who will have the final say.  So, be sure to pick your partner well!
• DEADLINES ARE VERY IMPORTANT!!!
  If you fail to follow through with the agreed deadline, you are subject to a penalty decreed by your partner! (so, if your partner is a particularly sadistic fellow, I’d stay on task.)
  
• BE SURE TO FOLLOW THROUGH WITH THE AGREED DEADLINES!!!
  You and your partner will decide when you guys want to meet up/share your roughs for critique. However, keep in mind that…
  
• EACH THEME ONLY LASTS ONE MONTH! So plan your collaborations and critiques accordingly.
  This is so that you can do art quickly and effectively, without letting the idea become too stagnant.
  
• Decide on at least 10 pages worth of work to submit to each other.
• Make 2 copies! 1 copy for your catalog, and one for your partner’s catalog.  The LAST WEEK OF THE MONTH are when the FINAL CONCEPTS ARE DUE.
• Compile the works under the theme of the month, along with the theme summary, and a copy of you and your partner’s proposals.
  

   

  Okay, let me explain this one a little bit.  Say your theme for this month
  was "Dragons and Doctors".  After you had completed the works and everything,
  put a summary of the theme under the title.The next page should be the Artist's
  name, and then the artists proposal (explaining your take on the theme.)
  Then the following pages are the actual concept art.
  Repeat the artist's page and proposal for your partner.
  Get it?

• After you receive all of your pages for the month (you and your partners concept art, the proposals, and the theme summary), bind them together using various means. (from sewing to getting it professionally bound, it’s all up to you.)
• With this month done and gone, time to move onto a new theme! Ideally, you should choose a new partner too.  It’s good to expose yourself to different opinions and styles.
• After 3 months (more or less), compile your themes into one catalog!  (ex: Fall ’09 Catalog, from Dragons and Doctors to Underworld Steampunk Fantasy, etc.)

This will require a lot of time and work, but it’s also very flexible.  You are welcome to collaborate with more than one person per theme, but I always found that it is easier to do a project like this with one other person.  That way, meeting up won’t be such a hassle.

After repeating this process a couple of times, you and your original partner will have catalogs that start the same, but end radically different.  That’s to be expected!

The end result would be some really cool catalogs that have been created by you and your collaborators of choice!