Everyone,
New World Digital Art is pleased to announce the kick off of our 2014-2015 Theme Challenge "Iceland" Starting right NOW!
CONTEST GUIDELINES:
• Contestants are to re-create a region of Iceland of their choosing with the highest level of Photo-realism as their goal.
• Open to all versions of Terragen 2 and 3, Free or Registered. Scene assets such as Terrains & misc modeled props created in 3rd party applications are permitted, however the final render must be rendered within Terragen.
• 1 entry per contestant
• Image Size – .6 Min – 2MB Max
• Terragen's DOF is permitted. Rendering Terragen layers and composing in a 3rd party applications is also permitted.
• Contestants must submit judged entry with raw Terragen output image (Composed layers into single image, Pre-Postwork).
• Approved Post work – Sharpening, color/level adjustments, resizing and another subtle techniques that simulate 'typical' lens effects. NWDA will reject any image that is deemed overly 'enhanced' by Photoshop or other image editors.
• Non Approved Postwork – Replacing and or adding any element via Photoshop or any image editor. All elements must be rendered within Terragen.
• NWDA reserves the right to reject any entries that do not conform to the above guidelines or images that are deemed 'incomplete' by NWDA.
• Submitted entries must be submitted by the below date and time and include Image title, Artist name, (Forum or Real name) email & judged entry with raw Terragen output image (ex. Composed layers into single image, Pre-Postwork).
CONTEST JUDGES:
• NEW WORLD DIGITAL ART Partners
• Matt Fairclough, Creator of Terragen, VFX Artist (Sucker Punch, Transformers Revenge of The Fallen, Star Trek:Nemesis, Oblivion).
• Greg Teegarden, Supervisor of VFX Digital Domain (Oblivion, X-Men First Class, TRON Legacy, The Fifth Element)
• Chris Harvey, Supervisor of VFX Prime Focus & Image Engine (WATCHMEN, X-Men The Last Stand, Fast & Furious 6, Battleship, ZERO DARK THIRTY, GI-JOE)
• Alex Jevon, VFX Artist Lola Lost Productions, Illumina Digital (The Bible, Atlantis:End Of The World, Birth Of A Legend Earth's Extraordinary Journey)
Reference Imagery https://www.pinterest.com/NWDAstore/iceland/ (https://www.pinterest.com/NWDAstore/iceland/)
Contest Begins October 26th 2014 ending February 14th 2015 23:59 EST US
Submit entries to http://nwdastore.com/theme-challenge/
Awards totaling over $5500 USD
• 1st Place:
XFrogs Plants Vol 1 & 2. tgo Format 2900 plants
Planetside Software's Terragen 3 Professional With Animation
WorldCreator Indie Bundle
bitethebytes ShaderTool
World Machine 2 Professional
Quadspinner's Geoplyph – A professional suite of 51 Custom Macros for World Machine (Single Node,Free Upgrades)
Silva3D – Mega Bundle Vol.1
Silva3D – Balcony Plants Vol.1
Silva3D – Garden Flowers Vol.1
Silva3D – Boxwood Bundle Vol.1
3d Art Direct – Interview "The Making Of"
3d Art Direct – 1 Year "Back Issue Access"
Plug N' Pixels – Interview
Rendering of animated winning scene file on Pixel Plow's advanced render farm !
• 2nd Place:
XFrogs Plants Vol 1 & 2. tgo Format 2900 plants
Planetside Software's Terragen 3 Creative With Animation
Quadspinner's Geoplyph – A professional suite of 51 Custom Macros for World Machine (Single Node,Free Upgrades)
WorldCreator Indie license
bitethebytes ShaderTool
Silva3D – Mega Bundle Vol.1 (or pick 4 from either Archive Grasses,
Balcony, Wildflower, Garden Flowers, Boxwood or Shrubs)
3d Art Direct – Interview "The Making Of"
3d Art Direct – 1 Year "Back Issue Access"
Plug N' Pixels – Interview
• 3rd Place:
XFrogs Plants Vol 1 & 2. tgo Format 2900 plants
Planetside Software's Terragen 3 Creative
Quadspinner's Geoplyph – A professional suite of 51 Custom Macros for World Machine (Single Node,Free Upgrades)
WorldCreator Indie license
bitethebytes ShaderTool
Silva3D – Choice (pick 2 from either Archive Grasses, Balcony,
Wildflower, Garden Flowers, Boxwood or Shrubs)
3d Art Direct Interview "The Making Of"
3d Art Direct – 1 Year "Back Issue Access"
Plug N' Pixels – Interview
• Honorable Mention:
Silva3D – Choice (pick 1 from either Archive Grasses, Balcony,
Wildflower, Garden Flowers, Boxwood or Shrubs)
New World Digital Art - $50 Coupon to our shop.
