Brawl Results (for those of you who don't know we have a news page)
Judging is over and were FINALLY ready to begin announcing who the winners of Polycounts BRAWL Contest are!
As you may remember, the judges were sent the Top 5 FIGHTERS and Top 5 STAGES as voted on by the Polycount Community. From there, they rated the entries in 3 areas: Artistic Achievement, Technical Achievement, and Brief Criteria. The points were tallied and our winners were decided. In the event of a tie, we referenced the public vote and the Fighter or Stage with the most amount of votes was given the win.
Up first:
The 5th place winners!
5th place FIGHTER: Stepanchikovs Scorpion
The judges comments:
Chris George:
Technical Achievement
This is one of the cleanest character models Ive seen in some time. Excellent meshflow and deformation throughout. Extremely efficient use of UV space as well. One of the only entries with proper finger joints that can deform into a tight fist, although the thumb still seems a little odd. Still, excellent work.
Artistic Achievement
Very nicely executed model. The proportions are perfect, and the materials are great throughout. The diffuse map looks a little plain, but the final result in the render looks great anyway.
Brief Criteria
This character is immediately recognizable. Maybe a little too recognizable. Definitely a great model, but if you took just the silhouette of this redesign, it looks exactly like the original Scorpion. It almost feels like a very high quality reskin. I would have liked to have seen the character design pushed a little further away from its origins.
Vitaliy Naymushin:
Technical Achievement
Technically I think this model is really well done. The only thing i would comment on is that there are a few areas that can be optimized alot without losing any silhouette or ability for the mesh to deform well.
Artistic Achievement
Artistically I think this whole post apocalyptic scorpion thing is pretty cool, but its definitely lacking a few things. I would have liked to see some sort of trim color, maybe something to break up the silhouette (like some gauntlets) and Im also not the biggest fan of the metal chest piece.
Brief Criteria
This is a cool and different take, although if you just black out the silhouette and disregard all the surface detail is basically the same old scorpion.
Hanno Hagedorn:
Note: Woo, we received Hannos comments!
Technical Achievement
+Poly destribution nicely captures allot of outer shape details.
Artistic Achievement
-Looks very similar to the original Character,interesting details.
Brief Criteria
-generic design; lacks of character
+good overall look and feel
5th place STAGE: Bbox85s Tam Tam
The judges comments:
Ryan Monday:
Technical Achievement
Another solid entry with a great use of texture space, also using other systems in the engine to give the artist(s) a well rounded environment.
Artistic Achievement
I love the depth of this stage and the environment has so much life. Between the birds, waterfalls, and foliage the stage has so much room for interesting ambient movement. The uneven terrain of the stage makes for a very interesting piece as well. The biggest down fall to me about this set is the lighting. I think it gets to dark in the shadows. This is a fighting stage and the darkness could cause lighting issue on characters.
Brief Criteria
I love how you took the totems from the original stage and made them into cliff edges. The only thing that is a bit different is you have seem to gotten rid of some of the tribal feel by making all the wood elements stone and not integrated some of the tribal paint back into the set. Otherwise you may be killing the characters tribal background the designers originally intended.
Josh Cook:
Technical Achievement
Good material quality, good use of alphas, nice Lighting and FX
Artistic Acheivement
Good detail, depth and atmosphere, nice sense of life to environment.
Brief Criteria
Great transformation of pixel art to something very realistic and modern.
Bram Eulers
Technical Achievement
Shaders, effects and lighting looks well done, but the texture layouts are very inefficient. A lot of wasted space and not much reuse going on at all. As a fighting stage, it looks really really small. Where is the separation between stage area and background, its hard to read with all the detail.
Artistic Achievement
Very high contrast textures are hurting the readability of the scene a bit. Some of the materials are hard to read and get muted very fast. Rock, wood, stone and statues all look like they are made from the same muddy material. I do like the attention to detail though and the added touches of color with the flowers and butterflies. The lighting is ok, but could have used some bounce and color contrast to improve readability.
Brief Criteria
Definitely a reinterpretation of the original, though I think its a bit sad that all the fun of the original is gone. Why not use the designs of the original statues in the scene, or take some of the color? Nextgen does not have to be boring
.
And there you have it! Our the Brawl Contests 5th Place Fighter and Stage! Congratulations to Stepanchikov and Bbox85!!
Another day, another Brawl winner to announce! Up today are the Brawl Contests 4th Place Finalists.
As you may remember, the judges were sent the Top 5 FIGHTERS and Top 5 STAGES as voted on by the Polycount Community. From there, they rated the entries in 3 areas: Artistic Achievement, Technical Achievement, and Brief Criteria. The points were tallied and our winners were decided. In the event of a tie, we referenced the public vote and the Fighter or Stage with the most amount of votes was given the win.
Up first:
The 4th place winners!
4th place FIGHTER: Hazardouss Chun Li!
The judges comments:
Chris George:
Technical Achievement
Another contest, and another hot chick from Hazardous. Chun Li is a great model, but there are some areas that really stand out to me which I felt could have benefited from some extra time. Some areas of the model stand out as low-poly, such as the tubes connecting her braids to her head.
Artistic Achievement
The model is executed well. I like how the proportions were pushed. What good is Chun Li without massive hips and thighs? I really like the soft specular materials, and the normal bake is super clean. However, she does feel a lot like Street Fighter Alpha Chun Li with mech/armor parts glued onto her. The parts dont feel integrated into the design. I would have liked the Cyber-esque treatment to have been taken further.
Brief Criteria
This is definitely a redesign and follows the spirit of the contest. I would have liked to have seen the design of the outfit stray from Chun Li, SFA edition a little more and embrace the Cyber theme more fully.
Vitaliy Naymushin:
Technical Achievement
This model is also technically very well done, everything looks very clean and its using all the polygons efficiently.
Artistic Achievement
Artistically I really like the balance and the appeal of this character, theres armor and some sci-fi bits but they are not overwhelming, you can still clearly see its Chun Li and the vibe of the character comes through really well. I like the textures and the colors, its overall a very pleasing complete looking character.
Brief Criteria
I think this entry did a really good job of re-envisioning Chun Li, shes got that cool sci-fi Tron thing going on and it works really well.
