Home Contests & Challenges Archives

Welcome to the Adventure Character Contest!

13
logos1.png

contestadventurefeature.jpg


The time has arrived for our new character contest, and this time the winnings are greater than ever! For the first time we are offering a Mixamo All Access pass in addition to the cash prize, allowing the first place winner to use all of Mixamo’s services for an entire year! Other prizes will include cash and Digital Tutors subscriptions:


1st Place: $1000 cash + 1 year subscription to Digital Tutors + 1 Mixamo All Access pass


2nd Place: $500 cash + 6 months subscription to Digital Tutors + 1500 Mixamo credits


3rd Place: $250 cash + 1 month subscription to Digital Tutors + 500 Mixamo credits


Community Favorite: $100 cash + 1 month subscription to Digital Tutors + 200 Mixamo credits


Note: Even if you don’t place, don’t worry: At every contest, Mixamo offers to buy several submitted models regardless of whether they win a prize or not.

Now that we know the winnings, on to the contest! This time around we have a topic that will really get your creative juices flowing. Here is the story based on real events!

In the early 19th century a mysterious book, the Voynich Manuscript, made its world debut. Written in an unknown language the secrets within are still debated to this day. Every generation has had its adventurers take hints from the Manuscript’s broken ciphers and cryptic images. From the high mountains of the Himalayas, to the lost jungles of the Amazon, from cities of gold, to buried underworlds, those brave enough to call themselves adventurers must be ready for the challenges the book alludes to. Help us discover the great adventures of the past century and the world’s most mysterious book.

YOUR MISSION:

Starting from the beginning of the 19th century up to modern day, create an adventurer to seek out the treasure of the Voynich Manuscript. Will it be a 19th century scholar from England, or perhaps a German code breaker from World War One? A Chinese medicine man or a hired thug for the Railroad barons of the expanding United States? Will it be a modern day billionaire, searching for thrills, or the descendant of Voynich himself? Use the greatest adventure stories you can think of as your inspiration and create your ideal hero!


HOW THE CONTEST WORKS:

1. Register for the contest to get access to Mixamo's tech for your entry and create a WIP thread right here on Polycount. (Name format: [Mixamo Contest] - "Your Name" - "Your character's name or description" (WIP))

2. Model an adventure character using any 3D package you want. (Your model must be under 20,000 triangles, including everything except background elements or pedestals.)

2. Auto-Rig and animate it using Mixamo’s Auto-Rigger and at least one animation of their choice.

3. Submit your entry on our site.


On top of getting access to top quality rigging, animation and cloth simulation tools, you get to share your work right here on Polycount, get feedback from your peers, a chance for your entry to be selected for a purchase offer (regardless of whether it won a prize or not) and access to feedback from our judges panel.

CONTEST JUDGES:

- Stefano Corazza, CEO and co-founder of Mixamo
- Joshua Kinney, Lead Game Development Tutor at Digital-Tutors
- Jason Patnode, Maya Coordinator at Academy of Art University
- Mark Deloura, Game Technology Consultant
- Ed Fries, Former Vice President of Microsoft Game Studios

Submission Guidelines:

Check this page out to learn about submitting.

Please submit all images as JPG files.
Dimensions of every image you submit can be up to 1000px x 1000px and no larger than 500k for file size.
Please include the following images and use this specific naming convention:

FirstName_LastName_BeautyShot.jpg
FirstName_LastName_PresentationShot.jpg
FirstName_LastName_ConstructionShot
FirstName_LastName_ExtraShot01…02…03…etc.

When you’re ready to submit your character please create a final thread on Polycount entitled, "[Mixamo Contest] - "Your Name" - "Your character's name or description" (FINAL). (Example: [Mixamo Contest] - Anais - Cartographer (FINAL)). Make sure to include all of your final rendered .jpg images. When that is complete send an email to contests@mixamo.com with the link to your Polycount thread containing your submission. Please submit your character no later than Monday July 8th, 11:59:59 pm PST.

Beauty Shot:
Use this image to showcase your character in the best way possible. Show your character from different angles or one full image, be creative. You can include Background elements, matte paintings, post effects and anything else.

Presentation Shot:
This image must contain one full front pose and one full back pose of your character. Post effects from 3d softwares or 2d programs like Photoshop are NOT allowed in this image. No Lens Flares, Fog, Smudge Tool, Paintovers etc. The only adjustments allowed are: Brightness/Contrast, Levels, Sharpness, Color Balance, Curves, and Hue/Saturation.

Construction Shot:
This image should depict how your character was made. The image must contain at least one wireframe shot. You may also include shots like: high res models, multiple angles or just one big wire frame shot.

Optional Extra Images:
You are free to submit up to 10 extra images of your choosing. Can be whips, construction shots, area specific highlights, texture sheets, concepts, etc.

Model Guidelines:
- 20,000 tris max. This includes everything except background elements or a pedestal.
- 2048 x 2048 are preferred (but not required) dimensions for: Color Map, Normal Map, Specular/Specular Color Map, Reflection Map, Bump Map, Opacity Map, Glow map, Glossiness map, Displacement Map, and all other masks.
- It is preferred (but not required) that you don't break texture sheets into smaller sheets. Just use a different Material assignment for different shader types, like skin, metal and other material specific attributes.


Now that you know the rules and submission guidelines it’s time to start creating, best of luck to you and we are looking forward to seeing what you create!

Replies

13
Sign In or Register to comment.