**As with Roadside it is strongly recommended that you create a Work In Progress Thread here in Planetside forums ** http://www.planetside.co.uk/forums/index.php/board,23.0.html (http://www.planetside.co.uk/forums/index.php/board,23.0.html)**
Good Luck !!
NEW WORLD DIGITAL ART
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>Hold<
This is great!
Iceland. GREAT pick! There is no one who could not be inspired by this country. Every inch of it is a dream scape 8)
Quotethe highest level of Photo-realism as their goal.
Please tell me. Do you simply mean that the render should look like a photo, or that the render must look like a specific and real location that could be compared to a reference photo? For example, my initial thought is that I would like to create a scene that very well could be in Iceland, but would be more fantasy than real, however photo real.
Want to try in this contest. And who knows, I may even finish something this time ;D
P.S.
Great prizes!
Quotethe highest level of Photo-realism as their goal.
QuotePlease tell me. Do you simply mean that the render should look like a photo, or that the render must look like a specific and real location that could be compared to a reference photo? For example, my initial thought is that I would like to create a scene that very well could be in Iceland, but would be more fantasy than real, however photo real.
Want to try in this contest. And who knows, I may even finish something this time ;D
P.S.
Great prizes!
Hey Badger,
It most certainly can be fantasy, or what ever genre you dream up, the idea as was with Roadside .. Photo-Real is the goal, even if its somewhat fictitious or fantasy. It should look like a real place.
Again it doesn't need to replicate a specific place in Iceland, it merely needs to convey the Iceland theme/mood and look real while doing it ;)
Wow! Iceland. Congratulations Danny on rounding up such a wonderful group of sponsors! Even Quadspinner! This one should be fiercely competitive. Looking forward to watching the entries develop.
Good luck to you all, guys and girls! I'm very curious what you'll come up with and who's going to be the winner(s)... get to work! I can't compete I'm afraid :(
Can TG beta testers compete?
Quote from: alessandro on October 27, 2014, 11:42:09 AM
Can TG beta testers compete?
Yes, however you must use a released version of TG for your entry. No beta functionality is permitted for obvious reasons.
NWDA Partners, TU, F.B., Dune, NVseal, Seth, Walli, RAcher & myself are excluded from the voting portion of this contest. Our involvement will be restricted to Work in Progress threads. Contest is open to anyone else
Danny
Looking forward to getting into this. There are oodles of inspirations on the web ...hard to make a choice as to what direction to begin. Great choice Danny!
Quote from: Danny on October 27, 2014, 12:08:46 PM
Quote from: alessandro on October 27, 2014, 11:42:09 AM
Can TG beta testers compete?
Yes, however you must use a released version of TG for your entry. No beta functionality is permitted for obvious reasons.
NWDA Partners, TU, F.B., Dune, NVseal, Seth, Walli, RAcher & myself are excluded from the voting portion of this contest. Our involvement will be restricted to Work And Progress threads. Contest is open to anyone else
Danny
Thanks for the clarification.
Greetings from Las Vegas Nevada! I have never entered a contest like this one before ;D , and therefore I am a bit confused.
Am I to understand that the final submission must be between .6 Min – 2.5K Max? This seems to be a tad small to me!
Is this to be the final rendered size from within Terragen, or can it be later "Re-sized" using another program? Or even Zipped?
I would like to follow the procedures, and would like to thank anyone for any kind replies. - (Most Appreciated) Thank you - Jerry
Quote from: Urantia Jerry on October 27, 2014, 02:41:38 PM
Am I to understand that the final submission must be between .6 Min – 2.5K Max? This seems to be a tad small to me!
Is this to be the final rendered size from within Terragen, or can it be later "Re-sized" using another program? Or even Zipped?
I would like to follow the procedures, and would like to thank anyone for any kind replies. - (Most Appreciated) Thank you - Jerry
Hey Jerry,
The size restriction is in place to
even the playing field if you will for our Free Version contestants. (Free version max res 1280X900) As mentioned above resizing is allowed so feel free to render whatever size you would like. Image size and ratio is up to you, but no files over 2MB. This is also in place to keep our free version users as well as people with slower hardware in the running. If you are new here we strongly recommended starting a work in progress thread in the image gallery. This as proved to be very beneficial in past contests. Welcome aboard
Danny
Ok, Iam for. :)
Fantastic contest, very glad to be a part of this! We'll setup a dedicated contest Work-In-Progress discussion area soon.
- Oshyan
!yeah!
Watching the wips was really a lot of fun last time 8)
And here's the new dedicated forum area for contest discussion: http://www.planetside.co.uk/forums/index.php/board,23.0.html
Who will be the first with a Work-in-Progress thread!? :D
- Oshyan
Question, since I've never participated to a NDWA Challenge: can a background image (non TG3) be added (say a starry sky), through the background node, or is it forbidden?
