Can anyone explain how the Artstation contests work?

oraeles77

i saw Artstation have a new contest, and I thought I  would like to try entering this one.

I dont do 2d stuff only 3d stuff, and I assume for the first month its only 2d submissions then after that its 3d submissions? is that correct or have I got it wrong?

Alex_J

https://www.artstation.com/contests/feudal-japan/challenges/55

oraeles77

BIGTIMEMASTER said:

https://www.artstation.com/contests/feudal-japan/challenges/55

of course i read all of that but i was hoping someone could explain simple english.

Alex_J

They do 2d first, then 3d. That way 3d artist can use the concept art to work from, if they choose.

oraeles77

BIGTIMEMASTER said:

They do 2d first, then 3d. That way 3d artist can use the concept art to work from, if they choose.

so we dont actually have to use the concept art which wins?

Deadlines

The concept art challenges begin on Monday 17th September 2018 and the entry deadlines are Monday 15th October 2018. The production challenges will begin on Monday 15th October 2018 and the entry deadlines will be Monday 3rd December 2018.

so will the production challenges be the same catagories as the concept ones or will they be a little different?

Alex_J

It's all the same theme. 3d artist can use whatever concepts they want. Some people use stuff that was created for the 2d concept competition, other people use other concepts, and some 3d artist even make their own designs entirely. 

It's split up by disciplines, but the theme remains the same across the board. 

Alemja

Winners for 2D are announced the same time as 3D. Everything is the same theme they just let concept artists go first so 3D artists can choose to use a concept if they want to, as that's kind of how it's done in production. It removes the issue of having to design your own concept as it takes more time and your design skills may not be as good as your modeling skills. You can use your own concept if you want to, you just have to make it specifically for this contest, no existing designs.

Normally they don't open the 3D section until it's closer to the production start date, but for this one they seemed to put all of the entries up at the same time.

goekbenjamin

Just to clarify the 3D-Artist does not have to use the concept arts posted into this challange. (What i just read).
Is it even possible to mix concept art?

I am a 3D novoice compared with you guys here but i will join the challenge, just to challenge myself

Offtopic here:
Hey @slosh & @Gav, congrats to be challenge hosts for "Game Character Art" on Artstation!

zachagreg

No you do not NEED to use anything in concept art portion of the challenge. You can if you want to just make sure to link and credit the artist. 

Yes you can mix concept art, same rules apply. 

m4dcow

oraeles77 said:

so will the production challenges be the same catagories as the concept ones or will they be a little different?

In all the contests I have seen so far, they haven't changed the categories whatsoever. So if you aren't going to use a concept there is nothing really stopping you from starting now. I would suggest keeping an eye on the 2D concepts though, even if you don't directly use one there is a good chance they can give you inspiration for your own concept.

Taylor Brown

m4dcow said:

oraeles77 said:

so will the production challenges be the same catagories as the concept ones or will they be a little different?

In all the contests I have seen so far, they haven't changed the categories whatsoever. So if you aren't going to use a concept there is nothing really stopping you from starting now. I would suggest keeping an eye on the 2D concepts though, even if you don't directly use one there is a good chance they can give you inspiration for your own concept.

Starting on the production now? That doesnt feel like it's in the spirit of the comp

Alex_J

Taylor Brown said:

m4dcow said:

oraeles77 said:

so will the production challenges be the same catagories as the concept ones or will they be a little different?

In all the contests I have seen so far, they haven't changed the categories whatsoever. So if you aren't going to use a concept there is nothing really stopping you from starting now. I would suggest keeping an eye on the 2D concepts though, even if you don't directly use one there is a good chance they can give you inspiration for your own concept.

Starting on the production now? That doesnt feel like it's in the spirit of the comp

If you ain't cheating, you ain't trying. But only a fool ever admits they cheated! Take that shit to the grave, man!


(A joke. The only time you should cheat is if it's necessary to survive, or if you are certain beyond doubt that your cheating can only harm yourself, not your friends or allies. Obviously an art comp has nothing to do with surviving, and if you cheat, you will harm your fellow artist.)

Taylor Brown

Nah.

Mathew O

Plus it's pretty easy for us to tell when people bust 5 weeks worth of work out in the first week as we expect to see progress posts

zachagreg

JoshuaG said:

So now I'm a bit confused. For the 3D art portion can we not model real world antiques/artifacts?

Can my entries be based on an existing IP?

No. Your submissions should not infringe any IP's rights.

Cultural respect

When depicting inhabitants of Feudal Japan please show respect for the Japanese culture by researching the period and people. 

Work in Progress

WIP (work-in-progress) materials must be posted in your challenge thread each week of the challenge.

Original Artwork

Entries must be new artworks specifically made for the challenge, and cannot be based on the concept art of another artist.

Challenge Judging

The challenge judging team and ArtStation.com are the judges of the challenge, and their judgement will be final.

