The Carrara Challenge #4: The Twilight Zone Voting is CLOSED. WINNERS ANNOUNCED!

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Comments

  • AntaraAntara Posts: 444
    edited December 1969

    It seems like selecting the winners is getting harder and harder to choose with each new challenge....

    In no particular order:

    Entry #: 2 "Time Enough at Last" by evilproducer

    I love everything about this image: the composition, the sparse yet powerful use of color, the glass shards in the glasses, the blurred ruins in the background, the washed out lighting. It's haunting, emotional and very powerful.

    Entry #: 7 "Windoze" by Stezza

    I had a really hard time deciding between Stezza's entries. Both are truly outstanding. I am not surprised the votes for them are split. (Maybe the voting system needs to be fixed for the future so that the artist doesn't get penalized for producing 2 entries of equally amazing quality, as I think is becoming the case here...)
    Both entries are great conceptually, ideally fit the theme, and are perfectly executed artworks. I am selecting this on a purely subjective notion that the mad scary eyes of that face peering into the airplane, are likely to give me more lasting nightmares, and the more nightmare-inducing one is probably more fitting to the current theme. Although personally I don't like nightmares.

    Entry #: 8 "Door to the Twilght Zone" by Kixum

    Great tribute to the series. Perfect stylistically and visually. Once gain, great composition and lighting. It does look like an actual still from an old show. Brilliant!

    ...And now I'll go and feel like I am being all unfair because this forced me not to vote for at least 3 other easy choices I'd like to vote for... :(

  • edited December 1969

    Entry #: 14
    Entry #: 6
    Entry #:5

  • DiomedeDiomede Posts: 15,165
    edited December 1969

    FD - I sent you a PM. (no, I didn't change my votes)

  • FractalDimensiaFractalDimensia Posts: 0
    edited December 1969

    I know a few of you (especially those who submitted an entry) are keeping a running tally of votes. However, I have decided NOT to post a status on this, as I believe it could influence people's voting. You will have to keep your own scores until voting closes. :)

    Just a reminder, voting ENDS TOMORROW @ MIDNIGHT, Saturday, November 2nd.

    If you haven't gotten your votes in, don't let time get away from you!! TICK-TOCK!

  • ncampncamp Posts: 345
    edited December 1969

    Here are my votes:
    Entry #: 2
    Entry Title: Time Enough at Last
    Artist Name: evilproducer

    Entry #/ 4
    Entry Title: Visitors
    Artist Name: DUDU

    Entry #:5
    Entry Title: Shhh!
    Artist Name: swordvisions

    ncamp

  • evilproducerevilproducer Posts: 9,050
    edited November 2013

    This is tough! There are so many worthy choices. I looked closely at each one, and they all have elements or concepts that I really like. In the end, I decided to quit over-thinking it and let my proverbial lizard brain decide by choosing based on my most visceral reaction.

    #6
    Windoze by Stezza.
    Really great character work. The simplicity of the setting is all that's needed to convey the idea.

    #8
    Door to the Twilight Zone by Kixum
    Having lived in (and currently living in) rural areas all my life, he nailed the lonely country road and the strange desolation of a corn field. The only thing to change would be to add a touch more contrast since the image is black and white. The lighter tones need to be brighter to separate themselves from the mid-tones. Just my nit-pickin' $0.02 worth. ;-)

    #12
    Twilight Ad by Philemo
    I like the cheesey '50s vibe. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it appeals to my sense of humor. I was born way past the '50s, but lord knows, Leave it to Beaver re-runs were in heavy rotation on the local stations after school. Maybe it plays on my perceptions of the '50s?

    Honorable mention:
    #15
    A Game of Shadows by MicioDue
    I think it's a unique way to play with shadows in Carrara. The only reason it wasn't a main selection, was at first glance it's a little hard to figure out that the source of the claw like shadow is from the kid.

    To everybody: Good luck! As always, it's an educational experience for me, and also humbling to see such talent and diverse perspectives.

    Post edited by evilproducer on
  • HeadwaxHeadwax Posts: 9,987
    edited December 1969

    To everybody: Good luck! As always, it’s an educational experience for me, and also humbling to see such talent and diverse perspectives.

    beautifully said evil

  • SileneUKSileneUK Posts: 1,975
    edited November 2013

    Again, so hard to choose....there were at least 3 more I wanted to vote for!! The level of talent is awesome.

