There are quite a few precedence’s. “Clanning” is not a new concept to the web, and especially not in art thereupon. Art groups are plentiful, and the Community Skin projects set a tone for “clan skinning”.

The commonality here is the “name”. Each art group has a name, Breed being on of the most noted and visible. The Community Skin project came to bear the name “Community Skin” out of obviousness, but it a “name” nevertheless.

So, what if you, as an individual, with no name, wanted to try and instigate a “clan-skinning” project? What would you do? Where would you go, and what would you say when you got there?

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This article is about my very personal experience in just such an attempt. I do not mean it to be a “model” story, or a road map of how to go about this (for my methods certainly had their shortcomings), but my experiences do serve as an object lesson, and I gladly share it with you.

Firstly, if you would like to try an interactive group skinning project, I would highly suggest that you “go for it”. There is on loss involved, and there is much to be gained from the experience. That said, here is what I learned along the way…

Be prepared to take a leadership role

If you want folks to jump in with you, and work on a project you conceived, you should be ready to answer questions, do extra work, receive and respond to e-mails, and even take some flack. Small price to pay if what you end up with is the “Skin Suite of Your Dreams”.

Have your “box” ready

The best way to go about a group skinning project is to make a prototype skin that is capable of being stretched (as in a windowblinds skin, or a coolplayer playlist) infinitely, and buttons in the “up”, “down” and “over” states. These “necessary elements” will act as a cornerstone upon which to build skins for all types of programs.

At this point, so many great skinnable programs are not truly “free form”, so if you want full compatibility, you’ll need to “go square” with your prototype.

Secure some space

You will be happy if you already have some web space set aside to house your project. It will be nice for all involved if the people who plan to contribute can benefit from each other’s efforts.

Since most skins are low file size, you won’t need that much. Just try to have it ready at the start…

Talk about your project everywhere!

For my project, I made a “Letter of Interest” post to one skin sites message board. Just to see if anyone would be interested, before I even had a prototype to show. In hindsight, this was an error.

I think, for this type of project, one would be better served by having a prototype, web space, and “plan of action” in place, then posting about it to every message board one could find.

Many talented people are very very short of time. They may only have a spark of it to spare on any outside project. If they can jump in, do their bit, and jump out effortlessly and quickly, it is more likely that this kind of skinner will get something done.

Upload it Yourself

For my project, an arbitrary date was set, and all vested parties agreed to upload on that date. In retrospect, I believe this to be an error of etiquette on my part. I believe the project would have been better served, and my manners better presented, had I volunteered to upload all the work myself.

Enough that folks had dedicated their time talent and effort to the project. The duty of uploading should be the duty of the project instigator.

Your Results Will Vary

The experience I had in my project is subject to my personal penchant for bizarre skins, and my unorthodox life schedule. Things may run a lot smoother for you.

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Overall, the experience of working with a group was a good one for me. If you have the desire, the time and the patience, I would suggest giving it a try…

(The skin suite was “Red Leader”)

— Kenray, March 27th 2002