Challenge #761 Voting CLOSED

This week’s theme:

“Well, the bus is leaving and now you’re alone in the middle of nowhere. Why are you here ? You don’t remember exactly. You’re looking around you, this is so unreal, this snow, this silence… so peaceful. You close your eyes, and a memory comes to your mind.
Draw this memory : )”

After 2 days of voting, a winner is declared: The voting will close on Wednesday.
The winner picks the theme for next week.

[ If the winner doesn’t supply a theme before Thursday 22:30 GMT, the organizer will select the theme. In this case, the winner’s theme will be used the next time we are lacking a theme on Thursday 22:30 GMT. :slight_smile: ]

Having selected the theme, the winner will not be eligible to enter that week. They may however still submit an image, but it won’t be included in the voting.

Pure Entries

  • fcharr
    [post=3276721]Winter Memory : Winter Stop[/post]
    https://blenderartists.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=512314&thumb=1

  • didierv
    [post=3277244]The treasure map[/post]
    https://blenderartists.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=512423&thumb=1

  • kaidoe
    [post=3277261]Recovery Mission[/post]
    https://blenderartists.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=512433&thumb=1

  • Millani
    [post=3277329]The Trip is Over[/post]
    https://blenderartists.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=512491&thumb=1

  • DreamMaster
    [post=3276343]Blacksmith’s Ring[/post]
    https://blenderartists.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=512583&thumb=1

  • FlyingBanana
    [post=3277615]The lookout[/post]
    https://blenderartists.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=512613&thumb=1

  • Munno101
    [post=3277622]The lone one[/post]
    https://blenderartists.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=512618&thumb=1

Open Entries

  • purbosky
    [post=3277088]Never Fading Memory[/post]
    https://blenderartists.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=512367&thumb=1
    (Open entry, image is taken from Scarlet Charm from my second DeviantArt account.)

  • NiklasWerth
    [post=3277031]Close Encounter of the Fox Kind.[/post]
    https://blenderartists.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=512461&thumb=1

  • beau11
    [post=3277534]him[/post]
    https://blenderartists.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=512562&thumb=1
    (Open because it’s really not pure at all.)

  • caz747
    [post=3277609]December[/post]
    https://blenderartists.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=512602&thumb=1

  • joshwinkler3d
    [post=3277648]Lonely Cabin[/post]
    https://blenderartists.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=512624&thumb=1

Non-competing Entries

  • Helge
    [post=3277169]Questionable Advice[/post]
    https://blenderartists.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=512391&thumb=1

  • OLG
    [post=3277305]Haunted Mature theme[/post]
    https://blenderartists.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=512466&thumb=1

  • astiero
    [post=3277331]Please get out of my mind[/post]
    https://blenderartists.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=512494&thumb=1

  • david.speer
    [post=3277362]Nightmare in SJ 521 13 002[/post]
    https://blenderartists.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=512512&thumb=1

  • RobertT
    [post=3277469]DAWN OF AN ICEBREAKER[/post]
    http://www.artofinterpretation.com/images2018/wc761-DawnOfAnIcebreaker-byrjt2018.jpg

I voted for you Millani! The more I looked at your image the more I liked it!

I had no time to even check the challenge of this week. I have voted for DreamMaster because of the quality of the work and because of the story. Nice work!

BOY oh BOY! astiero! That’s beautiful! it’s amazing! Please make a tutorial on how you handled your shadows and light! I think i’m in love with your render!

its always hard to choose, but i went with DreamMaster’s. I just really like the mood, makes me feel warm and cozy. I guess since im so cold right now maybe I just picked it because I want some hot cocoa heh.

Awesome entries everyone! I’ll leave feedback on each one. Before I do that, I wanted to say I voted for Millani! I’ll say why when I get to his (her? Sorry, I always assume that everyone’s male on the internet) piece.

@fchaar, it certainly has that cold and winter atmosphere to it. I think the fact that it’s black and white helps it to feel isolated. Nice effect on the snow!

@didierv, The treasure map reminded me of a movie called, John Carter. He spent his entire life finding a certain device and had a lot of maps, books, etc. scattered around on his desk. :smiley: Cool concept.

@kaidoe, that could turn into a great game story I think. Being in nowhere and your mission is to stay alive and find a campsite to proceed. Nice color scheme and I like the grid effect!

@Millani, I’ve voted this entry because it has the most humorous, yet scary story to it. The more I look at it, the more I find and have to laugh. “If it turns red, we are dead!” then parachutes… lol! This “friendly” robot seems to be in this state of panic too which makes everything funnier. Nice job!

