FGT3D Explorer Challenge organized by the TPN-Accredited cloud rendering services provider, Fox Renderfarm, was started in March, 2021 and sponsored by our amazing sponsors, including Xencelabs, Corona Renderer, TopoGun, Friendly Shade, Graswald, Raysync, Textures.com, Texturebox and iCube R&D Group. After the selection by our jury, 3 Professional artworks and 3 Student artworks were picked and would be awarded the prizes provided by our amazing sponsors. Congratulations to all the winners! And thanks to everyone for participating!
The first place winner of the Student category is Tim Jagodka! Congratulations! His artwork, Subway 2041, stands out for its appealing design and environment, which received appreciation from our jury.
“Are we looking through the eyes of someone who just came out from a safe space underground after a catastrophic event on Earth? It looks as if the person is venturing out to the outside world after years of staying underground. The grown plants indicate it's been a long time since they evacuated from the outside world. Bright light is blinding and masking the view of the outside. We can just imagine how the world looks like and what the person will encounter out there. The graffiti suggests that people once lost hope, but this person dares to go out to the world and explore. The lighting is excellent, and the artist used the contrast between light and dark very effectively.” One of our judges, Miho Aoki said, who is the Associate Professor of Computer Art University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Here’s the interview between Tim and Fox Renderfarm, in which we can find out how he created this wonderful 3D render.
Subway 2041 © Tim Jagodka
Fox Renderfarm: Hi, Tim! Thank you so much for accepting our interview! Could you give us a brief introduction about yourself?
Tim: Sure, I am Tim, 19 years old, live in Germany and have a big passion for bringing ideas and imaginations to life. So I started my PIXL VISN education in 2019 and finished this year in march. Since I was a kid I was very passionate about video games, movies and how they were created. I was always very sure that I wanted to do something creative and inspire other people with my creations and imaginations so I found my love and passion in 3D art a few years ago.
Fox Renderfarm: Congratulations on winning 1st place in the Student Category of the FGT3D Explorer Challenge, how do you feel about that?
Tim: I am very happy that I have won the first prize. I never actually thought that I could win that prize in the student category. I have never won a contest or challenge in art so this is my first one and I'm very happy :)
Subway 2041 - Camera Animation
Fox Renderfarm: How long did you finish the work, Subway 2041?
Tim: I did not have so much time to finish the project as it was the last project of my demo reel that I had to finish. The deadline came closer and so I had only 2 weeks to create it.
Fox Renderfarm: What software and plugins did you use?
Tim: For modeling I used Maya 2018, for texturing Quixel Mixer and for the lighting and rendering I decided to put it all together in Unreal Engine 4.26. For compositing I used Nuke.
Fox Renderfarm: The graffiti sign states "no future," which resonates really well with the scene outside of the subway exit. What’s the inspiration behind your artwork?
Tim: The “No Future” Spray is reflecting the outside and it’s world very well. It’s 2041 and no one has hope. The humans see no future on this planet anymore. For this spray I didn't really have any inspiration. It was my idea to use this spray on the wall as it suits the scene and story very well.
Fox Renderfarm: The light at the exit is hopeful. How did you make the lighting?
Tim: For the Lighting I had a directional Light with God Rays and a Sky Light to fill out areas. In the tunnel I used a few lamps to give the tunnel more light. It's a very simple Light setup.
Subway 2041 - Environment Breakdown
Fox Renderfarm: Any artists or artworks inspired you most?
Tim: Yes, these two artists in the following links inspired me the most on this project.
МЕТРО - 2035 © Ismail Inceoglu
Crossing Through © Guilherme Henrique
Fox Renderfarm: Could you briefly tell us your educational and work experience along your CG journey?
Tim: So the start of my CG career was the PIXL VISN education I have finished and I'm very happy for the future as I begin to work as a CG Artist. Before my education I didn’t have much experience in CG so PIXL VISN gave me the perfect preparation to start in the industry and I'm very happy about it. In the future I want to develop my skills in realtime rendering engines and creating environments.
Fox Renderfarm: Do you have any recommendable learning methods to improve professional skills?
Tim: Even though we had a pretty full learning pipeline at PIXL VISN, the best advice I can give to other students or people who are getting into CG is to go on YouTube and watch how the pros do it. It's a simple advice but the best I would give people. I learned a lot by watching how other people do it and then apply it instantly to my projects and workflows. Also a good advice is to go to people and ask for feedback. That helped me a lot. Getting in contact with other artists is the best way you will improve. Everyone has the potential to grow and develop their skills.
Fox Renderfarm: What do you think of the FGT3D Challenge, any suggestions for us?
Tim: I really liked the theme of this Challenge and all the entries I have seen. I'm hoping to see more stuff like this in the future!
Fox Renderfarm: Do you have any advice for future participants in the competition?
Tim: Get a lot of reference, especially to the theme from the challenge and see how other artists approchoad their artworks with the same theme. Reference helps a lot for challenges like this.
