2008 NoGD 2D/3D Environment and Character Art Competition
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2008 NoGD 2D/3D Environment and Character Art Competition
OPEN FOR ENTRIES
Deadline June 15
The 2008 Notes on Game Dev 2D/3D Environment and Character Art Competition is now open for entries. Art will be judged by some of the top talent in game development today including Damian Pannell (Artist, Relic, Vancouver, British Columbia), Doug Oglesby (Concept Artist, Red Storm Entertainment), Jesse Brophy (THQ, Phoenix, AZ), and Nate Purkeypile (World Artist, Bethesda).
A winner will be selected for each of the four categories (3D Environment Art, 3D Character Art, 2D Environment Art, 2D Character Art), and a Grand Prize Winner will be chosen from these finalists. Winners and runners up will be announced in the Notes on Game Dev and Notes on Design Blogs and in their respective newsletters which include 40,000 global subscribers. Winners will also be announced on GameCareerGuide.com, the leading portal site for game career seekers and industry recruitment.
Excellent prizes for winners include a full Game Art Certificate Program from Sessions Online Schools of Game Art, a broad choice of instructor-led game art and animation classes, membership in IGDA, and subscriptions to Game Developer Magazine.
PRIZES:
Prizes have been donated from our outstanding sponsors:
Grand Prize Overall Winner receives:
• The right to use the NoGD 1st Place Award Winner digital seal in their portfolio / reel.
• A fully paid grant for the Accredited Game Art Certificate Program at Sessions Online School of Game Art ($5355 value) – OR – any number of the instructor-led online classes taught at Sessions Online School of Game Art including Maya Basics, Maya Advanced, Tiling Textures, Game Lighting and Color, Tiling Textures, Character Animation, Character Setup and Rigging, Game Analysis and Criticism, Intro to Game Development and History of Video Games
• A one year membership in the International Game Developers Association.
• A one year subscription to Game Developer Magazine.
Winners of each individual category receive:
• The right to use the NoGD Category Winner digital seal in their portfolio / reel.
• A one year subscription to Game Developer Magazine.
HOW TO ENTER:
CATEGORIES:
There are four categories in which you may enter. You may submit only one entry for each category.
3D Environment Art:
• Interior or exterior of an architectural structure
• Outdoor landscape, geological or organic formation
• World objects
2D Environment Art:
• Interior or exterior of an architectural structure
• Outdoor landscape, geological or organic formation
• World objects
3D Character Art:
• Creature
• Monster
• Human character
• Fictional character
2D Character Art:
• Creature
• Monster
• Human character
• Fictional character
DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES:
Submissions are due by June 15, 2008 with winners announced July 1, 2008. One submission per category is allowed.
GUIDELINES FOR ENTRIES:
- Submit your art as a high quality JPG to competitions@sessions.edu with your category, title of work, name, email address, and phone number. One email per image please.
- Submissions are due June 15, 2008.
- You can submit one JPG for each category.
ABOUT THE JUDGES:
 Jesse Brophy Blizzard, California - Jesse Brophy is a 3d artist who has worked at a range of game design companies, including THQ, Atari, Breakaway Games, and Sony. Throughout his career he has worked on numerous titles in various capacities including character, environmental, and technical art positions. Jesse currently works at his dream job as an artist for Blizzard Entertainment. Jesse has a BFA in drawing and visual communication from the University of Arizona. |
 Damian Pannell Artist, Relic, Vancouver, British Columbia - Relic artist Damian Pannell worked on modeling, textures, and gameplay aspects of the vehicles and tanks for Company of Heroes. Well-established in the Real Time Strategy genre, Company of heroes continues to develop its visual quality and coding ease with the Essence Engine. And of course, it also recently won the “Best PC Game” and “Outstanding Innovation in Gaming” awards at the Elans. |
|
 Doug Oglesby Concept Artist, Red Storm Entertainment - Doug Oglesby is a founding member of Red Storm Entertainment, and has worked on eleven game titles in some capacity, nine of them at Red Storm and four as Lead Artist. He received his degree in Communication Arts, with a focus in graphics and illustration, and worked for five years in television, during which he received an Emmy and five Emmy nominations, as well as three international awards from the Broadcast Designers Association. Mr. Oglesby has also worked as a freelance illustrator, a potter, and a children’s book illustrator, and is currently in pre-production for an unannounced tactical action console game. |
 Nate Purkeypile World Artist, Bethesda - Nathan Purkeypile is a World Artist at Bethesda Softworks who graduated from DigiPen in 2004 as Valedictorian. He got his start in game development in the Half-Life 1 mod scene, working on mods such as Action Half-Life and Desert Crisis. Since then, he has worked on a number of commercial titles such as Metroid Prime 3, Aeon Flux, and Bloodrayne 2. He is currently working on creating a number of environments for the upcoming Fallout 3. |
