The winners of the Individual Image category for CGSociety’s CGChallenge XXII have been announced.
The theme explores the interactions of aliens and humans, and the competing artists showed they had some hysterical ideas to share. Judged by industry veterans and previous winners of the CGSociety CGChallenges, the winners of the Image category are below. The CGSociety teamed up with internationally acclaimed author David Brin for this challenge. “David Brin is a master writer. His ‘Uplift Universe’ is one of Science Fiction’s outstanding, and highly awarded series and is based on human-alien relations,” said Mark Snoswell, President of the CGSociety. He also has joined the judging panel. "I always hope my stories inspire," said Brin. "These artists used them as launching pads into whole new and unexpected realms of the imagination."
Teams were invited to enter Videos while individual entrants could enter into either Image or Video categories. In addition there were nine special skills awards up for grabs: Modeling, Texturing, Animation, Lighting, Visual Effects, Landscape/Matte Painting, Art Direction, Compositing and Editing, and Best Character. These will be revealed at the end of the Video judging at a later date.
CGSociety would also like to warmly thank the sponsors: BOXX Technologies, SOFTIMAGE, NVIDIA, Wacom, Autodesk, Pixologic, Luxology, e-on Software, REALVIZ, Corel, Stash, Gnomon Workshop, ImagineFX and Ballistic Publishing.
Simon Dominic Brewer hails from Lancaster in GREAT BRITAIN. As a hobbyist digital artist, he hopes his fortunes will change soon. “I found the competition theme title to be inspirational all by itself. The ‘Uplift Universe’ story has a light mood to it. Many of my pictures have a dark edge to them but I wanted to create a light atmosphere of space and freedom.”
“Aliens are often depicted as gruesome or vicious and I wanted to get away from that, at least for this piece,” says Simon. “I purposely left out any hints as to who the people were or where the aliens came from because I wanted people to make up their own stories to fit what they saw. For me, that's half the fun of viewing.”
“The experience of partaking in the competition was uplifting in itself. The interactive side to the challenge made it a real pleasure to be involved,” he continued. “The willingness of competitors to help each other by offering encouragement and suggestions clearly shows the strength of the community.”
"Finally, thanks to everyone involved in creating, running and judging this competition, and also a big thanks to everyone who took part because without their encouragement and help in the forums I doubt I'd be writing this."
Simon wins a BOXX Workstation, SOFTIMAGE|XSI 6.5 Essentials, Corel PainterX, Vue 6 xStream, Realviz Stitcher Unlimited, a one-year CGSociety Membership (or extension), a one-year subscription to ImagineFX Magazine and the Ballistic Publishing EXOTIQUE Series bundle.
Judges comments: Taino: I love the layout and colors. An enchanting and powerful image.
Bob Eggleton: Painterly as in like the Hudson River guys but with
a great alien take on it!!
When the Uplift CGChallenge was announced, Michael was knee-deep in another competition, representing CGSociety in Dominance War III. “My wife told me, ‘Hurry up and finish that! You HAVE TO enter this new Challenge, it's your dream category!’” says Michael, “That’s true! There's nothing I enjoy more than painting human and alien interactions, especially when I can put a new twist on them.
"As a Brin fan, it would have been nice to paint a Gubru for this contest, but I went for something a little more tongue-in-cheek, as people have happily come to expect from my work." 'Adorable Alien' was inspired by Michael's toddler son Zachary. "People are often snatching him up off the ground, holding him aloft, and telling him how cute he is. Does he appreciate his impromptu ‘Uplift,’ or does it lose its novelty? Thinking about how we might feel if the situation were reversed helped inform the core emotions of this painting."
"Using 3ds Max, I built a rough mock-up of the background so that I could get the perspective and lighting more accurate. I layered the final line art, the 3D work, and other colors in Photoshop to experiment with the palette. From here, I flattened everything and proceeded to paint, adding new layers as needed."
"Once again, thank you so much to everyone in the Challenge who stopped by to offer praise and comments. I began the contest with a few missteps, and some incisive constructive criticism brought me back around to the right direction. I would never reached the level of polish that I did without everyone's insightful notes. Having other people really check your work is one of the main reasons I am a perpetual participant in the CGChallenges."
Judges comments: Bob Eggleton: I like the style here! Mark Snoswell: This image is a delightful twist, especially for anyone familiar with the Pilosa clan in David Brins Uplift Universe. The execution is excellent and the many layers of meaning are as delightful as the image. Michael Dashow won the Excellence Award in the Individual Image category for his ‘Adorable Alien’. Michael Dashow, from the USA, wins a copy of SOFTIMAGE|XSI 6.5 Essentials, Corel Painter X, Vue 6 Infinite, a Gnomon Workshop Analog DVD bundle, a one-year CGS Membership (or extension), an annual subscription to ImagineFX Magazine and a copy of Ballistic Publishing’s Painter book.
