mrshl | blog

Layer Tennis

If you aren’t enjoying it already, I encourage you to check out a new and innovative Web feature from the peeps at Coudal Partners: it’s called Layer Tennis. Here’s the description in a nut-shell:

How The Game Works

We’ll be playing matches using lots of different applications, from Adobe® Photoshop® to Adobe® Flash®, but the basic idea is the same no matter what tools are in use. Two artists (or two small teams of artists) will swap a file back and forth in real-time, adding to and embellishing the work. Each artist gets fifteen minutes to complete a “volley” and then we post that to the site. A third participant, a writer, provides play-by-play commentary on the action, as it happens. The matches last for ten volleys and when it’s complete, everyone with an opinion sounds off in the Forums and we declare a winner.

This is really one of the best new uses I’ve seen for your meat-and-potatoes blog. It’s an evolution of the real-time chat in which well-known designers compete in an iterative battle right before your eyes. Complete with commentary from a know-it-all design pundit!

For sure, this is more fun if you’ve got a passing familiarity with the concept of layers, and how they’re used in programs like Photoshop and Flash. But I promise, Layer Tennis is going to make perfect sense to you even if you’re a design novice. In the end, what you’re seeing is two talented artists taking turns on a high-tech canvas.

Take a look at the first match (from last week), and then check out this week’s match. Don’t forget to check the forums for commentary from the masses.