SciFi3D Challenge: EPIII Room/Location, Deadline: Jan 31 - Prizes!.......... ** WINNERS ACCOUNCED **

OK, Let's have some fun.
Zoo has given the go-ahead for this little modeling challenge.
If things go well, there could be more challenges to follow in other areas of CG work.

For now, we'll start with a broad topic that offers a range of difficulty levels.

THE CHALLENGE
Model any room or location from Star Wars EPIII

Some examples by difficulty:
Easy: Jedi Temple Interiors, Landing Platforms, Hangar Bays, Padme's Balcony, Senate "Basement" Chamber, etc.
Challenging: Grievous Ship bridge or observation deck, Antillies ship interiors, Palpatine's office/chambers, Vader Room
Very Challenging: Utapau, Kashyyyk, Mustafar, Polis Massa, Naboo, Alderaan

Submission Requirements

• Must start a WIP thread in the SciFi3D forum that shows some reference images (for comparisson to your model) and development of the model. Title your thread as follows:
  "EPIII Location WIP: <name of location> - <TFN login name>"
  For example, if I were modelling Vader's Room the thread title would be:
  EPIII Location WIP: Vader's Room - PadawanNick
• Any CG application may be used for modelling & rendering.
• JPG renders, at least one wireframe render and poly count are to be posted by the end of the deadline date.
  (multiple renders from different angles would be helpful)
• Texturing and lighting is encouraged but not required
• All submissions are will be considered for SCIFI 3D for hosting

More detailed instructions on submissions (ftp/web hosting, etc.) will be available closer to the deadline.

**** CHANGED....DEADLINE FOR COMPLETED SUBMISSIONS IS JAN 31, 2006.****
(Must be submitted before Jan 2, 2006 completely passes everywhere on the Earth. )
This should give everyone (working or in school) plenty of time to develop some really cool models.

Winners to be chosen by a panel of judges
Zoo will be working on forming a panel of judges from SCIFI 3D staff to select the winning entries. This is to avoid complications with enfocing fair voting rules since we have prizes. We will probably have a POLL so people can VOTE for who's work they like the best.


PRIZES
We have Prizes for 1st , 2nd and 3rd place in the form of free PixelCorps memberships.
1st Place: 1 Year Membership (normally $470)
2nd Place: 6 Month Membership (normally $290)
3rd Place: 3 Month Membership (normally $200)

The PixelCorps (PXC) is a members-only international group of visual effects artists.
Benefits of membership include:

• Software
  Access to use over $20,000 worth of high-end, professional software


• Training
  Nearly 100 hours of downloadable video training covering everything from the visual effects pipeline, to specific disciplines like Matchmoving, motion capture and compositing.


• Community
  Private forums populated by helpful and enthusiastic members from all over the world. Many industry professionals (feature film, TV, internet, illustrators and more) participate along with serious hobbiests and aspiring artists to create an extremely focused, useful and dynamic online community.

There are many other benefits.
More details are available at the PXC site


Questions? Concerns? Comments? ...about the challenge or the prizes?
Post 'em here.

Good luck, and....
HAVE FUN !!!

 

oh yeah i'm definetly going to enter this
not just for the prizes but to compare my work to that of others
i want to see how i measure up to some of you guys on these boards

P.S. does that pixelcorp have maya video tutorials?

 

Yeah, that "test yourself" aspect of challenges is my own favorite reason to participate too.
My Jedi Grand Corridor model is the result of a challenge here a few years back.
Going head-to-head with other artists (especially ones with much better skills) really forces me to push and extend my own abilities.

Sorry, I don't know of any Maya-specific tutorials. There are quite a few Maya users there and there are loads of apps that work WITH Maya though.
MotionBuilder, MatchMover Pro, Boujou, Modo, to name a few.

Looking forward to seeing your entry!
Have fun.

 

Excellent. Count me in.

I'll add: to people who are unsure of what they can get done, just try something. I think the more people who participate the better.

 

I may be able to do something with this. I'm not too good at modeling though . It'll be good practice though

EDIT: does it have to be chosen from that list above?

 

I might just try to do this.

Of course, I can't model at all, but that's the fun of it. I guess.

M. Scott

 

Nope. Any room, set or location seen in EPIII is fair game.

