What I’ve learnt from working on many project is that the communication is always the key… and it’s always the hardest thing to get right… it’s better to over-communicate even…
Ah, yes. Good point! Didn’t think about that…
For the team project I wish it could be quite relaxed. With no tight deadlines etc. Something like open source project.
Though it is something to consider as a day have only so many hours… 
Ah, this is another thing I didn’t consider as I focused on “learning, collaborating and having fun” elements 
. The animation idea is a good one. We could have a simple one like you mention, or if someone is really interested in animation - he could take charge of this area and make a complex movie out of it. I also think that “single picture” as an outcome is not the best approach (it was for a reproduction of a painting). So on top of the animation we could have multiple renders so work of everybody could be highlighted. And maybe, just maybe, if we collaborate more closely and some models would be touched by multiple peoples (modeller, texturer, rigger…) than the sense of achievement would be more shifted toward collective vs the individual.
Like your both ideas! The “dungeon” one that you mentioned earlier even more… Let me throw a few additional ideas to consider:
- medieval village (multiple focus points, buildings, nature, animals, characters… I even have an anvil ready to use for a blacksmith shop )
- city (or e.g., modern, cyberpunk city, ancient Greece city, etc.)
- warzone (e.g., battle scene from WWI or earlier historical battle… or a sci-fy battle inspired by some movie like attack on a death star)
- pirate island