Concept Art Competition WIP Thread

Are we talking about in game shots or some high impossible render that never hits the gaming screen?

Thank you INtense, some follow up questions:

a)like Benshelmars, I'm confused as to WHAT exactly do you include in the term "concept". Is it limited to 2d (speedpainting, sketches, cel-shaded cartoons, etc.)? or does it also include 3d renders or composites of both 2d and 3d?

b)what is meant by "never before seen"? The banner tells us "Bring us your best work... the rendering you are most proud of... the one you show to anyone you want to consider you as a "game artist"... the one you would like the world to see. ". Does this mean we can use pre-existing resources that we have made? i.e. I am part of the Angels Fall First Universe team and have contributed game models there, can I reuse my contributions in a NEW render that i will make for this competition? Be assured that the 3d resources were made by me.

c)Most striking, awe inspiring and breathtaking original game art. Can I set my entry in an existing game universe which hasn't yet been released to the public? It is original in the sense that it has been a product of the combined imagination of all the team members. our team is not commercial (at least for now) and has in fact a project as yet unfinished, but getting there) in ModDB: Angels Fall First: Total Conversion for Homeworld 2.

also it specifies game art. i took that as an indication that existing but still unreleased to the public game resources is acceptable in this competition? because if not... then what then would "game art" mean? hehe

d)"Only one entry will be accepted per person". it doesn't say "only one person per entry". LOL. I know. But can I use resources that other people have made but that I have been expressly given permission to use in my entry? nothing spectacular, i assure, only for usage as background props or to enhance the atmosphere of my entry, my own work will still be the focus of my submission.

hmm.... that's all for now, again. Thanks

Sorry, but concept art is clearly 2D, even though some people make great paintings in the style of a matte painting using 3Ds!
I don't think Moddb will allow concept art based on 3D Models, because it has little to do with concepting for a game, when you are using models.
If you can't or won't understand the nature of concept art then you cannot participate. Anything from a pencil sketch to photoshop and gimp madness can be an entry to the competition. Anything but 3D art, imo.

Originality will probably go a long way, so if your picture tells a storia, it will be as interesting as something, which is perfectly drawn, but without much originality. Also I think all concepts should be drawn entirely by an original creator, because otherwise its just a collague of many people's work.

I'm not one of the staff, but I expect them to tell you the same.

Thanks TKAzA for clearing that up.

SinKing:

I do understand what concept art is SinKing. I work with them in making and texturing 3d models. it just hasn't been specified clearly in the rules, so i was confused. and yes, people use 3d for concept art too. so I guess it's 2d then. ^^ plus, some posts in this thread suggested that 3d might be acceptable. now that TKAzA has clarified it however...

if it's 2d, i wouldn't need to use my other teammate's assets anyway. hehe. so good to know. and no worries, I'll be making something original and not based on AFF.

1) NOT a render
2) NOT in-game shots
3) NOT based on existing game/mod development projects
4) Must be solely the work of the artist
5) Can use 1, 2 or more in combination of the themes
6) Must be at least 640x480

That correct?

Okay, I'll get crackin' then. Good luck to all! Have fun!

There's a term called "Self-Plagiarism." An example of this is exactly the same thing as what you're doing - let's say Jane Doe did a homework assignment on the Mesozoic Era (I'm using an example here) for her 8th grade science class. Now, later in life, she uses that same assignment for her 11th grade science class. The teacher wouldn't take too kindly to that, because it's not an ORIGINAL work, and even though it's yours, it could still be considered Self Plagiarism. So in a professional setting, it's very much frowned upon.

We had a lecture on the different forms of plagiarism in college. In fact, IIRC, that was one of the first topics discussed in every class. There's also an informative article on self plagiarism at Facpub.stjohns.edu You can also do a google search, and find many other helpful articles on the subject. The above article is for text plagiarism, but it basically goes for all media submitted for review in a professional setting. I know ModDB isn't exactly a "professional" setting, but it's still good to get used to the practice, so you avoid problems later in life. If you do a google search, you'll find several court cases in which people got sued for self-plagiarism, and ended up having to pay damages. Here are just a few.

George Harrison was successfully sued in a prolonged suit that began in 1971 for plagiarizing the Chiffons' "He's So Fine" for the melody of his own "My Sweet Lord." [53]

In early 2007, Timbaland was alleged to have plagiarized several elements (both motifs and samples) in the song "Do It" on the 2006 album Loose by Nelly Furtado without giving credit or compensation. See 2007 Timbaland plagiarism controversy.

In early 2006, The writers of Lee Hyori's song "Get Ya" were accused of plagarizing Britney Spears' Do Somethin'. This eventually led Lee Hyori to stop promoting the song and contributed to the failure of the song and its album, Dark Angel.

In 1994 John Fogerty was sued for self plagiarism after leaving Fantasy Records and pursuing a solo career with Warner Brothers. Fantasy still owned the rights to the CCR library and sound. Saul Zaentz, the owner of Fantasy, claimed Fogerty's song "Old Man Down the Road" was a musical copy of the Creedence song "Run Through the Jungle." The court made a landmark decision when it ruled that an artist cannot plagiarize himself.

