Polar Colony

[Suirebit-3DT]

Matte Painting Challenge no. 04
Subject - The Coming of Ice

Topic: Polar Colony

I don't know about you guys, but it's really freezing around here (like -10 degrees celsius) so we, the funny guys from 3dtotal, decided to go with a matching theme for this weather, hehe.

Thus, for the matte painting challenge of February, you get to choose between 2 sub-themes:

1) Ice Planet Human Colony - Here you have to create a scene that should feature a very cold (yet not hazy, we want to see detail) planet, together with a human colony; Bear in mind that the structures design should match such an environment and have real purposes - for instance, you can imagine a central hub connected through tunnels to different modules, such as crew quarters, mess hall, research lab etc. You can also make a nice sky with stars and moons? Go wild


OR

2) Ancient Alien Colony/Structure frozen deep under the Earth's polar ice sheet, in a vast ice cave. Here, you have to create firstly a vast and epic cave system, and when I say vast I mean kilometers wide; Like a city in a huge cave. Don't forget it's made from ice! Then, when you are done with this, you need to create weird alien structures frozen in there (or maybe a spaceship?).


In other words, it's either US on THEIR planet, or THEY on OUR planet, your choice


Requirements:

Your job for this challenge is to create a photorealistic or slightly stylized scene depicting one of the 2 sub-themes.


Deadline:

February 28, 2010


Deliverables :

All participants are required to create their own thread where they need to provide the following:
- A work in progress (WIP) sheet
- A final image

In order to be validated, you must show us the work in progress. No entry will be accepted without a work in progress example

Please name your threads like this: Your Name – The Coming of Ice

Also, please keep all questions in this thread

WIP Sheet

A WIP sheet is a compilation of images showcasing your creative process, from the initial sketches to the final image.

Final Image Sizes

For the judging stage we will accept submissions as .JPG files at minimum 1200 pixels wide.

Restrictions

-All images, including concepts, sketches, 3D assets, etc. must be made specifically for this contest.

-You are not allowed to post this image anywhere else until the challenge is over.

-No teams or groups – everything must be made by one person.


**Winners may be asked to cooperate in an interview about themselves and their work, and provide detailed ‘making of’ articles accompanied by high-resolution work in progress stills for 2DArtist Magazine after the competition.

Judging:
Will start with public vote to decide the top 10, then a private panel will come together to choose the top 3 placements.

Prizes:

Matte Painting 1st Place
e-on software - Vue 8 xStream - worth $1495
Focal Press - Any 2 books - worth approx $60-$100
3DTotal - Any 3 ebooks - worth approx $45
2dartist or 3dcreative digital magazine, 6 month subscription - worth $20
3DTotal - t-shirt - $?? (priceless!)

Matte Painting 2nd Place
Gnomon - Any training DVD (download) - worth approx $60
3DTotal - Any 3 ebooks - worth approx $45
2dartist or 3dcreative digital magazine, 6 month subscription - worth $20
3DTotal - t-shirt - $?? (priceless!)

Matte Painting 3rd Place
3DTotal - Any 1 ebook - worth $15
3DTotal - t-shirt - $?? (priceless!)

Matte Painting 4th Place
3DTotal - t-shirt - $?? (priceless!)

Matte Painting 5th Place
3DTotal - t-shirt - $?? (priceless!)

[Secretpixelmedi]

nice topic, count me in

[Akim]

Both themes are excellent for matte! Tnx, mates!

[Jaxko]

brilliant theme. good luck everyone

[eyecon]

i hope I can join this one this time around... been quite busy

[hulahuga]

This could get really interesting

[Smily]

great, I will do everything possible to make time to participate

[Suirebit-3DT]

Please post your final entries here: http://forums.3dtotal.com/showthread.php?t=73985

Thanks

[costa]

Just a small question: pictures must be 1200 pixels wide (minimum) but what about the height? Can we choose it or is there a proportion relationship that we must follow ?

One more thing; besides photos, is it ok to use reference from other renderings/paintings (considering that we have permission from the author) ?

(Once again sorry for my english)

[Suirebit-3DT]

whatever height , assuming it's a decent ratio(that is, not too panoramic)

no, you may not sample other rendering/painting, it will result in disqualifying you.

[szaszgbr]

another advice: Try to make the painting in double size, and when its done you can lower the res. Its eliminate the problem, wich comes from the different refereces sizes, and the hand painted elemnts, dont look so hand drawn.

[costa]

Damn .. I used reference from a matte painting but as I had permission I didn't thought it would be a problem, but if those are the rules I'll start a new one and do my best to finish in time. I guess 10 days will have to be enough

szaszgbr: thanks for the tip, I was having some trouble choosing the right resolution