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Concept art comments follows 3d comments. Scroll down to view.
Mop
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 1 Commercial License of ZBrush® 3 by Pixologic®
Puppetshop by LUMONIX
1 Commercial License of Puppetshop
A Rigging and Animation plugin for 3dsmax 8 (or higher)
Wii or $300 in Cash
1 Wii console or $300 in cash!
Naruto Gear
1 Art book
3 T-shirts
2 Wall scrolls
2 DVD Movies
1 Toy Box Set
2 Key Chains
1 Playing Card Deck
Manga Volumes 1- 5
1 Gold GameArtisans profile award (worth 3 points) |
Clueme
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1 Sony Handheld PSP
Shader FX by LUMONIX
1 Commercial License of Shader FX
A full-featured real-time shader editor for 3ds Max
Naruto Gear
2 T-shirts
2 Wall Scrolls
2 Key Chains
Playing Cards
Manga 1 - 3
1 Silver GameArtisans profile award (worth 2 points) |
siilv |
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1 T-shirt
1 Wallscroll
1 Key Chain
1 Playing Card Deck
1 Bronze GameArtisans profile award (worth 1 point)
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Tryforce |
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Community awards are given to those who take time out of their busy schedules to help aspiring artists. Serious critiques, friendly advice, image samples etc are all ways in which one can help another.
This comp's award goes to: TryForce
$50 credit for Amazon.com
1 community gameartisans profile award
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What the Judges had to say...
Fredrik [FredH] Hultqvist
With a total of 33 finalists, this challenge was a seriously tough one to judge. There were a few technically superior entries but each and every artist still managed very well to bring their Naruto character of choice to life! Unfortunately, I can only pick three personal favorites...so here they are:
First Place - Siilv
Of all the entries in the naruto challenge, I kept coming back to this one just because of his face. A smug expression, great hair, nice sleek eyes... were all very convincing traits that mirrored his real personality in the naruto anime series. However, when I was finally able to tear myself away from looking at his face, little missing details in the body began to be noticed. For example, the pants and the back blades look like they have the same color and grit, the white cloth areas do no look like real cloth, the pants could use a lot more folds/wrinkles (especially in the crotch area) etc. Fortunately, with his great face, very good silhouette, solid proportions, and very nice presentation, this entry still merited a first place standing in the challenge. Well done Eunhwan!!
Second Place - Clueme
This entry was one of my favorites to watch during the event. As soon as clueme posted her first w.i.p shot of naruto's face, everyone knew a top finalist was being made. Unfortunately, the unfinished hair might prevent this entry from taking the top spot in this event. That said, the rest of clueme's naruto looked great! The eyes were his strongest asset and they were backed up with a nicely formed and colored body. For more icing on an already stacked cake, clueme carried her naruto further by posing naruto in an action pose which went a long way in demonstrating that this model was primed and ready for animation. This was no doubt a top notch entry. Well done Clueme!
Third Place - Zann
After managing to tear himself away from winning all the mini challenges, once again, zann delivered a very clean and convincing character for this main naruto challenge. Unfortunately, when placed beside all the other brightly colored characters in the challenge, the dark and almost colorless choice of color palettes might have worked against zann's entry in the long run. Regardless, the hair, the bags, the gear, the clothing, and even the presentation were all very well done! I always look forward to seeing more work from this particular artist. Very well done Zann and congrats on finishing in style!!
Joe [Blankslatejoe] Mirabello
First Place - Mop
Mop's entry is hands down the most polished and refined for me. He consistently takes things to that 'next level', and the Mop/Tully duo once again delivers. The concept is gorgeous, the modeling is gorgeous, the texturing is gorgeous. The face seems a little emotionless, but that's a small comment among a ton of praise. Great work!
Second - Arif Pribadi/ xvampire
This is another solid entry...On first glance it reminds me of the new metal gear designs, which isn't a bad thing at all. All around though there's definitely a good show of skill and knowhow. The concepts are well thought out, the high res is successful , the texturing works well. Everything about it works. I can easily see how judges would be torn between this and Mops. They're both solid pieces.
Third - Zann/Yap Y.C
The design of this entry feels fairly simple to me--simple shapes and colors and not a lot of high frequency detail--but something about it works. I really like it. It's a clean and to-the-point model. My only crit would be that the face feels a little grayed out/lifeless.
Runnerup - shadowbreeze
I really liked how the face turned out on yours, but the textures everywhere else are so grainy! They're a bit hard to look at. Solid showing though!
Marcus [Marcus Dublin] Dublin
First Place - Mop
This is one of the most polished entries and is handled very well by a skilled artist who knows his tools. The form and proportion is pretty spot on with some nice detail throughout. The one area that feels slightly off is the face but thankfully doesn't detract from the overall presentation. The character would be fun to see in an actual game as well.
