Blender Guru: New Blender Competition: Photo Realism

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New Blender Competition: Photo Realism Jun 6th 2012, 03:31 Hey-oo!! I’ve been wanting to do a competition on this topic for a long time. Ever since I saw the very first Fake or Foto challenge from Autodesk 8 years ago, I always wondered… ‘what is blender capable of… realistically?’ Well now it’s time to find out. This competition pits blender user against blender user to find out who can create the most photo realistic scene. The key word is photo. I wanna see blender artists fool the 3d world with work that is so photo realistic it’s uncanny. So start your engines, it’s about to get real! Theme You may create anything, just make it photo realistic. Choose a topic that you can create photo realistically but also complex enough that it requires a certain level of skill to pull off. The Prize Digital Lighting and Rendering [2nd Edition] $500 donated to a charity of your choice A permanent spot in the Winners Hall of Fame I chose Digital Lighting and Rendering as a prize because it’s a truly iconic book that every 3d artist should own, and if anyone can make proper use of it, it will be the winner of this competition And if you already own the book you may instead opt for any product from the Blender eShop instead. Guidelines It must be rendered with Cycles Only one entry per person It must be an image It must be created with Blender Minor post processing in Gimp or Photoshop is allowed Minimum image size is 1280 x 720, but the bigger the better (any aspect ratio is fine) Your image must be a new creation, not an existing project It must be your own work. No bought/borrowed or third party models allowed (including MakeHuman) Photographic elements are allowed, but must not be a central part of the image (sky backgrounds are okay) Your image must in some way relate to the theme The winner will be asked to submit the .blend file for proof of its creation Inspiration Obviously what you do in this competition is up to you, but if you’re drawing a blank here’s a few photo realistic renders to get your brain firing… Created by Alessandro Prodan Created by David Moratilla Amago Created by Marek Denko Created by Douglas Shimada Created by Tolgahan Güngör Created by Lebedev Denis Created by Alex Roman Created by Dan Roarty Created by Xiaodong Li Created by Souichirou Motoi Created by Giuseppe Improta Created by Marek Denko Now before you admit defeat and abandon any hopes of competing, let me just say every images posted above are created by the best artists that the 3d industry has to offer I scoured CGSociety for a couple of hours to find the most impressive photo realistic work to post. So I in no way expect everyone in this competition to be at that level. All artists are welcome! Whether you’re a complete newbie or a seasoned professional; give it a go and you may just surprise yourself Criteria for Judging Entries will be judged on the following criteria: Photo realism Complexity Choose a topic that you can create photo realistically but also complex enough that it requires a certain level of skill to pull off. In other words, don’t simple make a marble on a wooden floor and expect to win, because more complex and ‘impressive’ scenes will trump it. Aim high but don’t bite off more than you can chew Tips for Winning Use lots of photo references – it is vital for achieving photo realism Sketch out your idea before diving into blender Focus on one human emotion (awe, shock, intrigue etc.) then create an image that provokes that emotion Create a scene that you yourself would want to be in. Tutorials Here’s a few tutorials to get you pointed in the right direction (but don’t replicate the exact result): Create Realistic Materials with Cycles Create a Realistic Water Simulation The #1 Reason Your Render Looks Fake (not a tutorial but still helpful) 6 Reasons to Enter: Competitions push you to better your work by exploring new themes It teaches you the importance of deadlines It can help you to think creatively by working around the constraints of a set theme Competing alongside other artists is a good source of motivation Great way to showcase your artwork and get noticed You’re helping the world! This rare opportunity means you can help the world through your art. Submissions and Deadline Entries must be submitted before 16th July 2012 at 11:59pm GMT. [BlenderArtists submission link coming soon] May the best artist win!