Hanno Hagedorn:
Note: We received Hannos notes for the 5th Place winner and have updated the post.
Technical Achievement
Suboptimal poly distribution. Too many poly in details,but lack of polygons in major parts. eg. breasts, shoulder-pads, etc.
Artistic Achievement
Very solid modeling overall. Anatomy and detailing could be stronger.
Brief Criteria
Proper creative use of the given limitations. Great mix of Sci-fi and traditional looks.
4th place STAGE: Minolas Graveyard!
The judges comments:
Ryan Monday:
Technical Achievement
Although this is a great looking piece with very solid fundamentals it does not push the technology envelope as much as the others. However the fact you got a great looking environment without doing that holds some merit on its own.
Artistic Achievement
The style in this set is a nice refresher. The twisted trees are extremely well executed and I love the little details like the beady red eyes or the roots and grass tuffs coming up through the bricks. Also love the extreme foreground fence poles framing the shot.
Brief Criteria
You added a nice style to this scene and you kept the most important element from the original stage, those nice twisted trees. The One thing that really holds this one back is not a really clear, defined stage for the fighters. It almost seems like an afterthought to everything else in the scene. In the original the stone road was deep and well defined. One thing that might of helped on selling it is pushing all your mid ground items back or using a different FOV on the camera.
Josh Cook:
Technical Achievement
Great optimization and use of alpha textures.
Artistic Acheivement
Good detail, depth and atmosphere, nice sense of life to environment.
Brief Criteria
Good job of a re imagining into a 3D environment.
Bram Eulers
Technical Achievement
This entry is pretty old school in using just diffuse textures, but that definitely doesnt make it a bad technical achievement. I love the use of next-gen techniques to create nicely lit diffuse textures Some of the texture layouts could have been more optimised though, especially on the trees, which ended up looking pretty low res because of their texture
layout.
As an arena for a fighter game, it feels very small. Where does the arena start and where does it end?
Artistic Achievement
Artistically my favorite entry. All the details feel painted in just right and very balanced. The composition is great, and I love the use of color and athmospheric effects. Though diffuse, the materials are rendered out very well. Overall it feels very fun and attractive.
Brief Criteria
As a reinterpretation its pretty much the same scene, but improved artistically with some better designed elements and color scheme.
Yeesh what amazing pieces of game art to land in 4th Place overall. Both Hazardous and Minolas entries turned out fantastic and congratulations on 4th Place for Fighters and Stages!
Oooh were getting close! I had commented earlier and got my dates wrong about when 2nd and 1st Place winners will be announced. This Monday the 2nd Place winners will be announced with 1st Place winners being announced on Tuesday, the day after.
The Brawl Contests 3rd Place winners are posted below. Congrats to you both!
As you may remember, the judges were sent the Top 5 FIGHTERS and Top 5 STAGES as voted on by the Polycount Community. From there, they rated the entries in 3 areas: Artistic Achievement, Technical Achievement, and Brief Criteria. The points were tallied and our winners were decided. In the event of a tie, we referenced the public vote and the Fighter or Stage with the most amount of votes was given the win.
Up first:
The 3rd place winners!
3rd place FIGHTER: rv_els Haggar!!
The judges comments:
Chris George:
Technical Achievement
Haggar mixes some really smart modeling with some awkward meshflow. Its possible this design was so complex, with a fully-modeled shark, that it might have required a higher poly limit for a cleaner meshflow. The fingers seem to lack any geometry to aid in deformation, which would lead to pinching in extreme poses. This thought is further confirmed by the extremely subtle hand poses in the renders, even when those hands are supposed to be gripping objects tightly. Great skill was required to model this guy, I just think something happened along the way, possibly optimization for poly limits, that prevented it from hitting the top on technical achievement.
Artistic Achievement
I love the design behind this character. Incorporating the shark, and creating a theme as a badass fisherman was a great idea. The harpoon, hat with lures, rubber pants .what great cohesion in design. The only area that was maybe lacking a little bit in character was his face. Compared to the over-the-top nature of his outfit and body, his face is a little plain. The artistic execution of the model was spot-on. Great high-poly work, nice normal bake, and solid materials. The surface of his rubber pants feels a little like a solid mound of clay, and less like rubber around his legs.
Brief Criteria
As I already mentioned, this is a very creative redesign. A lot of thought was put into this guy as a character. Great work.
Vitaliy Naymushin:
Technical Achievement
So as far as technical stuff goes this model is great, everything is built in a smart way and optimized to the max. The UVs are good and the bake is very clean.
Artistic Achievement
Artistically this character is pretty cool, its whimsical and memorable, although it is a little bit monochromatic.
Brief Criteria
This entry did a good job of taking an existing character and putting a new spin on it. Its fun and light hearted although I do wish it was more different. Its a tough dilemma, if you add too much stuff then it doesnt look like the original character anymore, if you dont add enough then you end up with something thats perhaps not the most interesting character. I think this one walks the fine line where the character is still recognizable while looking fun and different, it might have been interesting to see a different stylistic approach.
Hanno Hagedorn:
Technical Achievement
Too many Polygons were put into minor detail while too less polygons where being invested into deformation areas. The shark is rather a waste of polygon and texture resources as it does not contribute to the model.
Artistic Achievement
The model contains some nice looking skin. The design impresses with a some nicely worked out details. The shark again takes away from this.
Brief Criteria
I like the creative approach on this character. He feels rather original and the hint to the popular Internet meme is a definite plus.
3rd place STAGE: EzMeows Kaedes Stage!!!
The judges comments:
Ryan Monday:
Technical Achievement
Great use of texture space and the lighting is spot on giving the set a great mood with the back lit birds, and plenty of dynamic lit branches for the characters to pass under. Also the poly usage looks very simple without wasted polys, and the use of the material system helps sell your painted textures.
Artistic Achievement
The lighting in this set is what makes the whole scene. The sky really helps sell the mood of this graveyard. Also the splash of orange glows to the cool blue light really helps add interest around the set.
Brief Criteria
It was nice how you took the original concept of the courtyard and made it completely dark. I think the gravestones take it a bit far from the concept. Also, cutting the open gate from the scene took away a chance at making a nice, cheap vista giving the scene more depth.
