Pass The Pen!
Welcome to Pass The Pen!
Pass The Pen is a collaborative project where the community creates Pens together!
When I was in school we'd do a "Pass the Story" kind of thing. Someone starts off a story... "Once upon a time"... and the next person adds to it... "there was a giant elephant named Sam who was purple and lived in a cave...". This continues until everyone has a chance to contribute and the story ends. The stories were often ridiculous but it was so fun to see where it went and what everyone came up with. And so I thought, what kind of crazy beautiful nonsense could the CodePen community come up with if we did something similar! Let's find out!
How it works
First:
One person creates a Pen.
This could be anything really, from a scene, drawing, or story, to a concept for a website layout, to an abstract animation. The possibilities are endless!
Second:
Pass the Pen to the next person!
This is where it might get tricky. There are essentially two ways this could be done.
1. The next person forks the original scene, and adds to it. (limited to CodePen)
OR
2. The original person makes their pen available via Collab mode, and everyone adds to it that way.
Third:
Pass it again! Keep passing to the next person, until all who are able or want to contribute have done so or until a deadline has been reached.
Finally:
We all share and admire the beauty...or monster...that we've created!
Ground Rules
This should go without saying, but the same CodePen community rules apply here. This is open to everyone, so let's also keep our creations friendly for all ages. You know what I mean.
No matter your skill level, all are invited to participate! Add whatever you feel comfortable adding. No contribution is too small.
Don't undo what someone else has done! You can add to and even enhance what others have added but don't remove anything that was there before you. That's just not nice and not fun. This includes not abusing the power of the Cascade in CSS!
Each person should also add their name and what they contributed to the Pen description.
Let's get started!
Since this is our first time doing this, I'm going to try out the two different methods of passing the pens and see which one works best.
For both methods we'll go down a list of participants. Once you've finished let us know here or via twitter so the next person can be notified that it's their turn! Each person has up to a Day to contribute (this can be flexible depending on a person's skill level..and time zone).
Collab Mode - For this method I'll make the original pen available via collab mode. I'll send the link to the next person on the list and they can add their contribution that way.
Fork Pen - (Limited to CodePen users) The first person on the list will fork the original pen and add their contribution, then when they're done the next person will be notified and can then fork the new pen and add their contribution, and so on.
Both pens will be public so that you can start brainstorming ideas on what you want to contribute!
Here are our starting pens:
Pen 1 (Collab Mode) Deep Space
Pen 2 (Fork - CodePen users only) Deep Sea
For our first time around I thought we'd keep the starting pen themes a little simpler and hopefully less intimidating and see how it goes. CodePen users have the chance to contribute to both Pens. If you only want to contribute to one that's ok too!
Our goal is to finish the pens by Monday, March 19th. And then we can share what we've made! If all goes well and people want to continue, then I'll start the next Pass The Pen that same Monday with a new post and pen! If we finish early we'll start a new one earlier too.
I can't wait to see what we create together! And I hope everyone has fun!
Didn't get to be on the list this time? No worries! Comment below and include the best way to reach you or tweet at me and we'll make sure you're included next time! 😊🎉
Use #passthepen to follow along!
Pass The Pen Participant List:
Deep Space List -
- Adam Kuhn - @cobra_winfrey ✔️
- Sasha - @sa_sha26 (come back to on weekend) ✔️
- Katherine Kato - @kato_katherine ✔️
- Christina Gorton - @coffeecraftcode ✔️
- Ali Spittel - @ASpittel ✔️
- Jerry Jones - @juryjowns ✔️
- Ifunanya Okolie - @ayna_nufi (come back to) ✔️
- Tyler Untisz - @tntsz ✔️
- Ayyyy - @timecrystal99 (come back to) ✖️
- Cheryl Velez - @onegrumpybunny ✔️
- Irem Lopsum - @iremlopsum (come back to) ✖️
- Andy Barefoot - @andybarefoot (come back to) ✖️
- Rebecca Gunn - @ChibiBeckyG ✔️
Deep Sea List -
Reverse Order so CodePen users don't have to contribute to two at the same time, if you're not on CodePen you'll be skipped.
- Rebecca Gunn - @ChibiBeckyG ✔️
- Andy Barefoot - @andybarefoot ✔️
- Irem Lopsum - @iremlopsum (come back to) ✖️
- Cheryl Velez - @onegrumpybunny ✔️
- Ayyy - @timecrystal99 (come back to) ✖️
- Tyler Untisz - @tntsz (come back to) ✖️
- Ifunanya Okolie - @ayna_nufi (come back to) ✖️
- Jerry Jones - @juryjowns ✔️
- Ali Spittel - @ASpittel (come back to) ✔️
- Christina Gorton - @coffeecraftcode (come back to) ✔️
- Katherine Kato - @kato_katherine ✔️
- Sasha - @sa_sha26 (come back to) ✔️
- Adam Kuhn - @cobra_winfrey ✔️
I realize everyone is busy and have jobs and lives outside of this, if you're not able to contribute on your day, we'll move to the next person on the list and try to get you in again when you're free.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. And if you're unsure what to contribute I'm happy to help and offer suggestions!
P.S. - I've also created a Slack workspace for Pass The Pen for those that are interested. If you'd like to join I'll send you an invite.
EDIT: We are now passing through CodePen's spectrum community instead of Slack! https://spectrum.chat/thread/aac97045-216d-4732-a37f-f6cc791a8c7d