Nimble Collective, the online animation community startup founded by former DreamWorks Animation employees, is now inviting artists to apply to test the platform.

Nimble Collective earlier raised an $8.5 million round of funding, led by New Enterprise Associates, to develop a cloud-based end-to-end production environment.

The startup has indicated its choice of beta testers will be based on those with a strong animation idea or existing project. Nimble is also looking for artists working in a range of disciplines from animation to layout and writing to be part of a team of testers.

“This is a huge milestone for Nimble,” said Rex Grignon, Nimble Collective’s co-founder and CEO, in a release. “Inviting animation artists of all levels to create on our platform will ensure we’re designing real solutions to real problems. Our goal is to provide the most frictionless workflow possible. We’re excited to be one step closer to offering the power of the studio to a new generation of animation artists.”

Screenshot of the Nimble Collective platform.
Screenshot of the Nimble Collective platform.

Nimble is based in Mountain View, California and has built a virtual streaming platform that runs via a web browser. Here’s the plain speak description of what Nimble is attempting to do:

We’re not flying data around the world in the traditional way where people upload and download to a cloud. We’re different; we’re doing app streaming. You never sync between your local laptop and the cloud or your local laptop and another local laptop. Everything is living in the cloud. It’s one garden with a wall around it, not millions of little gardens with pathways. One walled garden. Once you’re inside, it’s very secure. Everyone providing this service takes security very seriously.

The goal is to allow for artists to collaborate on animated projects using this online pipeline. Nimble expects that eventually up to 10 million professional and aspiring animators will use its collaborative virtual platform. Users can use their preferred individual animation software, though Nimble is only offering full support for Blender and Krita in this beta stage.

For access as a beta tester, interested parties can submit applications at cloud.nimblecollective.com/beta.

Ian Failes

Ian Failes is a writer covering visual effects and tech for Cartoon Brew.

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