Yes Alessandro, such texture elements should be fine.
Of course it speaks for itself that sticking textures of background mountains/clouds on billboards is not allowed, as TG offers built-in features to create those.
Looking forward to see your WIP! ;)
Cheers,
Martin
Thanks for the clarification Martin! I think I'll participate, if nothing gets in the way.
That's a sliding judgement. Of course, many textures are non-TG (like leaves and bark, terrain bases), but we have to take care where the acceptable limit is. Starry sky background can be replaced by cloudy sky, or a photo of northern lights..... To be safe (before the judges) I'd say, try to do as much in TG as possible. Starry sky is very much possible procedurally!
Re whats allowed:
Um, The rules state that it has to be rendered. So as long as whats submitted is a render from TG, and everything in it is rendered (not added post) than by the posted rules it should play. Im a little uncomfortable when the rules are re-difined or elaborated on like this. i.e. stars or billboards or whatever.
I think that rules should be set before starting not evolve as we go.
Quote from: TheBadger on November 01, 2014, 05:07:12 AM
Re whats allowed:
Um, The rules state that it has to be rendered. So as long as whats submitted is a render from TG, and everything in it is rendered (not added post) than by the posted rules it should play. Im a little uncomfortable when the rules are re-difined or elaborated on like this. i.e. stars or billboards or whatever.
I think that rules should be set before starting not evolve as we go.
Badger,
Dune is not saying that a star background isn't allowed he is merely advising Alessandro "to be safe" and not take this too far. Too far being getting carried away with billboards. For example; having a inserted billboard be the entire focus of your image. something like that will not be allowed, I am sure you can see our point on that, its a Terragen Challenge. We have indeed laid out the base rules, but with Terragen as flexible as it is it's impossible for us to anticipate every scenario. Certain things will need to be reviewed on a case by case basis. Hope this answers your question Micheal.
Danny
Yes, that was my intention. So don't take your favorite Iceland holiday picture, project on the background and render away ;)
QuoteFor example; having a inserted billboard be the entire focus of your image.
QuoteDon't take your favorite Iceland holiday picture, project on the background and render away
lol. OK ;D That I agree with. Although that would be pretty damn funny if someone does that.
Good that this was clarified in time, because I was going to upload my contest image already LOL
This contest really inspiring me! i will participate for sure, soon i will open a topic with an idea of work... :)
Can a terrain created in an external terrain generator be used in the competition image?
Thanks
Jason
:)
I would say, yes. Don't know what the others think.
Quote from: inkydigit on November 16, 2014, 11:00:26 AM
Can a terrain created in an external terrain generator be used in the competition image?
Thanks
Jason
:)
Well, this certainly has to be cleared up. Also, what about the use of textures, masks and generally images created in other packages? For example, a greyscale mask used with clouds/water or terrain nodes.
Well since two of the prizes are terrain creations apps (World machine and Worldcreator), it probably would be poor form to ban them, as well as Geoglyph which is a plugin set of macros for World Machine. I openly used World machine in the last NWDA "Road" contest with no objections (maybe that's why I didn't win ;)). But that's not 'Official' until an Official makes a statement. The contest may be weighted to recognize more native TG attributes in the final judging, but that hasn't been mentioned to my knowledge. But certainly one of the stated goals of Planetside is to fit TG into a broader set of pipelines, so compatible applications should be fine (just my opinion).
As with Roadside Terrain generators and digital elevation data are indeed allowed.
Terrains, objects, and textures can be created in any application. Final rendering must be done in Terragen. Only gratuitous use of e.g. large background textures comprising a majority of the image are against the rules. A background starfield or nebula texture is probably fine, but if a photo background is the most impactful part of your image, you're doin' it wrong. ;)
I think it should probably be *formally* clarified in the rules that scene assets can be created in any application, but rendering must be done in TG.
- Oshyan
That's great, thanks for the clarification!
:)
J
one of the prizes is every plant that Walli has. And that is awesome! But his prices are so good I never feel bad when I need to buy something that he happens to have. An even more awesome prize would be if Walli did some new plants for the winner. Than whoever wins, we all win!
Was that too obvious?.. A pretty nice way to nag him I think ;D
CONTEST JUDGES:
• NEW WORLD DIGITAL ART Partners
• Matt Fairclough, Creator of Terragen, VFX Artist (Sucker Punch, Transformers Revenge of The Fallen, Star Trek:Nemesis, Oblivion).