The list is just a way of spurring ideas and pointing out that just about all skill levels can be competative depending on your choice of subject.

Have fun.

 

looks good, Im defenetly entering

Edit: How would a go by doing glass in blender?

 

in the rules it says ""Texturing and lighting is encouraged but not required""

 

Is blender cool? Or are the models required to be in .max or maya project files?

 

This is a good idea. I've noticed no one was working on Episode III locations at SciFi3D. Good idea.

 

Hell.. we'll have to ban Pixel Magic from this one already. His MUSTAFAR project is already the best thing I've seen all year. I need to add that to our WIP section in case somebody has seen it yet. It's really good.

I EDITED a couple of the rules. #1 nobody's models will be considered "liscensed" to SCIFI 3D. As always it's still up to the author what they want to do with "their" work. But we would definitely like to host the best work. If 1st place doesn't want to release it then maybe 2nd is just as good.

I'll have some people judge that we all respect like Zorbi, JAS[Twist Viper], Corey Butler[BLUR employee], etc. Well respected vets. BUT I think we'll have a POLL too so people can VOTE for their favorite.

 

Ha ha, please don't.

 

Awe, bummer.

Maybe Pixel can get in by starting a new area of Mustafar (control room or balcony?) to still get in the challenge.
(There are plenty of prizes to go around.)

The judges line-up sounds great.
Mmmmm. I'm more and more interested in doing an "exebition" entry just for some feedback

BTW: One thing I totally forgot to acknowlege was that this whole thing was kicked off by Darth_Steven's post about possible challenges. Thanks for getting the ball rolling on this Darth S !!

Have fun!

 

Well, I've already started on the balcony. So I guess the control room is all that's left for me to be able to model.

 

You and me both, Dorkman. Got a bit of spare time on my hands now, so maybe...we'll see...

 

i might have a go at it....even though im aweful at modelling compared to pretty much everybody on the forum and dont have a clue how to texture ill still give it a try if i have the time

 

Control room, conference room, landing platform.
If you haven't gotten too far into the balcony, that's probably still fair gaim too.
(That would really be up to Zoo and the judges. )

For those new to modeling, feel free to pick locations that are not overburdened with complex details. There are plenty to choose from...
Jedi temple interiors
The big balcony/verandah at Padme's appartment building
The landing platform and large entrance hall at Papatine's residence/office building.
The basement office under the senate chamber
etc.

These are just a few examples of subjects that are based primarily on basic geometry and most of the techniques needed to model even the finer details of these sites could be learned over the duration of this challenge. Especially if you spend some extra quality time with your 3D app over the holiday breaks.

The important thing is to pick something and get started right away so you have plenty of time to learn as you go.

Have fun.

 

Excellent idea for this one - perhaps this will bring new people and more great models into SciFi-3D!

 

I wast J/K but technically there is nothing wrong with PixelMagic entering his Mustafar if he wants. It's still a WIP and hasn't been around all year or something, the deadline is Jan. and other people can catch up quickly. I was thinking maybe the deadline should have been Jan. 31st.?? Let the holidays get over and then let others get back into the new school semester.

 

is there anywhere that is a good source for the pics we need to base our models on?

 

Due date is totally up to you Zoo.
I only based this date on the emails we had before posting, so please feel free to update to the orignal post (and thread title) if you like.
It's certainly early enough to make adjustments.

The longer date would definetly allow for some folks to catch up to Pixel and newcomers would have plenty of time to develop completed models. (Maybe this will force pixel to finish earlier )

"The Art of Episode III Revenge of the Sith" is an AWESOME book for references.
There are several very clear photos of the raw set (no effects) and even an overhead floorplan image of the observation deck that you are working on.

Have fun.

 

What about referances for the Mustafar Hallway where Anakin and Obi-Wan fought through (you know the one, where there were sparks flying everywhere), I can't seem to find any pics of it anywhere.

 

Sweet! Sounds awesome. I'll have to put my other WIP on hold, but I think I'll try my hand at this.

Now I just have to decide what to model.

 

i must agree with this its also part of the reason why i selected the observation deck cause there are floor plans of it in the book quite usefull i have about every EPIII book there is exept the latest locations book wich i'm gonna have to put off buying cause its a bit expensive atm