@DreamMaster, it’s awful… oh wait, that’s me! Never mind, let’s move on to the next one! :wink:

@FlyingBanana, that’s a scary lookout. I mean he’s standing way too close to the steep edge for my liking! Snow and rock materials are well done. Just not sure about two rocks peeking through the skis… but yeah, time is limited I know so no problem. Nice sense of scale and depth. I like that! :smiley:

@Munno101, really nice tree. I assume it was created with sapling addon, right? Not sure how it’s related to being a memory? Maybe a landmark to hint him where he is? No idea. Either way, nice composition.

@purbosky, I had the idea of doing a locket like that, but you beat me to it! The ring I had was just a placeholder, but I decided to settle for it because I didn’t want to seem like I stole your idea. Haha. Nice drawing of the girl!

@NiklasWerth, that’s a great fox considering the limited time we had. However, my favorite part is probably the snow. It feels real! Due to it being rough, it also hints that this certain area is active with foxes, perhaps other animals too. It makes me wonder for sure!

@beau11, you definitely got noir feeling down. That guy is mysterious! Did he cause this to happen? Who knows!

@caz747, really nice! I like the mood. Just not sure if the lamp is giving white or green light? I mean on the desk it seems white, but the lamp itself is green? Just a nitpick. Nice stuff.

@joshwinkler3d, nice style. I’m really liking this cube style. I should give it a try one day!

@Helge, haha, I really love the look. The contrast between no saturation and high saturation is great! Psst, I’d take his advice, he seems happy!

@OLG, that’s such a deep topic to think about. And yes you’re right, PTSD (any degrees) is a cruel thing to have. I think you’ve captured one form of it very well!

@astiero, again you’re rocking the world with that style. Lovely fog you got here. :smiley: Beautiful depth and silhouettes!

@david.speer, I’m afraid I don’t know that one, but the concept is nice. It got that sci fi feeling to it. Very techo indeed.

@RobertT, your style rocks! Always open to the interpretion and some thoughts. I don’t get to see that type very often. So it’s a nice change. :smiley:

@DreamMaster thank you for the input. It was really just thrown together and I noticed the rocks as well after the render but didn’t have the time to vertex paint them out. Also there is a black seam as well that when I positioned the camera caused 1 of the 3 planes to reveal a gap. But I am glad you did see it for what it was and not how bad it was. :slight_smile:

PS sorry to @DreamMaster or Munno101 I think the vote I got was actually intended for one of you two and mine got in the way. LOL

thanks DM, had to fiddle with the particle system a bit to get it to work with the blur. Went for Asterio’s black and white approach from last week, with a twist: One of my sun lamps is very yellow, so you can spot a bit of a tint.

Cheers, DM, for the comments. The area lamp I used for the table lamp is just slightly yellow, but for some reason, I just checked the blend file to be sure, I made the bulb in the table lamp a green colour. No idea why I did that, bit of a brain storm or not paying enough attention at a guess. I’m glad the atmosphere works, I was hoping to portray a melancholy feel to the image.

funny entry, Millani! u got my vote as well!

@DreamMaster - Thanks, that’s what I was going for. Kind of like a simulation in heads up display or some holographic simulation in a mission briefing.

@Millani gets my vote too, so much going on and hilarious that the robot has turned to the passengers and almost looks like he is just shouting “Panniiiccc!!”

@beau11, RayVelcoro: Thanks!

@DreamMaster: Thanks for the feedback (and “his” is correct)! I’m glad that the mood of the robot was noticeable. I wasn’t sure if I had managed to transmit it or not. Forgot to say this before, but the idea to mix in parachutes came from a comment from purbosky :wink:

Now my comments:

fcharr: I liked the bench and the bus. At first, I did not see the clutches, so I wasn’t sure what the image was about. But after somebody mentioned them, I think the image has a nice, subtle story. A non-obvious story can be an interesting thing too, but if you want to call a bit more attention to the clutches you could put in a way such that the snow is behind them. This way you get a nice contrast.

didierv: The post-it is pretty interesting (and funny too). The font is also very good (or was it really hand-written?). The only strange thing is that the borders of the “old” map are perfectly fine. I suppose you wanted to make those darker spots actually transparent?

kaidoe: This reminds me a bit the kind of map you see in movies or in the debriefing of a mission in computer games. The 3d map is really cool, and I liked how you used green-red to indicate height.

DreamMaster: Beautiful colours; I want to drink that hot chocolate now! The berries look very nice. The only thing that is missing is the steam coming from the cup (but maybe it went cold already…).

