Restarting the Spriting Academy?

[SassySnivy]

What do you guys think? Would anyone be interested in participating in activities or help set it up? It would be in a similar format as Corru's, except maybe some changes here and there. People would be able to sign up at will to learn or teach, and can list what they can teach.

So would anyone be interested in participating? I could have posted this in the staff forum, but I wanted to see what the rest of the members think. :3

[Caite-chan]

I would I think it would be fun.

[Pokemon Trainer Sarah]

What if the sprite academy was basically a set of tutorials for different methods that gained in difficulty as they went? Each tutorial would have a different thread. Anyone who is a 'teacher' could make tutorials. So students start with the basic ones and have to complete them first, by posting a sprite following the tutorial and having it graded by a teacher. If you pass, you can move onto the next set of tutorials and so on. They could all have different levels, like you need to complete all the level 1 tutorials before you can do a level 2 one. And we can give out tokens for completing levels.
Completing the whole school would let you become a teacher. That way it is always around for whenever someone wants to join in, but lack of activity won't kill it. Plus we could maybe put the tutorials up on the site eventually.

This sort of set up would make it a kind of challenge for anyone interested in spriting and even experienced spriters may like to do it just so they can get the tokens and recognition.

[Caite-chan]

I also think we should post them on the site as well. I think it would be good and hopefully draw more people in.

[SassySnivy]

What Sarah said about tutorials was exactly what I was thinking. You'd need to have a tutorial completed for whatever it is you want to teach.

Yeah, I think maybe some things should definitely be tiered. I don't plan on having this anywhere near as complicated as my initial idea over a yeAr ago.

Additionally, it would also be wonderful if someone did an art academy thread as well. This thread provides a wonderful example of how it could be done:
https://pokefarm.com/forum/thread/84...-School?page=1

Maybe I'll post that in the general art discussions though. Because it would be just as awesome to have a drawn art academy too.

What about those that already know how to do a prerequisite, though? So you guys think we should require them to have to "grind" until they get up to the level they want? Or maybe those classes can be short and sweet assuming the person knows how to do them.

[Pokemon Trainer Sarah]

Well I figured the level one classes would probably be quite basic and easy anyway. If you already knew how to do it, you would just whip up something quickly and post it to get certified. You could also have maybe "Elective" classes at each tier which you didn't need to do to move on to the next tier, but which you could do if you wanted. Like say tier one classes are something like this:

Tier One
-Basic Recolouring [Core]
-Splicing [Core]
-Basic Shading [Core]
-Pillow Shading [Elective]
-Chocolate Pokemon [Elective]
-Neon Pokemon [Elective]

Tier Two
Must have completed Tier One Core Classes, plus 1 Elective
-Blah
-Blah
-Blah
-Blah


I made up those names but yeah, you get the idea. xD If there are electives, that leaves room for heaps of different kinds of tutorials for different teachers to make up, including recolouring with different palettes or shading in different ways or whatever. Stuff that might not be a necessary skill to move on, but could be fun, different techniques to learn.

There could also possibly be an option to skip tiers maybe, like for first tier there would be a final exam that involves creating a sprite using techniques learned in first tier classes. You could still try it if you hadn't completed the classes maybe? I dunno. I kind of like the idea of having to complete all the classes to move on, but yeah. xD

An art one sounds good too, but it might be best to focus on one at a time. Once the spriting one is up and we have worked out all the kinks, it could be expanded to other sections. :)

[SassySnivy]

We definitely shouldn't lose sight of the tiering. Thanks for helping me get this started. That actually motivated me to keep the list going xD

Maybe in order to take certain electives, we can have certain cores be required. And actually that I think about it, splicing might not be a bad idea. It'd get people into understanding how to make parts on their own.

So this is what I've got so far, continuing from your thing:

Beginner Tier (Parenthesis is what's required)
Recoloring
Splicing [Copy + pasting with some editing mixed in there]
Shading
*Glow (Recoloring)
*Hologram (Recoloring)
*Silhouette, aka anti-aliasing (Recoloring)
*Disguise recolor (Recoloring, editing)
*Pillow-shading (Recoloring)
*Minimalistic Pokemon (Recoloring)

Intermediate Tier (All cores, 1 or more electives)
Hue-Shifting
Fusions
Intermediate Shading
Anti-Aliasing
*Elective
*Elective (every time I see this word I see "Electivire" and it's driving me totally nuts)

Tier 3


I'm thinking that 3 tiers will definitely be enough for now. But I could totally be wrong! Also I provided examples for those elective ones so I'm not confusing anyone xD
Maybe also that instead of having an exam after EVERY SINGLE course, we can group the cores together in one final test. Each elective would have their own test to take, of course. I do think for recoloring, though, we should really only have them make 1 or 2 recolors since it's such a basic thing. x]

And by completing the classes needed to get to the next tier could act like...by meeting the requirements, you're more like, unlocking that tier. You won't be forced to jump straight into it, and you can always jump back and forth. If you already know a technique taught by a core class, then you can tell everyone that in your application and the mentor will act accordingly. I think "prior experience" may be a list item on a student application.

This should also be at one's own pace. Students shouldn't have to be rushed in any way, shape, or form to complete a course. They should be able to basically come and go as they so wish. x] After all, it should be fun, not a chore! 8D Thanks for the cool suggestions / examples. Really got the gears in my head turning. xD

[Pokemon Trainer Sarah]

Glad I could be helpful! Having cores required for certain electives is also a great idea. I think what you've got so far is awesome and that the fact it can be left and returned to at any time is really what is going to make it work with our activity levels. :D I can't wait to see how it all goes. If you need help with anything at all, don't hesitate to ask! :D

[SassySnivy]

Beginner Tier (Parenthesis is what's required)
Recoloring
Lines
Splicing [Copy + pasting with some editing mixed in there]
Shading
*Glow (Recoloring)
*Hologram (Recoloring)
*Silhouette, aka anti-aliasing (Recoloring)
*Disguise recolor (Recoloring, editing)
*Pillow-shading (Recoloring)
*Minimalistic Pokemon (Recoloring)

Intermediate Tier (All cores, 1 or more electives)
Hue-Shifting
Fusions
Intermediate Shading
Anti-Aliasing
*Ditto Pokemon
*XD001 Shadow Pokemon
*Lineless Pokemon
*Plush Pokemon
*Revamps
*Chocolate Pokemon
*Pokemon Snow Sculpture
*Pokemallow
*Devamps (every time I see this word (Elective) I see "Electivire" and it's driving me totally nuts)

Advanced Tier
"Blocking" and Line Art
Advanced Shading (Textures, Stylization, etc)
Custom Pixel Art
Pixel-Overs
*Hi-Res
*TCG Pixel Overs
*Custom Devamps
*Re-Types
*Low-Res Pokemon Sprites
*Gummi Pokemon

Here's what I got so far. All those electives are just examples.

[Pokemon Trainer Sarah]

They all sound awesome Speed! I am really excited about this. :D