It's a wrap for the first Sierra Division 3D Art Challenge! From June 1st to July 10, artists were tasked with creating an original Himalayan artifact. Over 50 artists participated from around the world, for not only the chance to win cool prizes, but to test their skills and have a new project to include in their portfolio. We were thoroughly impressed by the participants' skill level, creativity, and community spirit; it was inspiring to see everyone cheering each other on.
We would like to thank our wonderful industry judges for taking the time to carefully review all challenge submissions: Javier Perez, Jonathan Benainous, Inka Sipola, Jon Arellano, Sebastian Bielecki, Miroslav Baev, Niels Courvreaur, Doru Bogdan and Jacob Norris. As well as give a heartfelt thank you to our prize sponsors: NVIDIA, Adobe Substance 3D, Marmoset, Rizom UV, Dash and ArtStation.
All those that completed the challenge should be very proud of their work. This was not an easy challenge and you did it!
Watch our Showcase featuring the final submissions received, and continue below for the Winners and Honorable Mentions reveal.
THE WINNERS
1ST PLACE: Jacek Barabasz - Handheld Prayer Wheel
"I chose the Tibetan hand-held prayer wheel because they embody a unique blend of spiritual practice, artistic craftsmanship, and cultural heritage, serving as a tangible means for practitioners to engage with their faith and spread positive spiritual energy." -JB
Jacek will receive a Sierra Division Mentorship with Jon Arellano, a Store gift card, and prizes from our sponsors.
What the judges had to say:
"Excellent execution on different materials; beautiful work!"
"Really nice asset with a rich history as well! A tight UV pack, well placed and optimized geo, even texel density across the asset, and I absolutely love the display of how this asset comes apart. Perfectly executed."
"It was definitely the best executed prop in terms of quality, and presentation. Artistic liberties from the reference in terms of texturing were for the better."
2ND PLACE: Cody Trenholm - Phurba
"I worked on this off and on over the past two weeks and had a blast, especially with the texturing. Geo was not limited for the challenge, so I took the opportunity to go crazy with ZBrush." - CT
Cody will receive a Sierra Division Mentorship with Jacob Norris, a Store Gift Card, and prizes from our sponsors.
What the judges had to say:
"Cody's creativity and skills really stood out. The Phurba he made really nails the 'Himalayan Treasures' theme with great details and a nice design."
"Lots of great sculpting!"
"This prop turned out great! I really enjoy the details in the albedo and the attention to clean UVs. This feels like it could be straight out of Tomb Raider! The sculpting looks really nicely done and the overall piece is amazing! "
3RD PLACE: Rodrigo De La Rosa - Citipati Statue
"Commonly known as Citipati (meaning ‘Lord of the Funeral Pyre’) these Guardians of the Cremation Ground invariably depicted as a pair of male and female skeletons in a dancing pose. They are intended to be quite terrifying with a gruesome smile on their skull-faces but this function is intended to scare only those who enter the graveyard with improper intentions. Such intruders might include tantric vow-breakers who wish to misuse the cemetery for evil rituals or thieves who intend to rob the deceased person’s remains. In addition to these obvious protective roles they also act as encouraging presences for those meditators whose proper tantric rituals require the use of a cemetery as a place for meditation on impermanence and death itself." - RDLR
Rodrigo will receive a Store Gift Card, and prizes from our sponsors.
What the judges had to say:
"He put a lot of effort into the sculpting and texturing; even went above and beyond to hand retopo it. Overall, it's a really nice piece and would fit perfectly in my living room."
"Great design and strong silhouettes; nice balance of color."
"This statue really captures the Himalayan culture well. The sculpting and texturing are really good and definitely deserves a spot on the podium."
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Honorable Mention: Jacob Lipelt - Mandala
![Jacob Lipelt - Mandala - Sierra Division Himalayan Treasures Challenge](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bbad9a_c201e196f3b6488b9005f6354e4cbdfe~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_551,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/bbad9a_c201e196f3b6488b9005f6354e4cbdfe~mv2.jpg)
Honorable Mention: Moitel Thibault - Mask of Greed
![Moitel Thibault - Mask of Greed - Sierra Division Himalayan Treasures Challenge](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bbad9a_35dbf727aa4b4403a31242b8f5bd4347~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_980,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/bbad9a_35dbf727aa4b4403a31242b8f5bd4347~mv2.jpg)
Honorable Mention: Vitalii Kiforenko - Exorcist Box
![Vitalii Kiforenko - Exorcist Box - Sierra Division Himalayan Treasures Challenge](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bbad9a_72ec4ceca0c246a6a596d8317159ea7f~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_551,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/bbad9a_72ec4ceca0c246a6a596d8317159ea7f~mv2.jpg)
Honorable Mention: Humza Sohail - Ritual Dagger
![Humza Sohail - Tiger Ritual Dagger - Sierra Division Himalayan Treasures Challenge](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bbad9a_b7e4da7eda354713932b55af0e938501~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_490,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/bbad9a_b7e4da7eda354713932b55af0e938501~mv2.jpg)
Honorable Mention: Sebastian Kmec - Prayer Pipe
![Sebastian Kmec - Prayer Pipe - Sierra Division Himalayan Treasures Challenge](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bbad9a_bc1b65abbdb14e4c999b99dc64ed6ea1~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_551,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/bbad9a_bc1b65abbdb14e4c999b99dc64ed6ea1~mv2.jpg)
Honorable Mention: Ksenia Beloshevskaia - Hanging Bell
![Ksenia Beloshevskaia - Buddhist Temple HangingBell - Sierra Division Himalayan Treasures Challenge](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bbad9a_0505468637b947b2bc143e9460078cca~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_524,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/bbad9a_0505468637b947b2bc143e9460078cca~mv2.jpg)
Honorable Mention: Hirak Banerjee - Praying Bell
![Hirak Banerjee - Praying Bell - Sierra Division Himalayan Treasures Challenge](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bbad9a_b9323675cc434ef084c660171443c8ed~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_551,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/bbad9a_b9323675cc434ef084c660171443c8ed~mv2.jpg)
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