Josh Cook:
Technical Achievement
Good use of texture space, nice lighting and FX.
Artistic Achievement
Great mood/atmosphere, colour palette and sense of style
Brief Criteria
Great job of giving the stage a very different feel from the original
Bram Eulers
Technical Achievement
Im really impressed with the paintery look, I hope it holds up in motion. The assets are constructed very clean, with great use of the texture. There is a lot of reuse of assets and textures going on and it really shows up in the detail.
It does feels a bit small though, not really open for a fighting game. I cant really see the screenshot as what you would see in an actual game. I would expect a more wide open arean for a fighting game, maybe the grave stones arranged more to the background would be enough.
Artistic Achievement
Could have been a bit more daring with the color palette, but the end result still looks stunning. I actually like the simple colors on most of the materials, seperating the elements in the scene very well. The curvy look of everything and lack of straight grid-built shapes is a nice touch, and really adds to the paintery feel.
Brief Criteria
Though exactly the same setting, I think the change of seasons and time of day counts as a good reinterpretation. I like how a lot of the designs and shapes of the original got pushed to something that looks a lot more interesting.
Great renditions of Haggar and Kaedes Stage from rv_el and EzMeow respectively. When I first saw rv_els Haggar was an elaborate take on the meme it gave me a good chuckle. Glad to see it placed well in the Brawl Tournament!
Huge congratulations this time around to the 2nd Place winners for the Brawl Contest. Lots of hard work and creativity went in to them and its paid off quite well! Congratulations you two!
As you may remember, the judges were sent the Top 5 FIGHTERS and Top 5 STAGES as voted on by the Polycount Community. From there, they rated the entries in 3 areas: Artistic Achievement, Technical Achievement, and Brief Criteria. The points were tallied and our winners were decided. In the event of a tie, we referenced the public vote and the Fighter or Stage with the most amount of votes was given the win.
Up first:
The 2nd place winners!
2nd place FIGHTER: JFletchers Mario!!
The judges comments:
Chris George:
Technical Achievement
Very clean work. The meshflow if super clean and follows the lines of his body perfectly. I love how some of the subtle details were modeled instead of just normal-baked, like the small buttons pulling his shirt across his chest. The fingers lack any deformation geometry, which would most likely result in pinching if bent too much. Another minor issue I have is how the ripped strap on his back is glued to his shirt, instead of draping down like it is in the front.
Artistic Achievement
Awesome character! He is full of personality from head to toe. Great texture work, clean bake, and I dig his face. For me, a great face is what really makes a character. The little details like the stitching and rips in his clothing are spot on too. Great job.
Brief Criteria
The personality of this redesign is so great, and that personality is totally different and unique than the original Mario. This is what I call a redesign. Its like an entirely different character while still staying true to the original.
Vitaliy Naymushin:
Technical Achievement
Technically this model is excellent, everything is very well done and built in a very smart way. Everything is very clean and it definitely shows that the creator knows what hes doing. This model can be thrown into any AAA game and it would animate well and work great.
Artistic Achievement
Artistically this character is really fun and interesting. Its saturated, but not overly so, it looks very pleasing and whimsical and its definitely a memorable character that stands out from the crowd.
Brief Criteria
Out of all the entries I think this one did the best job of re-envisioning a character in a whole new interesting and unique way. I definitely want to play a Mario game done in this style!
Hanno Hagedorn:
Technical Achievement
The poly distribution is pretty clean in general, but a bit rough when it comes to the outer shapes. The stylisation of the textures is good looking but not overdone and well balanced
Artistic Achievement
It is a badass gnarly Mario! Brilliant stylization and design. Lovin it!
Brief Criteria
It is just a gnarly Mario and not too creative in concern of the challenges topic.
2nd Place STAGE: Merts Old Temple!
The judges comments:
Ryan Monday:
Technical Achievement
This is an extremely impressive looking set for the amount of texture sheets the artist(s) used in this environment. Because the artist(s) used many of the other systems in the game engine the artist(s) were able to take the environment to the next level with FX and lighting giving the atmosphere an amazing amount of depth.
Artistic Achievement
The mood in this scene is surreal. He has left open so many opportunities to allow for ambient movement which always makes a fighting stage that much more interesting. The stage itself is very complex looking with the broken up and uneven stones while he is able to still have very interesting background with simple elements.
Brief Criteria
This is an extremely nice rendition on Old Temple. You were able to take key elements and translate them to your new scene while giving it much more depth and room for ambient movement.
Josh Cook:
Technical Achievement
Good lighting and FX, nice sense of depth , good material quality.
Artistic Achievement
Great attention to detail, colour pallet and composition
Brief Criteria
Great idea to expose previously hidden areas of environment while maintaining a visual anchor to the original.
Bram Eulers
Technical Achievement
Overall the scene is pretty well constructed, with most of it being tiling textures. Some texture layouts could have been more efficient, but overall the use of technical specs is good.
It seems open enough though I have a problem reading the scale, but I trust it will work in a fighting game.
Artistic Achievement
Its Not very daring with the color palette and a theres a bit overreliance on post effects. I think a lot of post stuff is overkill I feel the textures and shaders could have use a bit more work, and the post effects and contrasty lighting were used to hide them. The overall composition is cool though!
Brief Criteria
Feels very similar to the original, but I think there are enough added elements like the fallen statue and nighttime lighting to consider it a nice reinterpretation!
Very nicely done you two! Loved both of these entries quite a bit!
Be sure to check out Merts thread as he has posted VIDEO of his entry and JFletchers thread for a rundown on how he created his rendition of Mario.
Wow. Here we are, announcing the Brawl Contest WINNERS. 1st Place! The very top of the top!
Im pretty excited right now. For us, doing our first contest on our own was a big deal and, after writing these announcements for the past week, I can finally feel confident that it was a success. How do I know it was a success? From the TON of support you guys gave the contest and everyone who entered it.
You guys really are the best 3D art community out there.
As you may remember, the judges were sent the Top 5 FIGHTERS and Top 5 STAGES as voted on by the Polycount Community. From there, they rated the entries in 3 areas: Artistic Achievement, Technical Achievement, and Brief Criteria. The points were tallied and our winners were decided. In the event of a tie, we referenced the public vote and the Fighter or Stage with the most amount of votes was given the win.