    Entry#: 2
    Entry Title: Time Enough at Last
    Artist Name: evilproducer

    Very impressive depiction of the episode and I loved Burgess Meredith as Henry Bemis in Time Enough At Last and he narrated the Twilight Zone movie, too! Last seen in Grumpier Old Men.


    Entry #: 8
    Entry Title: Door to the Twilght Zone
    Artist Name: Kixum

    Extremely effective retro b/w rendering of the graphics. Wow you went through a lot of trouble to recreate the font! Am a complete noob, but have you tried using hair for grass? Works a treat.


    Entry #:5
    Entry Title: Shhh!
    Artist Name: swordvisions

    The kids look so vulnerable and tough as the same time so am drawn to them immediately. All of the surroundings seem an attempt to enclose them in a futile shield against the fiend who is after their bucket of "meat" and them!


    Cheers to all who spent so much creative time to bring us another round of amazing art!

    xx :) SileneUK

    Post edited by SileneUK on
  • de3ande3an Posts: 915
    edited December 1969

    3 votes for Entry #: 6, Title: Windoze, Artist: Stezza

  • FractalDimensiaFractalDimensia Posts: 0
    edited December 1969

    I keep thinking if I walk away for a while and come back, the choices will be easier. No such luck.

    I personally liked every one of them, and it is clear there is a tremendous amount of talented people using Carrara. Great job everyone!

    Now I am out of time....

    Here are the 3 I selected:

    -----------------------------------------------------

    Entry #: 2
    Entry Title: Time Enough at Last
    Artist Name: evilproducer

    -----------------------------------------------------

    Entry #: 6
    Entry Title: Windoze
    Artist Name: Stezza

    -----------------------------------------------------

    Entry #: 15
    Entry Title: “A Game of Shadows”
    Artist Name: MicioDue

    Thanks everyone for making this month's challenge so easy. It was a privilege to host this event!

    FD

  • FractalDimensiaFractalDimensia Posts: 0
    edited December 1969

    Thank you everyone for making this a great experience to host!

    I look forward to seeing what evilproducer comes up with for the next challenge!

    Great work everyone!

    FD

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,549
    edited December 1969

    Congratulations to these fine winners!
    I feel the need, still, to give all contestants a big round of applause! You each make this voting process difficult in your own, unique ways.
    Here are the results from the front page:

    HEAR-YE! HEAR-YE!!
    The fourth Carrara Challenge thread is hereby closed for voting!

    And according to my calculations, here are the winners. (I checked my tally several times; however, if anyone came up with a different scoring, please post!)

    1st Place: “Time Enough at Last” by evilproducer (#2)
    2nd Place: “Windoze” by Stezza (#6)
    3rd Place: “Shhh!” by swordvisions (#5)


    It is now PhilW’s prestigious honor to select one entry from those remaining for “Honorable Mention.”


    In honor of placing in such a difficult decision, here are the winning images:
    3_-_Shhhh.png
    1500 x 938 - 2M
    2_-_Windoze.jpg
    800 x 600 - 554K
    1_-_Time-enough-color.jpg
    2000 x 1500 - 741K
  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,549
    edited December 1969

    evilproducer, the effect you've done in this still sends chills through me. Very well done.

  • DiomedeDiomede Posts: 15,165
    edited December 1969

    1st Place: “Time Enough at Last” by evilproducer (#2)
    2nd Place: “Windoze” by Stezza (#6)
    3rd Place: “Shhh!” by swordvisions (#5)

    Congratulations to Evil, Stezza, and Swordvisions. Well deserved. And thank you FD for inspiring and hosting such great entries.

    Now, I just hope Evilproducer doesn't live up to the evil part of his name in hosting the next challenge.

  • PhilWPhilW Posts: 5,145
    edited November 2013

    Well it's been a very tough decision to decide on the "Honourable Mention" prize - so many great entries! This was reflected in the voting where almost all images had votes cast for them. I really like many of the entries, but in the end the decision goes to.....

    Honourable Mention Prize: #15 A Game Of Shadows by MicioDue - Congratulations!

    Congratulations to all the people who took the trouble to put entries in and entertain us all with your vivid imaginations - I have been seriously impressed!

    And a special "Thank You" to FD for hosting the competition so brilliantly!

    If the winners would PM me with their selected items from my store, I will work with DAZ to get these to you as quickly as possible.

