The Viking Village Challenge has concluded, and we could not be more in awe of all the incredible submissions we've received. Running from October 16 to December 6, challenge participants had to create a diorama, or small environment, of a Viking village scene. Despite the challenging scope and demanding requirements, many participants pulled through and greatly impressed our judges with their skill and creativity.
We would like to thank our judges for taking the time to carefully review each submission: Javier Perez, Jon Arellano, Alex Beddows, Yan Shu, Robin Mariančík, Inka Sipola, Miroslav Baev, Niels Couvreur, Sebastian Bielecki, Jacob Norris and Doru Bogdan.
We would also like to thank our prize sponsors for offering awesome prizes to our winners and making this challenge extra special: Dash, Adobe Substance 3D, Rizom UV, ArtStation, Marmoset and Fox Renderfarm. To find out what each winner will receive, take a look at our Challenge announcement here.
THE CHALLENGE WINNERS
1ST PLACE: Kris Catteau - Lífþrasir
When starting this challenge, Kris was very organized and set out clear goals and timelines. His main objective was to create a diorama heavily reliant on kit pieces and modularity, with a strong focus on historical accuracy.
Judges Feedback:
"This environment has it all! Storytelling, Viking lore, great composition, thoughtful understanding of the process and scoped in a way to help finish it in the timeline, well planned out, and beautiful final renders. Really awesome work and fun environment"
"Beautiful shot and an interesting looking environment, pleasing composition. I want to explore it more. Cool glowing runes also."
"This one is number one for me, because the overall look here feels most unified. The composition, lighting and story telling here is done very nicely. It makes me actually curious what this place is for, where does it lead and why do those stairs lead into a wall and a tree, does it have a purpose? Is there a secret entrance? Or is the entrance at the bottom and the building was made on top of an existing structure. I don't see this much in other submissions, so this is the reason why this one is most captivating to me."
Congratulation Kris for taking 1st place!
2ND PLACE: Anthony Zhang - Snowy Viking Village
For his submission, Anthony wanted to "incorporate the aurora borealis. After a long day of hard farming, sailing, or fighting, staring out at the winter night sky just sounds like a nice time. That is feeling I want to capture."
Judges Feedback:
"The artist utilized a variety of advanced tools and techniques throughout his project, including Gaea for natural landscapes, Blender for blockouts and modeling, and custom RGB masking and master materials for intricate textures. The ability to harmonize these techniques into a polished scene is a testament to expertise and creative adaptability."
"I think this piece has the best demonstration of quality individual assets that came together to create one harmonious piece. there is balance in the composition and lighting that allows the scene to read, it didn't get bogged down trying to show off individual elements, instead it allows the environment to be the star of the show."
"The main building is set up in a modular way, it is a nice focal point of the entire scene with some great techniques to give it some material variation."
Congratulation Anthony for taking 2nd place!
3RD PLACE: Johnathan Rios - Ancestral Howl
For this challenge, Johnathan focused on creating unique assets and modular pieces. Lighting was also important to create a nice contrast of blues and oranges.
Judges Feedback:
"This diorama has a nice solid design to it. Combined with well crafted ornament designs that read clearly and greatly emphasize the theme of the challenge."
"Really cool sculpted details on this one, some nice banners and snow clumps too!
I really like that you added some broken roof pieces as well to try and break up the symmetry a bit, that's a great detail!"
"Epic looking building. I can see Viking warriors gathering here to plan a raid."
HONORABLE MENTIONS
As we could only select 3 winners for prizes, we are awarding Honorable Mentions to two artists for their exceptional work.
Honorable Mention: Dagmawi Tsegaye - Berserker Dragon Shield
Berserker Dragon Shield Submission Breakdown
Judges Feedback:
"I have no idea how Dagmawi completed so much in the timespan for the challenge. Watching the thread and the updates as the environment came together felt like witnessing the impossible. Each update brought so many new things to the scene and the environment feels so alive. Really fun artwork and I can see the passion and excitement that went into each aspect of the scene. Awesome!"
Honorable Mention: Linnea Hallenbom - A Snowy Day
Judges Feedback:
"Linnea appears to have a strong understanding of the work being completed on the environment. Not only in the well executed sculpts of the wood and details, but also with her use and technical knowledge inside of the engine. The snow looks great and the piles blend really well into the ground. Also the foliage came out awesome! Those trees add so much to the scene. Fantastic work!"
SUBMISSIONS SHOWCASE
Our Submissions Showcase is a celebration of all the outstanding artwork made for the challenge. Make sure to check it out!
Join our Discord to congratulate participants, and be the first to know about upcoming activities at Sierra Division.
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