ABOUT THE SPONSORS:
Sessions Online School of Game Art
http://gameart.sessions.edu/
The Sessions Online School of Game Art is dedicated to giving you the skills and portfolio you need to break into a game industry career. Classes in Maya, 3D modeling, texturing, lighting, color, game development, and animation as well as elective in fine arts, digital imaging, digital photography, and design, help you develop your artistic talent and build a killer reel. Get your skills working with a Faculty of top industry talent and complete your program in 12-18 months. The full Certificate Program being awarded for winning the 2008 NoGD 2D/3D competition is viewable here: http://gameart.sessions.edu/programs/the_program.asp
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International Game Developers Association
http://www.igda.org/
The mission of the IGDA is to advance the careers and enhance the lives of game developers by connecting members with their peers, promoting professional development, and advocating on issues that affect the developer community. As an IGDA member, you are part of the worldwide community of game developers who share their knowledge, insight, and connections that help to develop your career and personal status within the community. From local chapter meetings, to online discussions, to committee and SIG output, the IGDA provides invaluable information and resources to learn from and contribute to.
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Game Developer Magazine
http://www.gdmag.com/
Game Developer, the print publication written specifically for creators of entertainment software, provides technical and industry information to over 35,000 professional game developers. Each month, industry leaders and game development experts share technical solutions, review new products, and discuss strategies for creating innovative, successful games. Professional game developers count on Game Developer magazine for the most relevant and respected content in the game industry.
May 13th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
I’m a little unclear on the Categories specifically for the 3d environments.
Is there a poly/tri limit on the environments?
Is that poly/tri limit for the whole environment or just whats visible/on screen?
Can we use engines or does everything have to be in a 3d app?
Is there any limits on textures/texture sizes?
Does the environment have to be based on an original concept?
World objects as in props? Is that just one prop per submission? Or multiple pieces can be included in the submission?
May 14th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Is there a poly/tri limit on the environments? We’re hoping to limit it to the 5000 polygon range to even the playing field for those who just work in low res models.
Is that poly/tri limit for the whole environment or just whats visible/on screen? Just what’s visible.
Can we use engines or does everything have to be in a 3d app? Anything! In fact, someone asked us if they could use Second Life recently, which is also fine. We just recommend saying in the entry what you used.
Is there any limits on textures/texture sizes? Nope.
Does the environment have to be based on an original concept? Also nope, but do give credit where credit is due (”inspired by…”).
World objects as in props? Is that just one prop per submission? Or multiple pieces can be included in the submission? Multiple pieces can be included within a theme.
May 28th, 2008 at 6:26 am
1) So to win the competition grand prize do we have to submit somthing to each category? Or does our one submission for our category have to be so good that its better than everything from all categorys?
2) Does our 3-D model have to be textured? I would think you would more clearly see our modeling skills if it was untextured. Does how well you can texture and render somthing affect the judgement more, or does your model details and shape affect it more?
May 28th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
A finalist will be chosen from each category, and from those finalists a grand prize winner will be selected. You of course increase your chances the more categories you enter, but it’s not required.
The 3d models do not need to have textures. If there are textures, it may be nice to include them on the side but not applied to the model.
June 4th, 2008 at 1:32 am
For the exterior of a building, does the building have to be complete all four sides detaled? Or can we delete the sides that arn’t shown in our JPG to lower poly count?
June 4th, 2008 at 1:59 am
Best to focus on what’s being shown. You can also show multiple sides if you do complete all sides, but not necessary.
June 4th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
Mine is 6500 Polys, is that ok?
June 5th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
It says to submit one image per email, yet only one entry per category. Does this mean a single entry is allowed multiple images or should we just compile all our images onto one huge jpeg image?
June 6th, 2008 at 4:02 am
For entries with multiple images (say an environment with multiple views or a building with multiple sides or a 3D model with the textures separated), please include the images as one JPG like you would in a portfolio.
If submitting to multiple categories, please send separate emails for each category entry.