Big & Blocky Challenge – Rules

Welcome to the Big & Blocky challenge!

Large Environments, Blockout/Whitebox only & simple colors. That is what this challenge is all about!
This Challenge will run from July 8th, 2022 to August 19th, 2022 at 10 pm CET

This fun environment art challenge is all about creating a large-scale environment.

However, the goal of this challenge is not to create an entire environment. Rather we want you to create a blockout (whitebox) environment that features large spaces and simple colors.

We will give you the freedom to choose what kind of environment you want to make, it does not matter if it is interior or exterior. All we ask from you is to follow the following guidelines.

• Make the environment feel large and impressive.
• Only create the environment in blockout form. Of course, you can add a bit more detail to your environment than only using cubes so we would aim for semi-detailed meshes but do not go around and turn final assets into whiteboxes 😉
• Use simple plain colors. No textures are allowed. White colors are your friend!
• Make sure to pay special attention to the environment lighting, this can make or break your environment when it is still a blockout.
• Render the environment in Unreal Engine or Unity

We have included a few example images below to give you an idea of what we mean.

Above image credit to Wiktor Baluszynski - Vitaly Bilgarov - Sungwoon Cho

Rules

• You can use any software you like, only make sure to render the final product in Unreal Engine or Unity.
• You are not allowed to use any models you did not create yourself except for foliage (trees, grass, etc.) those you are allowed to turn those white and use them to represent foliage.
• You are not allowed to use any textures, however, using various different plain colors to add color to your scene is ok. (think mirror’s edge style)
• You will have to keep a WIP thread, making at least a few WIP posts during your process.
• you are not allowed to just turn final models to white and use them. They have to be proper blockout models.
• You are only allowed to do the challenge as an individual, not as a group.
• At the end of the challenge, there will be a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winner.

Final Submission

• Post your final submission in this Thread
• Include 1 “Main Shot” of your scene and a few different angles or closeups (we recommend 2-3+ images) videos & gifs are of course also welcome.
• Images have to be high resolution (2560×1440) or higher.
• Submit your final submission before August 19th, 2022 at 10 pm CET
• Make it looks awesome!

That’s it!

How will we judge?

• Composition – This one is always important when creating an environment big or small. We will focus on how you handle composition in your scene.
• Idea & Story Telling – We love a good idea and will always give bonus points to creative ideas/Story Telling.
• Lighting & Color – Especially when you are creating a blockout to get your idea across lighting & color are important tools. we will be having an extra close look at how you use them.
• Level of Detail – This environment will be a blockout after all. We will have a look at if you managed to hit that balance between readability/quality and if you got your idea across.

Feedback and Sharing

We would love to see how you get along and see you all interact with our little community! You can find live chats on our Discord.

Next to this we highly encourage you to post about the challenge on your own platforms and let the world know it exists.

You can create your WIP thread HERE

Challenge Judges

• Emiel Sleegers – Lead Environment Artist @FTT
• Jonas Ronnegard – Owner @ JRO Tools
• Andreas Stavaas – Sr. Environment Artist @Bloober
• Karen Stanley – Sr. Environment Artist @Playstation
• Clinton Crumpler – Art Director @Dekogon

Our Prize Providers

Prizes

1st Place (total worth over $2465!)

• 2x tutorials of your choice from FastTrackTutorials.
• 1x Substance 3D Collection Yearly License from Adobe
• 1 Full Bootcamp Class (excluding bundles) from Vertex School
• 1x perpetual license to RizomUV
• Products for $125 or less from JRO Tools
• 2x Free packs of choice from Dekogon
• 1 Exclusive Tutorial Course (excluding bundles) from Flippednormals
• 1 tutorial course from Experience Points
• 1 Year Subscription with 2500 credits from Textures.com
• 12 months Freelancer Subscription from GameTextures.com

2nd Place (total worth over $1190!)

• 1x tutorials of your choice from FastTrackTutorials.
• 1x Substance 3D Collection Yearly License from Adobe
• 1x perpetual license to RizomUV
• Products for $50 or less from JRO Tools
• 1x Free pack of choice from Dekogon
• 1 tutorial course from Experience Points
• 1 Year Subscription with 1000 credits from Textures.com
• 6 months Freelancer Subscription from GameTextures.com

3rd Place (total worth over $1100!)

• 1x tutorials of your choice from FastTrackTutorials.
• 1x Substance 3D Collection Yearly License from Adobe
• 1x perpetual license to RizomUV
• Products for $30 or less from JRO Tools
• 1 tutorial course from Experience Points
• 1 Year Subscription with 500 credits from Textures.com
• 3 months Freelancer Subscription from GameTextures.com

And remember. The deadline for this challenge is August 19th, 2022 at 10 pm CET