    Post edited by PhilW on
  • evilproducerevilproducer Posts: 9,050
    edited December 1969

    Thank you for a great challenge FD! I may have to pick a few brains about how to best run the challenge, so please be patient with me! I think these are the only contest I enter that I'm not ure I want to win. :lol:

    Congratulations to everybody that entered! Especially those that are new to Carrara and maybe to 3D in general. It's difficult sometimes to put up a render for others to see, let alone put it up for others to judge, so my hat is off to all those who took a risk!

    I learned a lot and have had some ideas that I may not have had, if it were not for these contests, so thank you to all those entering and the WIPs and comments you've posted along the way.

  • DiomedeDiomede Posts: 15,165
    edited December 1969

    I may have to pick a few brains about how to best run the challenge,

    Well, if we are allowed to make suggestions, some general concepts that I have enjoyed so far include:
    - requiring WIPs so that we can learn from each other
    - having a theme (like Twilight Zone or Paradise) that is open to different interpretations
    - requiring use of some self-created/modified content with an explanation of its creation
    - picking a specific feature or category and mandating its inclusion (eg. "plants" but being allowed to pick which modeler (plant modeler, vertex, spline, etc.) to use, or the time we were required to use of some objects from the content browser)
    - allowing optional 3rd party stuff as long as it is credited
    - not mandating anything that could prevent a wide potential base of participants (such as if an expensive piece of purchased content/plugin was required)

    As winner, you should fully exercise your right to ignore my suggestions, but I bet most of my list was also popular with others.

  • evilproducerevilproducer Posts: 9,050
    edited December 1969

    diomede64 said:
    I may have to pick a few brains about how to best run the challenge,

    Well, if we are allowed to make suggestions, some general concepts that I have enjoyed so far include:
    - requiring WIPs so that we can learn from each other
    - having a theme (like Twilight Zone or Paradise) that is open to different interpretations
    - requiring use of some self-created/modified content with an explanation of its creation
    - picking a specific feature or category and mandating its inclusion (eg. "plants" but being allowed to pick which modeler (plant modeler, vertex, spline, etc.) to use, or the time we were required to use of some objects from the content browser)
    - allowing optional 3rd party stuff as long as it is credited
    - not mandating anything that could prevent a wide potential base of participants (such as if an expensive piece of purchased content/plugin was required)

    As winner, you should fully exercise your right to ignore my suggestions, but I bet most of my list was also popular with others.

    Excellent suggestions, and ones that I was already considering. I think the WIPs in particular should be mandatory for every contest, as they are such a learning tool. That's just my opinion of course, and future hosts are free to ignore it if they wish.

    I was thinking of trying to use some of Carrara's under utilized features or unique features in this contest. A couple possibilities are to use dynamic hair in the render, or maybe requiring at least one metaball object as one of the "created in Carrara" items.

    I welcome any and all suggestions or ideas for this contest. They may not all be used, but they certainly could help!

    I forgot to thank the contest sponsors, DAZ 3D and PhilW for their very generous support! I apologize for the omission! In my defense, I had my wife standing over my shoulder, tapping her feet impatiently, waiting for me to get my ass in gear and run an errand! ;-)

  • PhilWPhilW Posts: 5,145
    edited December 1969

    I like the idea of specifying to use one of Carrara's under-utilized features (although personally I wouldn't vote for metaballs!). Replicators, particles, hair would all be good candidates, probably some others that don't come to mind (because I under-utilize them!).

  • swordvisionsswordvisions Posts: 124
    edited December 1969

    Shhh! is the first serious render I have made in over a year. I just haven't been inspired to produce 3d art but something about this challenge drew me out, so thanks FractalDimensia for a great challenge. I learned a great deal from all the WIPs. I am looking forward to the next one.

    Evilproducer, I think requiring the use of a particular under used feature such as hair or particles is a great idea.

  • DiomedeDiomede Posts: 15,165
    edited December 1969

    PhilW said:
    I like the idea of specifying to use one of Carrara's under-utilized features (although personally I wouldn't vote for metaballs!). Replicators, particles, hair would all be good candidates, probably some others that don't come to mind (because I under-utilize them!).

