Charrette #4 - Christmass/New Year challenge - rendering and texturing a living room

[TheAllusionist]

What I have hoping is that the new main site will get up and we can use the new voting system to let the community vote, but it is not ready yet. I will consider another option depending on what happens with the site this week/weekend. We are mainly focussing our energy on the main site and perhaps have let this challenge become anti-climatic for the participants.

As for what Pradipta was talking about I will have to verify with him, we are currently looking for a good outdoor scene since some members have requested that as the subject for the next challenge.

Will follow up on this

[d.sign]

I had an idea when starting this chellenge, to make another model for skyscraper. I started this project back then, but job distracted me, so I am still at the begining.
But what I said, I will do!
The model of skyscraper and my version of rendering will be done in a week or so. It is simple skyscraper, standing alone at the river bank... Main thing here will be to make good reflections and POV, make some green around and good background. But the problem of architectural glass I find so interesting and chellenging and I hope other will think so too...
I hope also that it is not too long for all of you to wait.
If someone came up with some good exterior scene for the chellenge we can do skyscraper later...

[Timothy Saunders]

I'm all for the skyscraper. My preference is not a predesigned challenge on this one. Sort of like the dream house challenge, we could use references of existing, predesigned, or design our own skyscraper. However, it would be hard to judge as the dream house challenge was clearly not judged on the rendering, but more the design. IMO both design and rendering should be equaly judged.

[TheAllusionist]

D.sign,
Very gracious once again, lets see how it pans out, but definitely would like to use more of your work and this sounds good also, just want to make sure Pradipta didn't have something in the works here.

Timothy,
With the challenges, I think it is good to have a set of specific parameters so that everyone is starting form the same place. If it is all new someone could just regurjatate something they have done already. So a scene provided or an unusual program such as: Charrette #1 - Architectural Abstraction of Egyptian, Aztec pretty much ensures most people are starting fresh. It is also part of the fun to see how each person envisons the same subject matter so to speak.

Of course the challenges are not predefined, so we definitely want everyone's ideas and it could obviously be a fresh from scratch but open to whatever new design the artist wanted to pursue challenge. Just thinking most people don't have the time to design, model and render, this way people are able to participate with not too much of their time and energy invested.

Judging, that is a tough one, you can't invite a judge and then tell them how to judge, so you have to be willing to put it into somebody else's hands, I kind of enjoy being neutral and not judging anything If we have to select a challenge winner and not use public voting this time around, I would like to invite D.sign, who made it possible, to vote with the Posse (Mods and Me) here at 3DA, or a collaboration of that judging and People's Choice being a judge as well. Either way we will get something under way soon so that there is some closure on this for all the great participants!

[Timothy Saunders]

Sounds cool. Hope to see something soon.

[d.sign]

Hey Russell, thanks for this invitation. When I think about it, it is realy hard to judge something like this chellenge. I would perhaps split my vote in two categories - for best rendering and overall creativity in interpretation of this task... But peoples choice is also what I like to see here...
As for the results of this chellenge, I think it served it's purpose even without officiall closure. Many people come and participate, many good work, lot of creativity raised... I was kind of proud when saw number of transformations of this simple scene I did...
As for the problem of tabula rasa vs predefined chellenge, I think it depend what is the goal behind it. Chellenge could be very tight in rules and deal with testing rendering skills in specific software (mental ray, Vray, etc)...
Or try to compare how different software make solution for a specific, precise problem/situation... Or chellenge could be free and open for changes redesigning and so on... Something in the golden middle is perhaps good for most people, but the more open the chellenge is, the more difficult is to judge it...
Anyway, about skyscrapper idea - I think that Pradipta talked then in response to the announcment I made in one of the first posts here in this chellenge. But check with him first...
I find the glass skyscrapper theme very interesting and flexibile. I would provide the model, light geometry (low poly) easy to handle I hope. Also I would give some renders as my interpretation and reference photos of real building I used for resource. However, I need some time to prepare all this. Model is just at the begining, although simple, it needs some more work and I got to test some renders first...

[TheAllusionist]

Yes judging is hard, maybe for this we pick our favorite top three and place them 123 with 1st getting 3pts, 2nd getting 2 and 3rd getting 1 and the entry with the most points is the overall winner. It could be for best render and one for most creative interpretation, we can discuss that.

As for the sky scraper, it revolves around your schedule, no pressure from us. I could probably put up a very basic hi-rise scene (Massing Study) and give people the option to skin it how they wanted or totally replace the structure and surroundings, I will play with it this weekend to give you some time to finish yours and yet keep something going for people to play with

[d.sign]

Thanks Russell... That is the interesting idea... I will think about it also... Perhaps we could think of some interesting task based on this skyscraper theme... It has potential, I think...

[TheAllusionist]

I was thinking about it and thought that a massing study type scene is setup to force the participants to add detail through textures. Could be a cool textureing excercise? Basic scene, particiapants can add to the scene, but the existing geometry can not be edited, only improvements are visual in nature, of course displacement mapping would be allowed. Just an idea

I was thinking of this scene perhaps:






Tell me what you think?