The 1st Place winners!
1st Place FIGHTER: Bogdanbl4s Cammy!
The judges comments:
Chris George:
Technical Achievement
This Cammy model is very skillfully constructed and textured. The mesh is clean, efficient, and appears to deform well. The UVs appear to be very efficient. I see very little wasted space in the UV set. All of the little accessories fit together seamlessly. I had to knock off a point for the solid chunk of hair. It doesnt match the level of detail given to the rest of the model, and it doesnt fall within the art style for this particular piece, in my opinion. I wouldve liked to have seen some strips and possibly some alpha in her ponytail to match the realism of the rest of the model.
Artistic Achievement
I absolutely love this redesign. There is so much life and realism in her face. She almost seems British somehow, just from looking at her face. The many different materials were executed perfectly. Great color map, and appropriate specular.
Brief Criteria
Whats especially cool about her is that it looks exactly like Cammy and nothing like Cammy at the same time. The costume is very cohesive. I could see this character in a future Street Fighter game.
Vitaliy Naymushin:
Technical Achievement
Technically this model is impeccable, Theres tons of really awesome details, everything is very clean and perfect looking. As far as technical stuff goes this model is up there with the best of them!
Artistic Achievement
It looks like a lot of work went into this character and a lot of the individual parts look really great, Im really blown away by the craftsmanship of this entry, its top notch. That said I think the final asset could have been better as a whole. Its really lacking contrast, Im not fond of the skin, and the lighting and the presentation of the character as a whole could have been much better. Its a great entry and one of the best but i think it could have been much better.
Brief Criteria
As far as fitting the brief I think it did a good job, its definitely Cammy but its also definitely different and a unique interpretation. I think overall its just not as remarkable as the original character.
Hanno Hagedorn:
Technical Achievement
Good poly distribution, good textures and good use of shaders.
Artistic Achievement
Great Sculpt, great details, Good rhythm and appeal.
Brief Criteria
Not too risky but still very appealing.
1st Place STAGE: JordanWs Bathhouse!
The judges comments:
Ryan Monday:
Technical Achievement
The materials and lighting on this is simply amazing. You can just feel the steam and humidity in this environment, and the wetness on the floor is spot on making an otherwise simple floor an interesting space for the fighters to use as a stage.
Artistic Achievement
The artist(s) was able to take a very simple concept and idea and make it a stunning piece of art. The artist(s) also took it a step further and added life to the scene by adding characters. The scene overall is a bit over bloomed for my liking but it does help sell the steam in the room. Also the use of well done masks/gobos for the lights really sells the realism of this set.
Brief Criteria
You took one of the simplest concepts and really gave it a next gen feel. You stay true to the original stage and simply took it to the next level.
Josh Cook:
Technical Achievement
Excellent realization, lighting and FX and great material quality.
Artistic Achievement
Excellent composition, atmosphere, style and attention to detail.
Brief Criteria
Excellent re-imagining, very different style from original while remaining true to inspiration.
Bram Eulers
Technical Achievement
From a technical point of view this is my favorite entry. A fantastic job was done on getting everything looking wet and damp. A lot of cool shader tricks here. I think the polygon density on the ground is a bit overkill though, the tiles there could probably be done in a more optimal way, although the end result is looking good!
As a fighter stage, there is a well defined arena area, with the background elements seperated nicely from the foreground. If this was in a real game, the fighters would stand out very well from the background.
Artistic Achievement
Im probably not supposed to judge characters, but I love that they were added to the scene and feel like perfect background fighting stage background characters. I think the colors are a bit lacking, though its not bad, as it does set the mood well. Architecturally its pretty boring, very square, but there is enough attention to detail to make it look good.
Brief Criteria
As a re-imagination, it feels like a very nicely rendered version of the original. Something more daring could have been tried.
Everyone has had their predictions about who would be placing 1st Place for this contest, and I am glad we can finally lay this question to rest! Be sure to check out Cammy and the Bathhouse before taking a nice big sigh of relief as we head in to the calm before our next storm contest.
That part in the briefing when I said thered be no prizes? Oh theres totally prizes.
While we teased it slightly in a Tweet a while ago, weve been stupidly tight lipped about our prize for the Brawl Contest. The reason being: We meant it when we said art should not be motivated by a prize. We wanted you to participate for the sake of making kick ass art. As it turns out, you did that very thing.
So, what is the prize? Its not money. Or computer hardware. Its also not a t-shirt from one of our sponsors/advertisers (we havent any!). No, its these:
Our Top 3 Fighters and Top 3 Stages will all be receiving Gold, Silver or Bronze Greentooths (not Greenteeth!) to do with whatever theyd like. Theyre not candy, nor do they bounce.They are 3D prints of our beloved mascot and we hope youll consider them your trophy (but you will likely use it as a paper weight).
Either way, we wanted to send you something that represented both the Polycount Community and your victory in the Brawl Contest so we hope youll like your Greentooths! (Now all you have to do is answer Ryans PM about mailing addresses and its all yours!) Just be gentle with em when they arrive. Cherish these little guys!
The people receiving these will be: rv_el, EzMeow, JFletcher, Mert, JordanW, and Bogdanbl4.
4th Place & 5th Place winners: We would have loved to have given you your very own Greentooths but unfortunately these little bastards are expensive! I think 1 or 2 might have been botched in their creation and wed like to hold on to the remaining 1 or 2 that is left, just in case. (Also, it was an easy decision to do the Top 3 since we could easily have them in Gold, Silver and Bronze.)
Congratulations to the winners, you guys created some really amazing game art. I
[UPDATE:]A note from the big boss himself, r13: You do not get the Gingerale with the Greentooth. Nice try.
As you may remember, the judges were sent the Top 5 FIGHTERS and Top 5 STAGES as voted on by the Polycount Community. From there, they rated the entries in 3 areas: Artistic Achievement, Technical Achievement, and Brief Criteria. The points were tallied and our winners were decided. In the event of a tie, we referenced the public vote and the Fighter or Stage with the most amount of votes was given the win.
