How to Grow An Artists' Collective
by Scott Hsu-Storaker · 03/08/2006 (6:49 am) · 5 comments
Hello again everyone. Our project to create free art content packs has been very busy the past few weeks. For this post, I am pulling out the message from our own blog that has created the most debate and discussion. It has to do specifically with ways to help an artists' collective grow and thrive, but we have discovered that it could as easily apply to a gamedev team as a whole.
There are images below, by the way, if you prefer to skip down.
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How to Grow an Artists' Collective -- Top Twenty-five
I have been involved in many volunteer group projects. I have even helped in founding a couple of long-lived collectives with lofty goals. My hard-earned experience has dealt me a lot of pain, but has also given me a wealth of wisdom over the years. So, I give to you some of things that I say to myself over and over again as I conduct myself in this coop that help guide my actions. Some of this is just me exaggerating and being facetious, but everything in here has at least a kernel of truth. Of course, there is still a lot that I will learn during my involvement with this project, but I do have this to say... Ignore my advice at your own peril.
1. Never go into debt... ever.
2. Avoid the majority rules mentality and strive for consensus. Imagine for a moment if 4 out of 9 of your team members left the team.
3. Five dedicated active contributors with the same ideals is far more effective than a group of 20 hangers-on.
4. Do not kid yourself into thinking you are in charge. Be a guide, a mentor, a facilitator, a communicator, an evangelist and the keeper of the idealist flame, but do not yearn for power.
5. If there is a clear choice between doing what is right and doing what is popular, choose to do the right thing. Often the choice is not clear, but work towards understanding the difference.
6. There are three kinds of people... leaders, followers and those who actively ignore leaders and followers. Discourage the first kind, accept but do not waste time on the second kind, pursue the third.
7. A group with no leader will organically end up with a leader you may not want. That person may, in fact, be you. Plan the structure of your group from the outset to avoid traditional leaders.
8. Guide by example. Do not try to rule by force of will, peer pressure, charisma, bullying, or out of a need to be loved.
9. Do not promise more than you or your present group can do.
10. Do not make plans that rely on a swift expansion in the number of member-contributors in order to successfully complete a project.
11. Build time into your schedule to actually DO art. A group built around a person who is buried in the multitude of tasks needed to run the machine is a soulless entity that will not grow.
12. Just because you do most of the unglamorous work does not mean you make all the decisions.
13. Collective members who are barred from ownership of the group's decisions will unconciously (if not concsiously) sabotage those decisions.
14. Followers want to be led. Remove opportunity for these people to interact passively with the group -- encourage active participation at all turns.
15. Convert members to contributors. Convert contributors to evangelists.
16. Plan for the continuation of the collective after you leave. You will leave one day. If you cannot picture the group functioning without your presence, you need to change the structure.
17. Do not compete with other similar groups. Preemptively invite them to join with you in a larger goal for the common good.
18. Making money is OK. But do not commercialize or commodify your group's art. Try to make the running of the collective and its projects self-sustaining financially, but do not try to turn a profit.
19. Avoid benefactors. You will owe them a debt whether it is said out loud or not.
20. Have fun. Work hard. Hard work can actually be fun as long as it perpetuates the successful goals of a thriving community.
21. Make the decision to stay small or retrench if being big requires more resources than you currently have.
22. People leaving the collective can be positive as long as the structure supports it.
23. Plan for and accept periods of diminished production and communication, because they are cyclical and inevitable. Think of a garden lying fallow for the winter.
24. Do not threaten to remove people who lack activity. They have, in fact, already removed themselves and if you force them to do work under duress it will be subpar and they will leave eventually anyways.
25. Do not go into debt... ever. Did I already say that?
~---~
Polyglog 0.1 -- A Trial Run
Over the past couple of years I have typed out a number of tutorials. I am finding, though, that I am reaching the limits of my expertise and have a hard time coming up with things that I can speak to with authority. So, I am going to be trying out something new, which I am calling a polyglog, short for low poly worklog (don't ask me where the first "g" comes from, I just like that it sounds like "polyglot"). Think of it as an over-the-shoulder viewing of me at work. I'll try to write down what I was thinking as I was going along creating something so that you can see how I work. I am planning to take you through the creation of a complete model from beginning to end, but first I want to do a trial run just to see how one of these could turn out. I would very much like your feedback on this so that I can make the future series as useful as possible. So, if you've got a nice high-speed internet connection and a few minutes, I would love any feedback you might have.
www.lowpolycoop.com/2006/03/polyglog-01-trial-run.html
~---~
A Preview
As usual, here is a preview for you all that I will be releasing tomorrow. Our newest work-in-progress free content pack is a weapons pack. Get ready for some zombie-crushing action.