    Well, there is the formula function, or perhaps to be referred to as the stuff from "That French Page"
    Just kidding, that would probably scare off a lot of participants, but people who did participate would learn a lot. See

    http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/30859/

    Some more serious suggestions
    - as Phil said, maybe hair, metaballs, replicators, or particles
    - use of the functions in the modifiers tab (bend, explode, bulge, twist,...) to modify objects
    - use of nested or complex shaders, perhaps for displacement to model, or translucency for light effects, or alpha channel to...
    - use of effects for lights, such as anything glows, lens flares, gels, god rays, barn doors,...
    - landscape editor
    - volumetric clouds, skies, and related
    - 3D paint
    - booleans (booooo)
    - directional force
    - bones (rigging)
    - choose a specific modeling tool (duplicate with symmetry in vertex, complex combinations in spline, ...)
    - require people to find an object created for use in Bryce or Studio and incorporate it into a Carrara project
    - or, you could specify a type of object - like an abacus, car, cooking utensil, or zipper (see that a-z?) and let the contestant choose how to create the object and integrate it in Carrara with program tools.
    - choose a freely available piece of content and challenge people to incorporate it into their project (modifications allowed), such as something from the Daz store like the millennium cat on the free page http://www.daz3d.com/free-3d-models-and-content
    - last but not least, require use of a cow

  • evilproducerevilproducer Posts: 9,050
    edited December 1969

    Hair on a cow! That'll get somebody's attention! ;-)

  • PhilWPhilW Posts: 5,145
    edited December 1969

    A 5 minute hairy cow...

    HairyCow.jpg
    640 x 480 - 24K
  • evilproducerevilproducer Posts: 9,050
    edited December 1969

    PhilW said:
    A 5 minute hairy cow...

    If it weren't for the Holstein coloration, I'd say you were going for a Scottish Highland. :)
  • PhilWPhilW Posts: 5,145
    edited December 1969

    PhilW said:
    A 5 minute hairy cow...

    If it weren't for the Holstein coloration, I'd say you were going for a Scottish Highland. :)

    Any colour you like!

  • DiomedeDiomede Posts: 15,165
    edited December 1969

    I have one other serious suggestion. Please make sure that people can participate even if they don't have C8.5. In other words, I think it would be good if a person with C7 regular version (not pro) could still participate, so I would not suggest requiring use of a tool that is only in the pro version, or use of Genesis because it would require C8.5.

    http://www.3dmodelfree.com/models/18053-0.htm

  • MicioDueMicioDue Posts: 0
    edited November 2013

    I'm very happy to have entered the contest, despite the few days available. Not much time and the need for a quick inspiration lead me to a simple scene with careful use of Carrara features, spot lights, finally. Thanks to FractalDimensia for the great work and thanks to PhilW for the honourable mention! Congratulations to everybody. :)

    So many Carrara features deserve a deepening and I think such rules can motivate the community: the WIP threads can form an effective tutorial base for new and old users. I will try to take part in future contests and give my best. A stronger Carrara community, more attention to Carrara by DAZ in the future, maybe.

    @PhilW: shall we expect to see the DAZ Yak soon in your store? :-)

    Post edited by MicioDue on
  • evilproducerevilproducer Posts: 9,050
    edited December 1969

    diomede64 said:
    I have one other serious suggestion. Please make sure that people can participate even if they don't have C8.5. In other words, I think it would be good if a person with C7 regular version (not pro) could still participate, so I would not suggest requiring use of a tool that is only in the pro version, or use of Genesis because it would require C8.5.

    http://www.3dmodelfree.com/models/18053-0.htm

    I don't have C8.5. I use C7.2 Pro. So no worries there. ;-) You make a really good point about feature parity. I'll try and look up the differences between standard and pro and decide based upon that. I would hate to discourage a potential entrant from such a great learning experience because they lack a tool or the ability to edit something.

  • SileneUKSileneUK Posts: 1,975
    edited December 1969

    Hair on a cow! That'll get somebody's attention! ;-)

    Extra hair was digitally added to the Sock's mane, the Shetland Pony used for this advert where he moonwalks (digitally enhanced) to Fleetwood Mac. One of my favourites!

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2288798/Is-funniest-advert-year-Shetland-pony-moonwalking-Fleetwood-Mac-internet-smash.html

    (I hate the Mail but it had the best article and stills... video is at the bottom.)

    :) SileneUK

  • HeadwaxHeadwax Posts: 9,987
    edited December 1969

    wonderful! wonderful!

    congrats to all the winners, there was some fantastic stuff came out of this,
    Nicely run FD. And a big thankyou to PhilW for his kindness and generosity.

    So pleased that evil won this one. Thoroughly deserved.

    !

    cheers :)

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