Up first:
The 5th place winners!
5th place FIGHTER: Stepanchikovs Scorpion
The judges comments:
Chris George:
Technical Achievement
This is one of the cleanest character models Ive seen in some time. Excellent meshflow and deformation throughout. Extremely efficient use of UV space as well. One of the only entries with proper finger joints that can deform into a tight fist, although the thumb still seems a little odd. Still, excellent work.
Artistic Achievement
Very nicely executed model. The proportions are perfect, and the materials are great throughout. The diffuse map looks a little plain, but the final result in the render looks great anyway.
Brief Criteria
This character is immediately recognizable. Maybe a little too recognizable. Definitely a great model, but if you took just the silhouette of this redesign, it looks exactly like the original Scorpion. It almost feels like a very high quality reskin. I would have liked to have seen the character design pushed a little further away from its origins.
Vitaliy Naymushin:
Technical Achievement
Technically I think this model is really well done. The only thing i would comment on is that there are a few areas that can be optimized alot without losing any silhouette or ability for the mesh to deform well.
Artistic Achievement
Artistically I think this whole post apocalyptic scorpion thing is pretty cool, but its definitely lacking a few things. I would have liked to see some sort of trim color, maybe something to break up the silhouette (like some gauntlets) and Im also not the biggest fan of the metal chest piece.
Brief Criteria
This is a cool and different take, although if you just black out the silhouette and disregard all the surface detail is basically the same old scorpion.
Hanno Hagedorn:
Note: Woo, we received Hannos comments!
Technical Achievement
+Poly destribution nicely captures allot of outer shape details.
Artistic Achievement
-Looks very similar to the original Character,interesting details.
Brief Criteria
-generic design; lacks of character
+good overall look and feel
5th place STAGE: Bbox85s Tam Tam
The judges comments:
Ryan Monday:
Technical Achievement
Another solid entry with a great use of texture space, also using other systems in the engine to give the artist(s) a well rounded environment.
Artistic Achievement
I love the depth of this stage and the environment has so much life. Between the birds, waterfalls, and foliage the stage has so much room for interesting ambient movement. The uneven terrain of the stage makes for a very interesting piece as well. The biggest down fall to me about this set is the lighting. I think it gets to dark in the shadows. This is a fighting stage and the darkness could cause lighting issue on characters.
Brief Criteria
I love how you took the totems from the original stage and made them into cliff edges. The only thing that is a bit different is you have seem to gotten rid of some of the tribal feel by making all the wood elements stone and not integrated some of the tribal paint back into the set. Otherwise you may be killing the characters tribal background the designers originally intended.
Josh Cook:
Technical Achievement
Good material quality, good use of alphas, nice Lighting and FX
Artistic Acheivement
Good detail, depth and atmosphere, nice sense of life to environment.
Brief Criteria
Great transformation of pixel art to something very realistic and modern.
Bram Eulers
Technical Achievement
Shaders, effects and lighting looks well done, but the texture layouts are very inefficient. A lot of wasted space and not much reuse going on at all. As a fighting stage, it looks really really small. Where is the separation between stage area and background, its hard to read with all the detail.
Artistic Achievement
Very high contrast textures are hurting the readability of the scene a bit. Some of the materials are hard to read and get muted very fast. Rock, wood, stone and statues all look like they are made from the same muddy material. I do like the attention to detail though and the added touches of color with the flowers and butterflies. The lighting is ok, but could have used some bounce and color contrast to improve readability.
Brief Criteria
Definitely a reinterpretation of the original, though I think its a bit sad that all the fun of the original is gone. Why not use the designs of the original statues in the scene, or take some of the color? Nextgen does not have to be boring
.And there you have it! Our the Brawl Contests 5th Place Fighter and Stage! Congratulations to Stepanchikov and Bbox85!!
Another day, another Brawl winner to announce! Up today are the Brawl Contests 4th Place Finalists.
As you may remember, the judges were sent the Top 5 FIGHTERS and Top 5 STAGES as voted on by the Polycount Community. From there, they rated the entries in 3 areas: Artistic Achievement, Technical Achievement, and Brief Criteria. The points were tallied and our winners were decided. In the event of a tie, we referenced the public vote and the Fighter or Stage with the most amount of votes was given the win.
Up first:
The 4th place winners!
4th place FIGHTER: Hazardouss Chun Li!
The judges comments:
Chris George:
Technical Achievement
Another contest, and another hot chick from Hazardous. Chun Li is a great model, but there are some areas that really stand out to me which I felt could have benefited from some extra time. Some areas of the model stand out as low-poly, such as the tubes connecting her braids to her head.
Artistic Achievement
The model is executed well. I like how the proportions were pushed. What good is Chun Li without massive hips and thighs? I really like the soft specular materials, and the normal bake is super clean. However, she does feel a lot like Street Fighter Alpha Chun Li with mech/armor parts glued onto her. The parts dont feel integrated into the design. I would have liked the Cyber-esque treatment to have been taken further.
Brief Criteria
This is definitely a redesign and follows the spirit of the contest. I would have liked to have seen the design of the outfit stray from Chun Li, SFA edition a little more and embrace the Cyber theme more fully.
Vitaliy Naymushin:
Technical Achievement
This model is also technically very well done, everything looks very clean and its using all the polygons efficiently.
Artistic Achievement
Artistically I really like the balance and the appeal of this character, theres armor and some sci-fi bits but they are not overwhelming, you can still clearly see its Chun Li and the vibe of the character comes through really well. I like the textures and the colors, its overall a very pleasing complete looking character.
Brief Criteria
I think this entry did a really good job of re-envisioning Chun Li, shes got that cool sci-fi Tron thing going on and it works really well.
Hanno Hagedorn:
Note: We received Hannos notes for the 5th Place winner and have updated the post.
Technical Achievement
Suboptimal poly distribution. Too many poly in details,but lack of polygons in major parts. eg. breasts, shoulder-pads, etc.
Artistic Achievement
Very solid modeling overall. Anatomy and detailing could be stronger.
Brief Criteria
Proper creative use of the given limitations. Great mix of Sci-fi and traditional looks.
4th place STAGE: Minolas Graveyard!