~---~
Stay free.
Scott
The Low Poly Coop
There are images below, by the way, if you prefer to skip down.
~---~
How to Grow an Artists' Collective -- Top Twenty-five
I have been involved in many volunteer group projects. I have even helped in founding a couple of long-lived collectives with lofty goals. My hard-earned experience has dealt me a lot of pain, but has also given me a wealth of wisdom over the years. So, I give to you some of things that I say to myself over and over again as I conduct myself in this coop that help guide my actions. Some of this is just me exaggerating and being facetious, but everything in here has at least a kernel of truth. Of course, there is still a lot that I will learn during my involvement with this project, but I do have this to say... Ignore my advice at your own peril.
1. Never go into debt... ever.
2. Avoid the majority rules mentality and strive for consensus. Imagine for a moment if 4 out of 9 of your team members left the team.
3. Five dedicated active contributors with the same ideals is far more effective than a group of 20 hangers-on.
4. Do not kid yourself into thinking you are in charge. Be a guide, a mentor, a facilitator, a communicator, an evangelist and the keeper of the idealist flame, but do not yearn for power.
5. If there is a clear choice between doing what is right and doing what is popular, choose to do the right thing. Often the choice is not clear, but work towards understanding the difference.
6. There are three kinds of people... leaders, followers and those who actively ignore leaders and followers. Discourage the first kind, accept but do not waste time on the second kind, pursue the third.
7. A group with no leader will organically end up with a leader you may not want. That person may, in fact, be you. Plan the structure of your group from the outset to avoid traditional leaders.
8. Guide by example. Do not try to rule by force of will, peer pressure, charisma, bullying, or out of a need to be loved.
9. Do not promise more than you or your present group can do.
10. Do not make plans that rely on a swift expansion in the number of member-contributors in order to successfully complete a project.
11. Build time into your schedule to actually DO art. A group built around a person who is buried in the multitude of tasks needed to run the machine is a soulless entity that will not grow.
12. Just because you do most of the unglamorous work does not mean you make all the decisions.
13. Collective members who are barred from ownership of the group's decisions will unconciously (if not concsiously) sabotage those decisions.
14. Followers want to be led. Remove opportunity for these people to interact passively with the group -- encourage active participation at all turns.
15. Convert members to contributors. Convert contributors to evangelists.
16. Plan for the continuation of the collective after you leave. You will leave one day. If you cannot picture the group functioning without your presence, you need to change the structure.
17. Do not compete with other similar groups. Preemptively invite them to join with you in a larger goal for the common good.
18. Making money is OK. But do not commercialize or commodify your group's art. Try to make the running of the collective and its projects self-sustaining financially, but do not try to turn a profit.
19. Avoid benefactors. You will owe them a debt whether it is said out loud or not.
20. Have fun. Work hard. Hard work can actually be fun as long as it perpetuates the successful goals of a thriving community.
21. Make the decision to stay small or retrench if being big requires more resources than you currently have.
22. People leaving the collective can be positive as long as the structure supports it.
23. Plan for and accept periods of diminished production and communication, because they are cyclical and inevitable. Think of a garden lying fallow for the winter.
24. Do not threaten to remove people who lack activity. They have, in fact, already removed themselves and if you force them to do work under duress it will be subpar and they will leave eventually anyways.
