Just some observations as I look over these great entries…
RayVelcoro: Blender’s always had a tinge of alien technology quality to me, and your UFO, to me, makes for both a creative nod to the Blender logo as well as the fact this software is really out of this world!
LeoBlenderToon: Such a nice and shiny UFO! This must be a full service shop where, after they fix your UFO, they wash and polish it as well! Pleasant colors too!
benla: I voted for this not only because I’m a musician and love all things cosmological, but also it’s a truly unique image, perhaps depicting what some might call “the music of the spheres.” Magnificient colors, angle, and blending of the past with the future. Looking even closer, one has to admire how you fit a solar system where a vinyl record normally goes. Outstanding stuff!
FlyingBanana: Looking at this image (and then seeing your BlenderArtists name), I must admire the very good humor in this piece. Plus, for me, through my quirky eyes, it can blend together ingeniously, with a little imagination, two things I enjoy: pizza and Star Wars. For example, this could very well be the Empire’s pizza delivery service =) Nice use of procedurals on the planet as well!
3dnotguru: Very photographic results, and a nice use of DOF. To me, this looks like one of those photos it would be so fun to see beamed back from the surface of Mars from one of the rovers =) Great work on the terrain too!
Evilos: This is full of action and cool details! It looks like a Borg cube ship (from Star Trek) taking on both the Prequel-era Star Wars Trade Federation ship and some solar sailers. The beams are bright and a cool addition to this image!
Unicornaphobist: Such a nice clean render, and, in my funny mind, I’d like to think if Apple were ever to get into manufacturing flying saucers, this would be rather close to their trademark minimal design methods =)
Photox: Excellent in every way, especially in that it hints at something far grander above structurally, and, beyond that, an otherworldly mission. This could very well be a launch vehicle from one of our newly discovered exoplanetary neighbors, perhaps from Gliese 581, or thereabouts =) Render quality and realization top-notch as always with you.
didierv: I really like the alienesque lettering, partly because it’s otherworldly looking enough and not too obious in what it says, and then you realize what it says =) If a native of Mars saw one of our flying craft, as in your image, they, like us, would be astounded. I also imagine this could be a poster in the room of a Martian teenager who’s been reading up lately on Earth-based sci-fi stories.
wolfel: This is a fun one with some nice compositional choices, and the little alien creature is cute to me as well! Something in-between Mike Wazowski (of Pixar’s Monsters Incorporated) and Junior Asparagus from VeggieTales =)
Hiryuusan: There’s a lot of advanced-looking elements here, considering the liquid and the smoke flow, and the ship designs are quite cool and appropriately not of this Earth. That beacon of light into the sky is a nice addition and helps to fill out the piece compositionally.
DoriNori: As I was saying in the entry thread, I thought your title and render were nice. I especially like the color scheme here To think that there might really be such mechanical-organic entities somewhere in the universe is quite a thought!
appie.123: This is a great, particularly down to the details in the rocks and what I think is melting snow on top of the UFO. The rising vapor smoke from the bottom of the image can further help the viewer to believe the temperature has recently increased, and look what it has revealed!
texasfunk101: Very photographic and cool. The contrast between the UFO and the environment works really well, and it also makes for some great reflections. It’s fun to wonder what might emerge from such a vehicle.
david.speer: This is a fun one, something that reminds me of some classic side-scrolling arcade games where the graphics were nowhere nearly as good this. I could almost hear some vintage video game music in the background =) I also like the procedural indentations on the moon.
caz747: Even without any motion blur on the vehicles themselves there’s a clear sense of velocity and chase here! I see there is some motion blur on what might be some propeller-like structure near the lower part of the UFO. Very nicely stylized ships as well!
astiero: What a wonderful way to demonstrate Eevee’s abilities, and to do it in style, monochromatically, as well! This looks like a still frame from an animated movie about UFOs. It definitely makes me look forward to trying Eevee once its officially out there, even as I’m trying to learn some of the finer points of Cycles at this time after being a long-time Blender Internal advocate (which I still am).
fcharr: I love the density of details in the forest and the way the UFO (“mothership” perhaps?) is approaching it broad daylight. Reminds me a bit of the ships from V. The stature of this UFO can also make one wonder what these aliens are like. Hopefully they are happy visitors =)
Miatpi: As I was saying in the entry thread, this, to me, seems like it could be from an animated movie. Maybe even something like a very young Indiana Jones, long before there would be any thoughts of Crystal Skulls
str11: Lots of technically admirable things in here as well as a very aesthetically-pleasing classic UFO with some very cool energy emanations. Using microdisplacement for the moss was brilliant, and it that contributes to set the visuall tone within this image.
Helge: I love your reference to and reinterpretation of the famous “Wow Signal” and how you’ve once again effortlessly combined humor and charm in such a distinct and enjoyable manner!
purbosky: This is so cool. I heart about this years ago, and it always seemed like a great idea for a sci-fi adventure. I noticed your nodes in the entry thread, and I appreciate seeing how you approached the procedurals here. I’m now moving on to some more advanced usage of procedurals, and, after studying these things nonstop over the past several weeks and experimenting intensely with Cycles shader techniques, I’ve accumulated some interesting tests and results. So, I hope, in the very near future, to release some free potentially useful procedural texture tools for Cycles shaders.
OLG: The close angle of this encounter or pursuit increases the tension and sense of danger of the situation portrayed. The details on the rocks contrast nicely with the smooth surface of the jets and the UFOs!
RobertT