06-24-2015, 10:17 PM
Yeah you make some good points. A lot would have to be tested "in-game" so to speak I guess.
When it comes to skill level thresholds and so on perhaps I was too brash, maybe instead I would say that for every skill level there is a client and a market, and I guess as skills progress the ability to make a living from these clients increases. Maybe that's a better way of thinking about it.
I still feel there has to be some level of equanimity in general skill between people in the co-op. For example you can't have a 2d guy that can only do poor manga drawings working with a pro level kick ass 3D artist. Guess this would never happen in practice anyway really.
Working with people closely in the same department enables skill transfer quicker whether it is in a co-op or not. I think when you go to a studio, the juniors suck up so much info and knowledge from the old lions, it is almost like a perk of the job. That is what I have heard anyway having only been a freelancer. Still doesn't make me want to commute through traffic and wake up at godforsaken hours and deal with office politics at all!
I do like the model a lot. It does take a lot of the power away from the traditional idea of "I must go work in a great studio" or "I must be a freelancer and have to do all the work on my own". I can see it combining the best of both worlds in some ways. Another thing that I do like about it, is that the model is very scaleable up to the optimum size. I mean you could for example only spend a portion of your time doing co-op work, and the rest doing your own stuff. It's definitely something that can start off with very little overhead (a website, some social media presence, marketing at cons etc) and build up as the client base builds.
I would totally be keen to give it a go at some point but of course it would have to be at the right time with the right people, and that can't be forced into place.
When it comes to skill level thresholds and so on perhaps I was too brash, maybe instead I would say that for every skill level there is a client and a market, and I guess as skills progress the ability to make a living from these clients increases. Maybe that's a better way of thinking about it.
I still feel there has to be some level of equanimity in general skill between people in the co-op. For example you can't have a 2d guy that can only do poor manga drawings working with a pro level kick ass 3D artist. Guess this would never happen in practice anyway really.
Working with people closely in the same department enables skill transfer quicker whether it is in a co-op or not. I think when you go to a studio, the juniors suck up so much info and knowledge from the old lions, it is almost like a perk of the job. That is what I have heard anyway having only been a freelancer. Still doesn't make me want to commute through traffic and wake up at godforsaken hours and deal with office politics at all!
I do like the model a lot. It does take a lot of the power away from the traditional idea of "I must go work in a great studio" or "I must be a freelancer and have to do all the work on my own". I can see it combining the best of both worlds in some ways. Another thing that I do like about it, is that the model is very scaleable up to the optimum size. I mean you could for example only spend a portion of your time doing co-op work, and the rest doing your own stuff. It's definitely something that can start off with very little overhead (a website, some social media presence, marketing at cons etc) and build up as the client base builds.
I would totally be keen to give it a go at some point but of course it would have to be at the right time with the right people, and that can't be forced into place.