Second Place - Chasarsis
Here's an entry that possesses style and substance, the concept was well fleshed out and the 3d model retains its feel very faithfully. The model is nicely crafted and feels very natural for such a stylized piece, the texture and normal map work compliments this as well. All in all it was a solid job and a refreshing design approach for this character.
Third Place - Shadowbreeze
This artist's work continues to impress with every new piece and this character shows growth. The model has a very down to earth feel in the proportions and visual direction. All of the maps do a nice job complimenting each other without being to overbearing as well. The one thing that kept this from placing higher was certain texture and color choices, the fan in particular didn't compliment the character as much as it should. With that said it's still a well-done piece the artist should be proud off.
Josh [Josh Singh] Singh - Senior Character Artist-38 Studios
WOW! This was an amazing comp! So many fun ideas and great executions. Because of that, this is a very tough competition to judge, but here goes:
First Place - Clueme
Oh man, this entry is just pure class. There were some concerns about the method he chose to represent the pointy Anime hair, but to me it was a small thing in the grand scheme of this piece. It's just oozing personality and Clueme has a great handle on his particular take on Naruto Uzumaki. It's just a Blast to look at, and that is what pushed it over the rest for me. I look at it and just think ¡°WOW, now that is BADASS¡±. Great job Clueme, now go give this treatment to the rest of the Naruto Cast!
Second Place - MoP
This entry has it going on! The details and costuming are a joy to behold. Paul, and Tully really gave so much thought and patience into this piece, and it shows. The color choices are great, the pose is awesome, and the technique in which Mop executed the model and maps is amazing. The one thing that made this a second place for me is the face. So much of the character is in the eyes and face, and I felt it was lacking. This was a really hard call, because the rest of the model is just so breathtaking.
Third Place - siilv
Now Third place was a hard call for me, there were a great many entries that could have achieved this place, but the one I chose was siilv's Sasori. What can I say, it inspired me. I loved his take on the character and it actually made me think, ¡°Dang! I should have done Sasori!! he's such a cool Character!¡± He could have gone into more detail in some areas of his texture, particularly the where the seal scroll lies in side his left breast, and there seems to be some weird things going on with the specular, But all in all I thought this was a solid entry and deserving of 3rd place.
HONORABLE MENTIONS!!!
Now here's where I just want to give shout out to a few artists who I felt kicked ass but just couldn't quite make it to the top three this time around.
3dsquid - I absolutely loved your Naruto. It's clean and awesome, that chain is beautifull. I just feel like you relied too much on the normal bakes and the specular was a bit to uniform and gave him a plastic look.
Mike_inel - Such a sexy entry! And so much work put into that beauty render! Two solid characters man, that deserves some props.
Artjun - Awsome Rocklee! Props for keeping it old school. But this competition was just too insane for the old ways.
Tryforce - You have come a long way! Just wanted to let you know I noticed. Your Yondaime, is probably the strongest piece I have ever seen from you. Good job man.
Great Job everyone! Looking forward to the next competition!
Gavin [Gavin] Goulden
First Place - MoP
Mop earned the top spot for me because of the attention to detail and colours used on his character. The texture is very vibrant, the sculpting was top notch and overall it was a nearly flawless piece of work.
Second Place - xvampire
This character was very solid, while not as technically sound as the #1 character, the final rendering style, texture work and model was top notch. The attention to detail and execution of the model was great.
Third Place - 3dsquid
The final rendering for this character is very charming and refreshing from the gritty work we're used to seeing on a daily basis. The modeling is done very well and the textures are clean, simple, but very effective for the final look the artist went with.
Jonathan [Ancient-Pig] Rush
First Place - Clueme
Achieved a nice cohesive style. Technically it looks very sound - good low poly model, good high poly, and great UVs. If I had to crit anything, it would be that the color is very washed out, but that could have been the style he was going for, so no penalties for that.
Second Place - MoP
Great colors and saturation levels. Low poly model looks good, high poly model looks good - except for the face. The face doesn't look like the same girl as drawn in the concept, and looks a little aesthetically displeasing. The hair could have used some more attention as well, as it looks kind of ratty. The clothes and costuming look awesome...
Third Place - 3dsquid
Nice presentation. Low poly model is so so, hig hpoly model looks good. The UV's could have been used much more effectively, to the benefit of how all the straight lines appear on the model. These could have been consolidated to 1 px horz and/or vert lines. The face needs more UV space as well. I dig the punchy colors...
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Marco Mazzoni
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XBOX 360 or $400 in Cash
1 xbox 360 with 1 controller, or $400 in cash!
