Live Online Today: Layer Tennis!

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Are you a live sports fan? Are you a graphic design geek? Well, for the three of you who fit both descriptions, grab a drink and get ready for a new event guaranteed* to rock you. Starting today at 3pm Eastern (that's noon Pacific or 7pm in London), you can witness the online debut of Layer Tennis. What's Layer Tennis, you ask? The official description states:

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 visiting the site votes for a winner.

So basically it's live serial collaborative image-editing, sponsored by Coudal Partners. Awesome!

Today's Layer Tennis match pits Shaun Inman (described as a designer/programmer) against Kevin Cornell (a designer/illustrator), with color commentary by John Gruber (of Daring Fireball). There are lots of ways to follow the action -- start with the main page, geek out on the forums, or even follow along via Twitter. (Only the truly obsessed will need the RSS feed.)

In just a few short hours, the action begins. Get ready to nerd out!

* = The phrase "guaranteed to rock you" is not to be construed as a warranty or promise of rocking, unless you really REALLY like graphic design.