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Challenge Description

We have prepared for you a quite a challenging theme, which is much deeper than it might seem at first glance. In general, the theme is apocalypse, but our task is to find a fresh vision, to catch the truly gloomy and majestic atmosphere of the fallen “giant" (this might be anything - metropolis, a small city, residential quarter, settlement, etc.), in secluded corners of which there’s still life. Perhaps, completely different life. It is not necessary to go deeper into the standard “zombie apocalypse”. You may create any species, monsters, etc. A gloomy city in your story may be the place where the real miracle was born, the hope for a new life. Dangerous, majestic, able to conceal in their depths both monsters and the most gentle creatures. And sometimes even the most terrible monsters hold a candle to that fierce evil that can fit in the fragile bodies of its inhabitants. Despite the widest possible boundaries of the topic, we have prepared for you a couple of stories to follow.

Monsters

Run! You don’t even know what these creatures, half covered by night smog, are exactly. They gnaw old metal pipes on an abandoned factory in suburbs. There’re no more working television and radio stations, and no one would tell you how to escape and save your life. You can’t even call your family. Where did these monsters come from? Did they come from space, escape from a science lab or wake up after a thousand of years of hibernation? The only one thing you’re sure about: the metropolis will never be the same and to survive you have to find out their mystery.

Clarification: The monster’s type, size and amount don’t matter. It’s all up to you. You should show the story as interesting as possible, surprise us with monsters’ shape and appearance, angel or even a plot. The task is to show the standoff between humanity and terrifying monsters. Show us a chase or a very dangerous moment or a first meeting with a monster, etc.

Storm of the millennium

The end of civilization. Worldwide hurricane turned your hometown into a ghost-town: the street the streets became one giant dump of broken windows and crumpled cars. Ruined skyscrapers grin at the sky. Wild animals settled in the surviving high-rise buildings instead of previous residents. And only dusty mannequins in broken shop windows remind of the recent human presence. The few survivors are fighting one-on-one with nature, like thousands of years ago. It’s only you who decide whether there is hope for the revival of civilization or not. Picture the landscape of a post-apocalyptic metropolis, faced with the ruthless elements. People’s life, their settlements on the ruins of a great city, huts, suspension bridges, jungles, which the streets of the city turned into, - show us how you see it.

Clarification: Try to look into the future of this wild city. The future, where all the supplies are eaten, clothes wore out, and there’s no more amo. Try to think of times when only legends and stories told by deep old men can help to recreate a picture of how it was here once. This may be a happy world of the tribes living in harmony with their new reality or people who struggle and try to restore their former greatness. In this story, you should make more emphasis on the environment, landscapes, and atmosphere than on some dynamic plots.

Catastrophe

Is anybody alive there? It’s difficult to say what exactly has happened. An unknown chemical substance, an invisible virus or an unsuccessful military experiment? The only survivor has been carrying on struggle for existence for months. He learned how to make fire and live without electricity. Like a primitive man, during the day he runs paths along this endless abandoned world and at night hides from creatures flooding the dark courtyards and alleys. Who is he that wild creature which hasn’t lost hope yet? How did he adapt? How not to go crazy? How not to get become a victim of those terrible monsters that hunt on the streets every night?

Clarification: Your task is to show the process of surviving, to contrast a little man and the huge empty world. But empty only during the day. This poor person isn’t able to fight with what goes on the streets every night, and there is no great sense in fighting either. The main goal is not to get caught, not to provoke, but just to watch and survive. Move from place to place, eat up supplies, and convince himself that there still are people like him somewhere. You can focus on the illustrations of two worlds: a small person and a giant city. Perhaps this is a magnificent sunset on the roof of the tallest building, a moonlit night on the outskirts of a giant city, a rainy evening in an abandoned favorite cafe, where the hero, blowing out a candle, already sees brittle shadows in a light evening fog.

Prizes

2D Category

1 place

• $1,600 from Social Quantum
• One of the RENDERU.COM online courses for free

2 place

• $800 from Social Quantum
• 50% discount on one or the online courses on RENDERU.COM

3 place

• $400 from Social Quantum
• 25% discount on one or the online courses on RENDERU.COM

3D Category

1 place

• $1,600 from Social Quantum
• One of the RENDERU.COM online courses for free

2 place

• $800 from Social Quantum
• 50% discount on one or the online courses on RENDERU.COM

3 place

• $400 from Social Quantum
• 25% discount on one or the online courses on RENDERU.COM

Deliverables

• Submitted work must be in high-rez .jpg format (not less than 1200px on smaller side). The weight mustn’t exceed 5 MB.
• Participants are required to create high-quality works; in terms of their style and level of performance, they may use the references on the main challenge page.
• It is allowed to use any convenient toolkit and software to achieve the highest quality result.
• The description of the work is desirable, but optional. Do not forget to attach a link to the competitive WIP in the description.
• 2D artists may use 3D tools for correct geometry and perspective of the city.
• 3D artists may use layered renders, 2D software to edit renders, matte painting technique, but not more than 30% of the whole work and only for backgrounds.
• It is allowed to paint or add 2D characters in 3D environment, if it looks natural and made in appropriate style.

Challenge Dates

The duration of the Challenge is 2 months. Submissions start on March 19 and end on May 21, 2018. Please note that the works may take several weeks to be checked. But by the end of the submission all works will be moderated. Winners will be announced and posted on Renderu.com on May 28, 2018.

The Judges

Sergey Meged
Art Producer

Sergey Anreevsky
Head of Art

Ilya Maximov
Head of Animation

Victorya Zueva
Art Team Lead

Roman Tsapik
Editor in Chief
RENDERU.COM

References

Images: pinterest.com.