The judges comments:
Ryan Monday:
Technical Achievement
Although this is a great looking piece with very solid fundamentals it does not push the technology envelope as much as the others. However the fact you got a great looking environment without doing that holds some merit on its own.
Artistic Achievement
The style in this set is a nice refresher. The twisted trees are extremely well executed and I love the little details like the beady red eyes or the roots and grass tuffs coming up through the bricks. Also love the extreme foreground fence poles framing the shot.
Brief Criteria
You added a nice style to this scene and you kept the most important element from the original stage, those nice twisted trees. The One thing that really holds this one back is not a really clear, defined stage for the fighters. It almost seems like an afterthought to everything else in the scene. In the original the stone road was deep and well defined. One thing that might of helped on selling it is pushing all your mid ground items back or using a different FOV on the camera.
Josh Cook:
Technical Achievement
Great optimization and use of alpha textures.
Artistic Acheivement
Good detail, depth and atmosphere, nice sense of life to environment.
Brief Criteria
Good job of a re imagining into a 3D environment.
Bram Eulers
Technical Achievement
This entry is pretty old school in using just diffuse textures, but that definitely doesnt make it a bad technical achievement. I love the use of next-gen techniques to create nicely lit diffuse textures Some of the texture layouts could have been more optimised though, especially on the trees, which ended up looking pretty low res because of their texture
layout.
As an arena for a fighter game, it feels very small. Where does the arena start and where does it end?
Artistic Achievement
Artistically my favorite entry. All the details feel painted in just right and very balanced. The composition is great, and I love the use of color and athmospheric effects. Though diffuse, the materials are rendered out very well. Overall it feels very fun and attractive.
Brief Criteria
As a reinterpretation its pretty much the same scene, but improved artistically with some better designed elements and color scheme.
Yeesh what amazing pieces of game art to land in 4th Place overall. Both Hazardous and Minolas entries turned out fantastic and congratulations on 4th Place for Fighters and Stages!
Oooh were getting close! I had commented earlier and got my dates wrong about when 2nd and 1st Place winners will be announced. This Monday the 2nd Place winners will be announced with 1st Place winners being announced on Tuesday, the day after.
The Brawl Contests 3rd Place winners are posted below. Congrats to you both!
As you may remember, the judges were sent the Top 5 FIGHTERS and Top 5 STAGES as voted on by the Polycount Community. From there, they rated the entries in 3 areas: Artistic Achievement, Technical Achievement, and Brief Criteria. The points were tallied and our winners were decided. In the event of a tie, we referenced the public vote and the Fighter or Stage with the most amount of votes was given the win.
Up first:
The 3rd place winners!
3rd place FIGHTER: rv_els Haggar!!
The judges comments:
Chris George:
Technical Achievement
Haggar mixes some really smart modeling with some awkward meshflow. Its possible this design was so complex, with a fully-modeled shark, that it might have required a higher poly limit for a cleaner meshflow. The fingers seem to lack any geometry to aid in deformation, which would lead to pinching in extreme poses. This thought is further confirmed by the extremely subtle hand poses in the renders, even when those hands are supposed to be gripping objects tightly. Great skill was required to model this guy, I just think something happened along the way, possibly optimization for poly limits, that prevented it from hitting the top on technical achievement.
Artistic Achievement
I love the design behind this character. Incorporating the shark, and creating a theme as a badass fisherman was a great idea. The harpoon, hat with lures, rubber pants .what great cohesion in design. The only area that was maybe lacking a little bit in character was his face. Compared to the over-the-top nature of his outfit and body, his face is a little plain. The artistic execution of the model was spot-on. Great high-poly work, nice normal bake, and solid materials. The surface of his rubber pants feels a little like a solid mound of clay, and less like rubber around his legs.
Brief Criteria
As I already mentioned, this is a very creative redesign. A lot of thought was put into this guy as a character. Great work.
Vitaliy Naymushin:
Technical Achievement
So as far as technical stuff goes this model is great, everything is built in a smart way and optimized to the max. The UVs are good and the bake is very clean.
Artistic Achievement
Artistically this character is pretty cool, its whimsical and memorable, although it is a little bit monochromatic.
Brief Criteria
This entry did a good job of taking an existing character and putting a new spin on it. Its fun and light hearted although I do wish it was more different. Its a tough dilemma, if you add too much stuff then it doesnt look like the original character anymore, if you dont add enough then you end up with something thats perhaps not the most interesting character. I think this one walks the fine line where the character is still recognizable while looking fun and different, it might have been interesting to see a different stylistic approach.
Hanno Hagedorn:
Technical Achievement
Too many Polygons were put into minor detail while too less polygons where being invested into deformation areas. The shark is rather a waste of polygon and texture resources as it does not contribute to the model.
Artistic Achievement
The model contains some nice looking skin. The design impresses with a some nicely worked out details. The shark again takes away from this.
Brief Criteria
I like the creative approach on this character. He feels rather original and the hint to the popular Internet meme is a definite plus.
3rd place STAGE: EzMeows Kaedes Stage!!!
The judges comments:
Ryan Monday:
Technical Achievement
Great use of texture space and the lighting is spot on giving the set a great mood with the back lit birds, and plenty of dynamic lit branches for the characters to pass under. Also the poly usage looks very simple without wasted polys, and the use of the material system helps sell your painted textures.
Artistic Achievement
The lighting in this set is what makes the whole scene. The sky really helps sell the mood of this graveyard. Also the splash of orange glows to the cool blue light really helps add interest around the set.
Brief Criteria
It was nice how you took the original concept of the courtyard and made it completely dark. I think the gravestones take it a bit far from the concept. Also, cutting the open gate from the scene took away a chance at making a nice, cheap vista giving the scene more depth.
Josh Cook:
Technical Achievement
Good use of texture space, nice lighting and FX.
Artistic Achievement
Great mood/atmosphere, colour palette and sense of style
Brief Criteria
Great job of giving the stage a very different feel from the original
Bram Eulers
Technical Achievement
Im really impressed with the paintery look, I hope it holds up in motion. The assets are constructed very clean, with great use of the texture. There is a lot of reuse of assets and textures going on and it really shows up in the detail.