• Greg Teegarden, Supervisor of VFX Digital Domain (Oblivion, X-Men First Class, TRON Legacy, The Fifth Element)
• Chris Harvey, Supervisor of VFX Prime Focus & Image Engine (WATCHMEN, X-Men The Last Stand, Fast & Furious 6, Battleship, ZERO DARK THIRTY, GI-JOE)
• Alex Jevon, VFX Artist Lola Lost Productions, Illumina Digital (The Bible, Atlantis:End Of The World, Birth Of A Legend, Orbit: Earth's Extraordinary Journey)
See Contest Update http://www.planetside.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,19056.0.html (http://www.planetside.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,19056.0.html)
Great line-up of judges!
- Oshyan
I have a question about the guideline "Rendering Terragen layers and composing in a 3rd party applications is also permitted.".
Say I want to render the sky and terrain with slightly different light settings, and composite the layers later, is that allowed? Thanks
Quote from: alessandro on January 19, 2015, 09:40:12 AM
I have a question about the guideline "Rendering Terragen layers and composing in a 3rd party applications is also permitted.".
Say I want to render the sky and terrain with slightly different light settings, and composite the layers later, is that allowed? Thanks
Alessandro,
That's completely acceptable.
Just to be clear, with regard to the size of the submitted image that has to be under 2MB, is this referring to the "judged entry" or the "raw Terragen output image" or the combined size of both? These are two different images you are talking about, one raw, straight from Terragen, and one with the allowed minor adjustments, right? And does "raw Terragen output image" mean something like a TIF or one of the other formats Terragen can save the image in? Can it be converted to JPG? The reason I ask is that if a compressed JPG is allowed, it could still have fairly large pixel dimensions at 2MB which would seem to possibly defeat the stated purpose of leveling the playing field for those with the free version.
Thanks!
Quote from: oysteroid on January 31, 2015, 05:27:29 PM
Just to be clear, with regard to the size of the submitted image that has to be under 2MB, is this referring to the "judged entry" or the "raw Terragen output image" or the combined size of both? These are two different images you are talking about, one raw, straight from Terragen, and one with the allowed minor adjustments, right? And does "raw Terragen output image" mean something like a TIF or one of the other formats Terragen can save the image in? Can it be converted to JPG? The reason I ask is that if a compressed JPG is allowed, it could still have fairly large pixel dimensions at 2MB which would seem to possibly defeat the stated purpose of leveling the playing field for those with the free version.
Thanks!
The judged entry must be under 2MB. bmp, tiff or jpeg
Raw output- your judged entry before any postwork is done. Any format, any size.
Thanks, Danny!
One more question and I'll leave you alone!
"Contestants are to re-create a region of Iceland of their choosing with the highest level of Photo-realism as their goal."
How important is it that we literally recreate an actual place? Should our scene just have the general feel of a region of Iceland or should we aim to make the scene look as much as possible like a specific actual location in Iceland? Do we get any extra points for accuracy in re-creating a specific place?
Quote from: oysteroid on February 01, 2015, 02:17:38 PM
Thanks, Danny!
One more question and I'll leave you alone!
"Contestants are to re-create a region of Iceland of their choosing with the highest level of Photo-realism as their goal."
How important is it that we literally recreate an actual place? Should our scene just have the general feel of a region of Iceland or should we aim to make the scene look as much as possible like a specific actual location in Iceland? Do we get any extra points for accuracy in re-creating a specific place?
This has been asked and answered in another thread.
"should we aim to make the scene look as much as possible like a specific actual location in Iceland?" <--- This is COrrect ;) You are not restricted to recreating an actual place in Iceland (so no, no extra points for that:). Capturing the mood of Iceland is the goal.
Any another questions please use the contact NWDA form or danny@nwdastore.com so I can answer them in a more timely fashion. Good luck !
.png format is not allowed for the judge entry?
Quote from: kalwalt on February 07, 2015, 05:41:50 AM
.png format is not allowed for the judge entry?
that is an error on my part. Yes png and all native export file types are allowed. I will note that on the challenge page.
Danny
Quote from: Danny on February 07, 2015, 07:16:31 AM
Quote from: kalwalt on February 07, 2015, 05:41:50 AM
.png format is not allowed for the judge entry?
that is an error on my part. Yes png and all native export file types are allowed. I will note that on the challenge page.
Danny
Thank you Danny! :)
Prize update:
Quadspinner was kind enough to triple their prize pledge by giving all 3 of our winners a single license of GeoGlyph Pro http://www.quadspinner.com/GeoGlyph/Index (http://www.quadspinner.com/GeoGlyph/Index)
Many thanks to Cynthia and Dax over at Quadspinner for their support !!
Well, it only took forever to finish and since I only ever heard back from one of the 3 main winners I guess it's OK, but I just released the brand new issue of the Plugs 'N Pixels ezine with the Terragen Iceland feature. I also redesigned the entire website while I was at it, which also took forever (I had to decide on a new web design app before I could even get started).
Enjoy! (URL in sig)