Naruto Gear
1 Art book
3 T-shirts
2 Wall scrolls
2 DVD Movies
1 Toy Box Set
2 Key Chains
1 Playing Card Deck
Manga Volumes 1- 5
1 Gold GameArtisans profile award (worth 3 points) |
Tully
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1 Sony Handheld PSP
Naruto Gear
2 T-shirts
2 Wall Scrolls
2 Key Chains
Playing Cards
Manga 1 - 3
1 Silver GameArtisans profile award (worth 2 points) |
asstornado |
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1 T-shirt
1 Wallscroll
1 Key Chain
1 Playing Card Deck
1 Bronze GameArtisans profile award (worth 1 point)
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NA |
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Community awards are given to those who take time out of their busy schedules to help aspiring artists. Serious critiques, friendly advice, image samples etc are all ways in which one can help another.
This comp's award goes to: NA
$50 credit for Amazon.com
1 community gameartisans profile award
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What the Judges had to say...
Fredrik [FredH] Hultqvist
The quality of finished concepts is increasing with every main challenge on GameArtisans, and this naruto challenge was no exception to this rule. With slightly over 50 participants and 16 finalists, it has been a pleasure watching everyone's progress throughout the comp. Unfortunately, like in the 3d challenge, I can only pick three favorites... so here they are:
First Place - Marco Mazzoni
The figure alone looked good enough, but then this artist went above and beyond the specs and created multiple characters and an entire underwater scene. Furthermore, his attention to details did not end with his final colored concept. Both the modeling sheet and sketches sheet received just as much attention. To top everything off, what really put this entry on top was the fact that this character was only a simple uninteresting background story character in the series. Marco took this nothing character and made him into something truly feared and respected. Well done...yet again Marco!
Second Place - Tully
If not for Marco¡¯s multiple characters and underwater environment, this entry could have easily taken the top spot in this competition! Each final sheet had Tully¡¯s best efforts and the design of Tenten herself had just enough details and color variations to make her interesting from both distant viewing and up-close inspections. During the comp Tully admitted that this was the most girly painting she ever did, but everything turned out great and my respect for this artist only grew because she succeeded in creating something awesome while in deep, dangerous, and unexplored territory. Way to go Tully!
Third Place - asstornado
After a series of sketches to find a great final pose, this artist brought everything together in a solid 3-sheet combo presentation. I particularly liked the warp look of the colored concept. It went well into demonstrating the power of the scene. I had a bit of difficulty understanding if the white globe on top was a ball of mystical power, or a moon, but this did not distract my attention enough to keep this entry from a well deserved 3rd place finish! Very well done Richard (asstornado)
Joe [Blankslatejoe] Mirabello
First Place - Marco Mazzoni
Marco Mazzoni - Holy crap. This entry blew my socks off. Everything from the final to the quick sketches, there's nothing not to like. Excellent work
Second - Tully
Another amazing piece from Tully. In particular I like how the model sheets came out--they look like they'd be a breeze to work from! It's also nice to see evidence of exploration in the quick sketches and hair studies. All around this entry is top quality.
Third - Foofoo
The final image for this came out quite nice--you can tell FooFoo spent a lot of time rendering things nice and smooth, and the final result is high quality. I would have liked to see more time spent on the quick studies and modelsheet though. The modelsheet is clean and crisp, but feels a bit sterile. Good work overall though!
Runnerup - iworkat
The style in this image really rocks. Keep it up!
Marcus [Marcus Dublin] Dublin
First Place - Marco Mazzoni
There's no question as to how cool the final image is which is why it made my top pick. Marco essentially took a group of fringe characters and made them something to marvel at. The designs, lighting, colors, composition, mood, and poses sealed the deal for me. On top of that the modeling sheet is also well handled and is easy for any 3d artist to work from. Overall this is a fantastic piece done by a very talented artist!
Second Place - Tully
Tully's take on this character is very well done and beautifully rendered! The color choices are easy on the eyes and the pose is golden, the artist did a fantastic job realizing this character. Out of all the entries Tully has the strongest modeling sheet, it's easy to read and well fleshed out for any 3d artist to work from, not to mention it's beautifully
rendered. All in all this artist took and existing design and made it there own.
Third Place - asstornado
Unlike the other picks Richards final image isn't as in your face from a camera point of view but it has the greatest sense of motion and Narutoverse feel. The artist took a pretty cool character and kicked it up a notch with his own sense of style. The modeling sheet like the others is strong and very well laid out, making it easy for any 3d artist to envision in 3d. The initial sketches are pretty awesome in their own right and do a good job showing the artists thought process.
Eric [mellowsmoothe] Ryan
First Place - Asstornado
Great thumbnails and final action pose. Even though the final render isn't as tight as some of the others, this artist did the best job in finding an original design that fits well within its context. That is truly "designing" a character.
Second Place - Tully
This artist did a nice job creating studies and a full, very usable, set of character sheets for a production process. The design could be pushed further from what is expected, but otherwise this is a great final image with beautifully fun studies.
Third Place - Awra
Nice exploration in the thumbnail stage. I personally wish they would have chosen one of the more original designs in their set of thumbnails, because the final design seems too similar to the original character. Good job on the final render.
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This Challenge Ended on:
11:59 p.m Eastern Time, Monday October 22nd 2007
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