It does feels a bit small though, not really open for a fighting game. I cant really see the screenshot as what you would see in an actual game. I would expect a more wide open arean for a fighting game, maybe the grave stones arranged more to the background would be enough.
Artistic Achievement
Could have been a bit more daring with the color palette, but the end result still looks stunning. I actually like the simple colors on most of the materials, seperating the elements in the scene very well. The curvy look of everything and lack of straight grid-built shapes is a nice touch, and really adds to the paintery feel.
Brief Criteria
Though exactly the same setting, I think the change of seasons and time of day counts as a good reinterpretation. I like how a lot of the designs and shapes of the original got pushed to something that looks a lot more interesting.
Great renditions of Haggar and Kaedes Stage from rv_el and EzMeow respectively. When I first saw rv_els Haggar was an elaborate take on the meme it gave me a good chuckle. Glad to see it placed well in the Brawl Tournament!
Huge congratulations this time around to the 2nd Place winners for the Brawl Contest. Lots of hard work and creativity went in to them and its paid off quite well! Congratulations you two!
As you may remember, the judges were sent the Top 5 FIGHTERS and Top 5 STAGES as voted on by the Polycount Community. From there, they rated the entries in 3 areas: Artistic Achievement, Technical Achievement, and Brief Criteria. The points were tallied and our winners were decided. In the event of a tie, we referenced the public vote and the Fighter or Stage with the most amount of votes was given the win.
Up first:
The 2nd place winners!
2nd place FIGHTER: JFletchers Mario!!
The judges comments:
Chris George:
Technical Achievement
Very clean work. The meshflow if super clean and follows the lines of his body perfectly. I love how some of the subtle details were modeled instead of just normal-baked, like the small buttons pulling his shirt across his chest. The fingers lack any deformation geometry, which would most likely result in pinching if bent too much. Another minor issue I have is how the ripped strap on his back is glued to his shirt, instead of draping down like it is in the front.
Artistic Achievement
Awesome character! He is full of personality from head to toe. Great texture work, clean bake, and I dig his face. For me, a great face is what really makes a character. The little details like the stitching and rips in his clothing are spot on too. Great job.
Brief Criteria
The personality of this redesign is so great, and that personality is totally different and unique than the original Mario. This is what I call a redesign. Its like an entirely different character while still staying true to the original.
Vitaliy Naymushin:
Technical Achievement
Technically this model is excellent, everything is very well done and built in a very smart way. Everything is very clean and it definitely shows that the creator knows what hes doing. This model can be thrown into any AAA game and it would animate well and work great.
Artistic Achievement
Artistically this character is really fun and interesting. Its saturated, but not overly so, it looks very pleasing and whimsical and its definitely a memorable character that stands out from the crowd.
Brief Criteria
Out of all the entries I think this one did the best job of re-envisioning a character in a whole new interesting and unique way. I definitely want to play a Mario game done in this style!
Hanno Hagedorn:
Technical Achievement
The poly distribution is pretty clean in general, but a bit rough when it comes to the outer shapes. The stylisation of the textures is good looking but not overdone and well balanced
Artistic Achievement
It is a badass gnarly Mario! Brilliant stylization and design. Lovin it!
Brief Criteria
It is just a gnarly Mario and not too creative in concern of the challenges topic.
2nd Place STAGE: Merts Old Temple!
The judges comments:
Ryan Monday:
Technical Achievement
This is an extremely impressive looking set for the amount of texture sheets the artist(s) used in this environment. Because the artist(s) used many of the other systems in the game engine the artist(s) were able to take the environment to the next level with FX and lighting giving the atmosphere an amazing amount of depth.
Artistic Achievement
The mood in this scene is surreal. He has left open so many opportunities to allow for ambient movement which always makes a fighting stage that much more interesting. The stage itself is very complex looking with the broken up and uneven stones while he is able to still have very interesting background with simple elements.
Brief Criteria
This is an extremely nice rendition on Old Temple. You were able to take key elements and translate them to your new scene while giving it much more depth and room for ambient movement.
Josh Cook:
Technical Achievement
Good lighting and FX, nice sense of depth , good material quality.
Artistic Achievement
Great attention to detail, colour pallet and composition
Brief Criteria
Great idea to expose previously hidden areas of environment while maintaining a visual anchor to the original.
Bram Eulers
Technical Achievement
Overall the scene is pretty well constructed, with most of it being tiling textures. Some texture layouts could have been more efficient, but overall the use of technical specs is good.
It seems open enough though I have a problem reading the scale, but I trust it will work in a fighting game.
Artistic Achievement
Its Not very daring with the color palette and a theres a bit overreliance on post effects. I think a lot of post stuff is overkill I feel the textures and shaders could have use a bit more work, and the post effects and contrasty lighting were used to hide them. The overall composition is cool though!
Brief Criteria
Feels very similar to the original, but I think there are enough added elements like the fallen statue and nighttime lighting to consider it a nice reinterpretation!
Very nicely done you two! Loved both of these entries quite a bit!
Be sure to check out Merts thread as he has posted VIDEO of his entry and JFletchers thread for a rundown on how he created his rendition of Mario.
Wow. Here we are, announcing the Brawl Contest WINNERS. 1st Place! The very top of the top!
Im pretty excited right now. For us, doing our first contest on our own was a big deal and, after writing these announcements for the past week, I can finally feel confident that it was a success. How do I know it was a success? From the TON of support you guys gave the contest and everyone who entered it.
You guys really are the best 3D art community out there.
As you may remember, the judges were sent the Top 5 FIGHTERS and Top 5 STAGES as voted on by the Polycount Community. From there, they rated the entries in 3 areas: Artistic Achievement, Technical Achievement, and Brief Criteria. The points were tallied and our winners were decided. In the event of a tie, we referenced the public vote and the Fighter or Stage with the most amount of votes was given the win.
The 1st Place winners!
1st Place FIGHTER: Bogdanbl4s Cammy!
The judges comments:
Chris George:
Technical Achievement
This Cammy model is very skillfully constructed and textured. The mesh is clean, efficient, and appears to deform well. The UVs appear to be very efficient. I see very little wasted space in the UV set. All of the little accessories fit together seamlessly. I had to knock off a point for the solid chunk of hair. It doesnt match the level of detail given to the rest of the model, and it doesnt fall within the art style for this particular piece, in my opinion. I wouldve liked to have seen some strips and possibly some alpha in her ponytail to match the realism of the rest of the model.