25. Do not go into debt... ever. Did I already say that?
~---~
Polyglog 0.1 -- A Trial Run
Over the past couple of years I have typed out a number of tutorials. I am finding, though, that I am reaching the limits of my expertise and have a hard time coming up with things that I can speak to with authority. So, I am going to be trying out something new, which I am calling a polyglog, short for low poly worklog (don't ask me where the first "g" comes from, I just like that it sounds like "polyglot"). Think of it as an over-the-shoulder viewing of me at work. I'll try to write down what I was thinking as I was going along creating something so that you can see how I work. I am planning to take you through the creation of a complete model from beginning to end, but first I want to do a trial run just to see how one of these could turn out. I would very much like your feedback on this so that I can make the future series as useful as possible. So, if you've got a nice high-speed internet connection and a few minutes, I would love any feedback you might have.
www.lowpolycoop.com/2006/03/polyglog-01-trial-run.html
~---~
A Preview
As usual, here is a preview for you all that I will be releasing tomorrow. Our newest work-in-progress free content pack is a weapons pack. Get ready for some zombie-crushing action.
~---~
Stay free.
Scott
The Low Poly Coop
#2
I can't help but ask... what do you mean by this? By 'leader' do you mean 'people who want to be in charge' and by 'follower' do you mean 'people who don't want to be responsible'? Cause, I can't see how else # 6 makes sense with the rest of what you wrote?
Personally, I agree with what I heard someone else say about leaders and followers. They said that a leader is someone who does something and by doing so inspires others to do the same.
03/08/2006 (12:24 pm)
Quote:
6. There are three kinds of people... leaders, followers and those who actively ignore leaders and followers. Discourage the first kind, accept but do not waste time on the second kind, pursue the third.
I can't help but ask... what do you mean by this? By 'leader' do you mean 'people who want to be in charge' and by 'follower' do you mean 'people who don't want to be responsible'? Cause, I can't see how else # 6 makes sense with the rest of what you wrote?
Personally, I agree with what I heard someone else say about leaders and followers. They said that a leader is someone who does something and by doing so inspires others to do the same.
#3
@Aaron. Someone else who has a friend in a band says it could apply there as well.
@Anton. Great point. I think where I fail to make complete sense is in my lack of clarity of writing rather than in what I was actually trying to say. Maybe using the word "leader" was much too general a way to say it. I think you made my meaning more clear when you said leaders as in 'people who want to be in charge' (to which you could possibly also add '...and who don't want to do the work themselves') and followers as in 'people who don't want to be responsible'. That's what I was trying to get at. There are many other forms of leadership that are productive to growing a thriving community -- trailblazing, mentoring, guiding by example, inspiring and pioneering being a few. So, maybe "leader" was not the best word in that case. Generally, it is just my left-leaning call to remove our volunteer indie projects from the standard corporate hiearchy model and embrace a system based more around a loose gathering of equals.
Thanks again,
Scott
03/08/2006 (3:24 pm)
Thanks for the comments guys. I enjoy being able to get constructive feedback on my ramblings. @Aaron. Someone else who has a friend in a band says it could apply there as well.
@Anton. Great point. I think where I fail to make complete sense is in my lack of clarity of writing rather than in what I was actually trying to say. Maybe using the word "leader" was much too general a way to say it. I think you made my meaning more clear when you said leaders as in 'people who want to be in charge' (to which you could possibly also add '...and who don't want to do the work themselves') and followers as in 'people who don't want to be responsible'. That's what I was trying to get at. There are many other forms of leadership that are productive to growing a thriving community -- trailblazing, mentoring, guiding by example, inspiring and pioneering being a few. So, maybe "leader" was not the best word in that case. Generally, it is just my left-leaning call to remove our volunteer indie projects from the standard corporate hiearchy model and embrace a system based more around a loose gathering of equals.
Thanks again,
Scott
#4
keep up the great work :D, i love your tutorial too, really clear and easy to follow, very useful.
btw, that's a sound advice too
03/08/2006 (8:33 pm)
Hi Scott,keep up the great work :D, i love your tutorial too, really clear and easy to follow, very useful.
btw, that's a sound advice too
#5
Scott
03/09/2006 (6:02 am)
Thanks Evi. I plan on doing a lot more worklogs like that. I actually learn a lot myself by doing them so, in a way, I bet they'll end up being more useful for me than anything.Scott
Torque 3D Owner Aaron E
Default Studio Name
Another great post. And the advice applies to a lot of other situations/groupings as well.
Thanks for posting this.
Aaron E.