Source: En.wikipedia.org

Edited by (in order): Radcliff, Radcliff, Radcliff, Radcliff, Radcliff, Radcliff, Radcliff

Its not being ignorant DL, its about protecting others and the site from liabilities. competitions are hard things to run and the rules have to cover every scenario, even low brow or illegal actions.
I think every one here can find or remember of a case a art theft was caught out.

Edited by: TKAzA

dragonlord:

that was unfriendly dragonlord, i am NOT a professional, and I have NEVER joined any art contests before, much less online ones, so yes, I may be a bit ignorant of this things i'm 21 years old, a filipino, and just finished a programming course in college. i have never received formal education in art, and it has been more a passion to me than work. furthermore, there was nothing mentioned in the rules that the concepts be done during the contest period proper. in fact what was mentioned was:

which only confused me further as to whether or not past work is acceptable as entries or not. hence why i asked. don't worry, i now know it's not ok to use past works.

and it's not art theft. one of my teammates actually offered the use of his models as props in the background.

radcliffe:

I still retain all my rights to artwork i submit to the team. it is a pretty informal affair, so no one's suing no one. LOL

anyway, i urge you to consider another analogy... suppose you are a painter and had painted a very good canvas a while back. you have displayed it once in an exhibit. along comes a contest about the subject your painting was about. would you not at least ask if it was possible to submit that previous work? it's not as if my 3d submissions were part of a contest before.

self-plagiarism does makes sense, again that is why I ASKED.

lol zenarion. exactly. i was just asking for clarifications to AVOID exactly what they were accusing me of. i won't discuss it further.

Thanks TKAzA

anyway, just so you won't accuse me of anything

I have just started making the basic layout of my entry. It will be in a setting i have created (with a some suggestions from friends) just for this contest. I have started... umm 2 hours ago, making and discarding "sketches" made in gimp. my plan is for a speedpainting entry.

I will post some WIP shots, just so you won't go accusing me of cheating (click to enlarge):

The rules clearly state that "The work submitted must be original (never before seen) and not a forgery. Forgery will result in immediate disqualification". This means that the work must be created by you, for this competition, it cannot be work that has been previously released in ANY FORM.

Edited by: INtense!

@Radcliff:
Has more to do with simply sane thinking. It's simply unfair beyond measurable to try to win price of rather high value by simply doing nothing but posting an old work. That's what I had been after in the first place. You have to "work" for the price if you want to win it and this means simply ( and this doesn't require rules but sane thinking ): no foreign work; no old work. I simply expect people to have that much sane thinking ( or morality if you like this word better ).

So let's look at... the E3 '05 Killzone 2 trailer. Concept? No? Disregarding the fact that it was video work, could models not be put together and composed in a way for the purpose of visualising a new concept (environment, action, story etc)?

I think the contest rules need to be updated urgently, and elaborated on a lot more. Personally I feel 3D rendered visual elements, at the very least employed as an aid (for form/perspective/repetition, if you know what I mean) is perfectly acceptable in concept work. If you really want to get into regulating everything, why not rule out photographic elements as well?
It's the product that counts.

In such a way, perhaps accompanying write-ups, and explanations on sources of designs and ideas might be a good way to police plagiarism?

Anyways, like Zylyx, I would also like to know the details for submission, if there is a preferred format and size.

Edited by (in order): Godwin, Godwin, Godwin, Godwin, Godwin

It is perhaps a little too "open" to allow 3D art also. I will confirm this with the AiO who were really keen to see many different art pieces. If they are open to the idea I will update the rules. Expect to hear back from me about this in 24hours, I will make sure all rules are dictated clearly to ease the confusion.

Edited by: INtense!

INtense: yessuh! understood completely now. thanks for explaining.

Radcliff: sorry, man. hehe. just a bit taken aback by dragonlord's reaction. those pics are the work-in-progress of my entry for this competition. i may have asked about 3d first, but I also know 2d quite well. both in real life and in cg.

Sallycin & Godwin: Exactly, which is why I was confused. Since the rules didn't exactly state what "Concept" encompasses. Concept Art is actually not anymore limited to simple sketches. Most today use 3d renders as basis, for example. However, if the mods insist it to be 2d then it will be 2d. hehe

Boltshot: good question. are 2d and 3d composites acceptable? Also I would expect anything done in Photoshop or GIMP as still 2d, so methinks it is perfectly acceptable.

INtense: (with added punctuation, LOL)

nice zenarion

dragonlord:
i really want to stop this.

do you think rendering 3d scenes isn't a lot of work, even using existing models? it's quite as tedious, and honestly I was a little relieved to know that it would be 2d since it'd actually be (i think) easier.

i was not looking for an easy way out. it's just that i do better at 3d, which I consider my area of strength. that's why I ASKED. competitions vary, so does the rules. as limited as my experience is, I've seen contests before in which the entrants submit old work (literary contests, anyone?). It is not 'immoral' to use your old work, since it is still something you did yourself, especially if you're really proud of it. it's all about the rules.

now that i know them though, i WILL stick to them. and yah, don't worry, i'll be working my ass off for this contest. i don't know many 2d techniques, so this will be quite educating as well.

i'm currently awake at 4AM just so I can work on my entry (which, just so you'd know, is pure 2d done digitally. a genre called speedpainting, much like the Nuclear Dawn banner of AiO), is that hard work enough for you?

peace man