Artistic Achievement
I absolutely love this redesign. There is so much life and realism in her face. She almost seems British somehow, just from looking at her face. The many different materials were executed perfectly. Great color map, and appropriate specular.
Brief Criteria
Whats especially cool about her is that it looks exactly like Cammy and nothing like Cammy at the same time. The costume is very cohesive. I could see this character in a future Street Fighter game.
Vitaliy Naymushin:
Technical Achievement
Technically this model is impeccable, Theres tons of really awesome details, everything is very clean and perfect looking. As far as technical stuff goes this model is up there with the best of them!
Artistic Achievement
It looks like a lot of work went into this character and a lot of the individual parts look really great, Im really blown away by the craftsmanship of this entry, its top notch. That said I think the final asset could have been better as a whole. Its really lacking contrast, Im not fond of the skin, and the lighting and the presentation of the character as a whole could have been much better. Its a great entry and one of the best but i think it could have been much better.
Brief Criteria
As far as fitting the brief I think it did a good job, its definitely Cammy but its also definitely different and a unique interpretation. I think overall its just not as remarkable as the original character.
Hanno Hagedorn:
Technical Achievement
Good poly distribution, good textures and good use of shaders.
Artistic Achievement
Great Sculpt, great details, Good rhythm and appeal.
Brief Criteria
Not too risky but still very appealing.
1st Place STAGE: JordanWs Bathhouse!
The judges comments:
Ryan Monday:
Technical Achievement
The materials and lighting on this is simply amazing. You can just feel the steam and humidity in this environment, and the wetness on the floor is spot on making an otherwise simple floor an interesting space for the fighters to use as a stage.
Artistic Achievement
The artist(s) was able to take a very simple concept and idea and make it a stunning piece of art. The artist(s) also took it a step further and added life to the scene by adding characters. The scene overall is a bit over bloomed for my liking but it does help sell the steam in the room. Also the use of well done masks/gobos for the lights really sells the realism of this set.
Brief Criteria
You took one of the simplest concepts and really gave it a next gen feel. You stay true to the original stage and simply took it to the next level.
Josh Cook:
Technical Achievement
Excellent realization, lighting and FX and great material quality.
Artistic Achievement
Excellent composition, atmosphere, style and attention to detail.
Brief Criteria
Excellent re-imagining, very different style from original while remaining true to inspiration.
Bram Eulers
Technical Achievement
From a technical point of view this is my favorite entry. A fantastic job was done on getting everything looking wet and damp. A lot of cool shader tricks here. I think the polygon density on the ground is a bit overkill though, the tiles there could probably be done in a more optimal way, although the end result is looking good!
As a fighter stage, there is a well defined arena area, with the background elements seperated nicely from the foreground. If this was in a real game, the fighters would stand out very well from the background.
Artistic Achievement
Im probably not supposed to judge characters, but I love that they were added to the scene and feel like perfect background fighting stage background characters. I think the colors are a bit lacking, though its not bad, as it does set the mood well. Architecturally its pretty boring, very square, but there is enough attention to detail to make it look good.
Brief Criteria
As a re-imagination, it feels like a very nicely rendered version of the original. Something more daring could have been tried.
Everyone has had their predictions about who would be placing 1st Place for this contest, and I am glad we can finally lay this question to rest! Be sure to check out Cammy and the Bathhouse before taking a nice big sigh of relief as we head in to the calm before our next storm contest.
That part in the briefing when I said thered be no prizes? Oh theres totally prizes.
While we teased it slightly in a Tweet a while ago, weve been stupidly tight lipped about our prize for the Brawl Contest. The reason being: We meant it when we said art should not be motivated by a prize. We wanted you to participate for the sake of making kick ass art. As it turns out, you did that very thing.
So, what is the prize? Its not money. Or computer hardware. Its also not a t-shirt from one of our sponsors/advertisers (we havent any!). No, its these:
Our Top 3 Fighters and Top 3 Stages will all be receiving Gold, Silver or Bronze Greentooths (not Greenteeth!) to do with whatever theyd like. Theyre not candy, nor do they bounce.They are 3D prints of our beloved mascot and we hope youll consider them your trophy (but you will likely use it as a paper weight).
Either way, we wanted to send you something that represented both the Polycount Community and your victory in the Brawl Contest so we hope youll like your Greentooths! (Now all you have to do is answer Ryans PM about mailing addresses and its all yours!) Just be gentle with em when they arrive. Cherish these little guys!
The people receiving these will be: rv_el, EzMeow, JFletcher, Mert, JordanW, and Bogdanbl4.
4th Place & 5th Place winners: We would have loved to have given you your very own Greentooths but unfortunately these little bastards are expensive! I think 1 or 2 might have been botched in their creation and wed like to hold on to the remaining 1 or 2 that is left, just in case. (Also, it was an easy decision to do the Top 3 since we could easily have them in Gold, Silver and Bronze.)
Congratulations to the winners, you guys created some really amazing game art. I
[UPDATE:]A note from the big boss himself, r13: You do not get the Gingerale with the Greentooth. Nice try.
Replies
you bastard
~ Also; all entries have been archived into one downloadable folder: PolycountBrawl.rar
Folder contains all 366 images from approved entries grouped into Fighter and Stage folders respectively. All images are titled with each artists Polycount forum handle, thus the folders are best viewed by 'Name'.
Awesome entries and congrats to the winners. The quality of entries is amazing.
Also, those trophies are the raddest thing ever.
dissapointing
next time we need pure 24c gold that has substantial gravitational pull.
Can't wait for my Greentooth!! I might get some sort of block with a concave top so it doesn't roll about on the table, heh.
Those greentooth spheres are sexy as well!
Dreamer, awesome
When will the next one be?
Not that I would (probably, Sundays only) have time but this was pretty good for a first BIG contest.
Agree where are the 24k gold and 925 silvers & Bronze (Does bronze have a No# label?) Green tooths. :poly124: Can only image the cost of those.