FlyingBanana: This one makes me feel a chill on my stomach. I liked how you managed to make the viewer feel “inside” the image. I think skiing here is going to hurt a lot: if you don’t hit your head on one of the stones, you’ll kiss one of the trees. :wink:

Munno101: The tree and the snow on top of it look nice. Good usage of whitespace, too.

purbosky: Nice sentimental image. Considering the theme, it makes me wonder if the person is looking for their loved one who went missing. I also liked how you made the only colourful thing on the picture to be the photo of the girl.

NiklasWerth: Nice fox! The fur looks good. The snow is also pretty awesome, and the contrast red fur/white snow is also very good. But I think the angle of the camera is a bit strange, the fox seems to be perfectly aligned to the camera, not sure.

beau11: Very mysterious. I loved the usage of silhouettes.

caz747: I actually liked the green lamp; green and gold work well together. But I’m not sure if I understand the image. Is the necklace a gift that was inside the box?

joshwinkler3d: Poor dog, can’t play with his boat :wink: I liked the materials and how the house is covered with snow (you do like flooding things :P). I just think the snow is a bit too flat, it could have some higher or lower points.

Helge: I loved that snake, it looks so friendly and fluffy. The poor thing is probably often misunderstood, saying that this way “leads to Nowhere”.

OLG: Strong image. I liked how you portrayed one of the side-effects of war. A medic might be able to take a bullet that got stuck in your leg, but they can’t erase the memories. One thing about the story: On the text you wrote “they thought they were better than us. They weren’t.”. This made me think the image was about defeating the enemy, and not about the trauma of the soldier. The rest of the text was pretty good.

astiero: Amazing use of silhouettes and shadows. I liked how I can barely make out the shapes, yet my brain fully “understands” them.

david.speer: I also don’t get the reference, but that robotic arm is pretty cool. The image could use a bit more contrast in terms of brightness. Also, it took me a while to see that one of the buttons had a red light. Making one of them different is a good thing, but I think it could be a bit closer to the centre of the image.

RobertT: I loved how you used small things that look like snowflakes to give the idea of cracks on ice. Also, the silhouette of the person is really nice.

@DreamMaster Your Render was amazing and it was the one I voted for, and yes I did use the sapling addon. I wanted to add a little note to make it look like a memory but I didn’t have the time.

And… the winner of Weekend Challenge 761 with 35.29% of the votes is… Millani!
Here’s to all the great participators…

fcharr : 0 : 0%
didierv : 1 : 2.94%
kaidoe : 3 : 8.82%
Millani : 12 : 35.29%
DreamMaster : 8 : 23.53%
FlyingBanana : 1 : 2.94%
Munno101 : 0 : 0%
purbosky : 1 : 2.94%
NiklasWerth : 4 : 11.76%
beau11 : 2 : 5.88%
caz747 : 1 : 2.94%
joshwinkler3d : 1 : 2.94%

https://blenderartists.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=512491&thumb=1
The Trip is Over

Thank you very much! Making a follow-up image from my entry last week was quite fun.

@DreamMaster: thanks for the comments, and sorry to went ahead of you… I actually already scrapped two other ideas with larger scenes before going with this one. Your entry is pretty good esp with that bokeh effect, like it very much, and I think a ring gives a stronger emotion rather than a locket.

@Millani: thanks too for the feedback, I like what you did with the ‘parachute’ idea, lol! Humor and horror in one go, I can picture the driver bot screamed “Don’t panic! Keep calm! Everyone take a parac-” CRASH!!! :smiley:

EDIT: congrats Millani!

@DreamMaster, thank you for the comments.

@Millani, thank you for the comments and congrats! I still have a lot of work to get better at story telling using an image. Many years modeling but mainly for cnc pattern creation.

What I was trying to convey was the blood on the ground is the enemy’s blood at close range and the young soldier is sitting getting a breather after the battle is done and is just coming to grips on what occurred. . “There is nothing worse than a battle lost than a battle won.” Looking at it again I agree with you that it doesn’t really convey that at all.

DreamMaster: Thanks so much! I’m grateful you enjoy my work.

Millani: I appreciate your words and for you looking that closely to see that =) I designed a dozen snowflakes and used a variety of manual duplications and several snowflake=group-based/varied particle emitters to establish the geometry throughout this scene.

Also, congratulations on winning, Millani!

Everyone: Wonderful works as always! Keep up the awesomeness!

RobertT

Good win Millani, congrats!!
great call on moving the nightmare closer to the center and the contrast variation mention.

The reference is from a show called the Black Mirror.
And no spoilers, this is a fan art inspired from a scene in my favorite episode.

Congrats Millani!! You should do a series about the insane robot deathbus driver. :slight_smile: Make an animated short or something. BTW my vote went your way as well.