You can make any real world thing as long as you're not infringing upon IPs. Since most artifacts are not covered under that I assume you can do as you will creating those in 3D for the competition. 

The thing to consider though is that those items already exist and personally it seems like a lost opportunity to model something which draws from artifacts rather than something that is one. 

oraeles77

zachagreg said:

JoshuaG said:

So now I'm a bit confused. For the 3D art portion can we not model real world antiques/artifacts?

Can my entries be based on an existing IP?

No. Your submissions should not infringe any IP's rights.

Cultural respect

When depicting inhabitants of Feudal Japan please show respect for the Japanese culture by researching the period and people. 

Work in Progress

WIP (work-in-progress) materials must be posted in your challenge thread each week of the challenge.

Original Artwork

Entries must be new artworks specifically made for the challenge, and cannot be based on the concept art of another artist.

Challenge Judging

The challenge judging team and ArtStation.com are the judges of the challenge, and their judgement will be final.

You can make any real world thing as long as you're not infringing upon IPs. Since most artifacts are not covered under that I assume you can do as you will creating those in 3D for the competition. 

The thing to consider though is that those items already exist and personally it seems like a lost opportunity to model something which draws from artifacts rather than something that is one. 

i dont mean directly copy something, I wanted to understand what the judges are thinking, and how they want to see the topic interpreted, cause if it was all illustrationy graphicy novel fantasy style then I'd wouldnt be interested, its like that bit about 'cultural respect' when we can all agree it will be full of 'sexy girl ninja' characters, which maybe lacking in cultural respect and be leaning more towards fetishization.

oraeles77

Taylor Brown said:

m4dcow said:

oraeles77 said:

so will the production challenges be the same catagories as the concept ones or will they be a little different?

In all the contests I have seen so far, they haven't changed the categories whatsoever. So if you aren't going to use a concept there is nothing really stopping you from starting now. I would suggest keeping an eye on the 2D concepts though, even if you don't directly use one there is a good chance they can give you inspiration for your own concept.

Starting on the production now? That doesnt feel like it's in the spirit of the comp

so you are telling me, that Im not aloud to have any good ideas until then?

zachagreg

oraeles77 said:

i dont mean directly copy something, I wanted to understand what the judges are thinking, and how they want to see the topic interpreted, cause if it was all illustrationy graphicy novel fantasy style then I'd wouldnt be interested, its like that bit about 'cultural respect' when we can all agree it will be full of 'sexy girl ninja' characters, which maybe lacking in cultural respect and be leaning more towards fetishization.

That was in response to JoshuaG's comment so I apologize if it was misconstrued. As far as what the judges are expecting to see. I am sure they are expecting the same variety of styles that typically come about from these competitions. Have a look into the Wild West competition submissions for 3D and you will see environments, props, and characters from hyper stylized to hyper realistic. There are no bounds on stylistic choice for the competition. 

If you're trying to get insight into what the judges personally expect or like, I doubt they will outright say but scrolling through the 3D judges personal artwork as well as their likes on Artstation will give a pretty good inclination as to what those judges personally enjoy. Nothing wrong with a bit of recon.

As far as the artstation trend of "sexy girl ninja" thats a topic for a different thread and personal preference.

oraeles77 said:

so you are telling me, that Im not aloud to have any good ideas until then?

You can have any amount of ideas right now, you can even start assembling an entire concept in 2d in preparation for the 3d portion. I personally would not advise starting on the actual production of it yet though. There are a couple of reasons for this:
-Doesn't lend you any favors in the spirit of the competition
-If you just like the theme you don't have to join the competition
-If you do start now and post all the months progress on the first week the judges will know and you will be looked over for winning
-If you backlog your progress consistently and post weekly your backlog you will not be able to receive C&C on your current work, which will probably hurt you in the long run.

Ultimately I believe you're overthinking this just a bit. The artstation competitions are the way they are to encourage individual artists to join in together as a community and have a lot of artists produce great work, make new acquaintances, grow/learn, and receive feedback from some of the already great artists on artstation. It's not a big scary rigid competition that you will be disqualified for if you use too many 3DS Max plugins. 

Edit: Also if you're itching to begin producing something in general or in the feudal japan theme do it. Don't wait for a competition to come along and push you to. If you feel the art itch scratch it. Just don't use that piece in the competition. Make a 1 month deadline piece now and then another one for the length of the 3D portion and boom you've got 2 portfolio pieces.

Taylor Brown

@oraeles77
That's not what I meant and @zachagreg explained it perfectly.

slosh

As a host/judge, if you do start the 3d portion early and we know about it, you will be disqualified.  If you decide to start the 2d concept, make a 2d entry as that is the only valid way to actually start a concept you plan on using for the 3d portion.  The caveat being anyone can use your concept if they want to.  If this bothers you, don't start anything til the 3d portion begins.

zachagreg

Thank you @slosh for the clarification on 2D concept!