Under the leadership of War General Corum, followed in suit by General Brood and General Xemakos, an end to all that was cgchat came to be. The Emperor was mutilated and then killed. Cgchat's capital Citadel of Stars was burned and then nuked. Cities were pillaged and then bombarded from orbit and what little remained of cgchat's forces and citizens were forced into hiding.... Was this truely the end of this century old war? or was this just a beginning for greater things to come...
	Microsoft/Ensemble Studios: Paul Jaquays - Artist - Microsoft/Ensemble Studios 1. rawkstar - Corum Confident pose, interesting variety of surface treatments, believable materials throughout, some intriguing SFX and a normal map that gets the job done and then some. mr Rockstar has done an exeptional job in making a general who can lead from the front line and inspire troops around him. The model is not without a few flaws. Material on the horns and hair is ambiguous ... looks like paint -- a disappointment given the exceptional surfaces elsewhere throughout the model. If the model has a major drawback beyond this, it's that it fails the test of futuristic. There is nothing about the model that says "Hey guy, I'm from the FUTURE!" Even with that shortcoming it definitely one of the best in the show. 2. mr kite - Chief Beef Beef's creator has a fun approach to the concept process, though the character does cross the line into humor in what was supposed to be a "serious" contest. It's refreshing to have someone create battle armor that completely avoids the usual big robot Manga/anime inspiration (or conversely the Warhammer inspiration) that influences designs of this sort. The model seems to be missing some final detailing ... the grayscale bump seems incomplete, given that the mass of wool at edging on the jacket not only lacks textural quality, it becomes reflective in the strong side lighting. Finally given the guy's bulk, he seems a bit too large for his vehicle ... which increases the comic nature of the model ... not necessarily a plus for this competition. 3. Mop and Tully - General Xemakos General Xemakos by Mop and Tully may have done the best job of communicating the concept of "General." He seems destined to lead, aggressive and intelligently dangerous. The concept is well-drawn and translates nicely into 3D. The material handling in the cloth an body armor have a good feel to them. Unfortunately the treatment of both the collar and the flesh of the mount take away from this with a "modeling clay" feel to their surfaces. Similarly, the material on the sword seems incomplete with no real sense of what the material that forms the blade. 4. Spacemonkey - General Brood Ken Scott would be so proud to see his Doom style carry over into Brood's design. Except for the bright color scheme, this was an id demon from the old school. I thought the creature hides draped over the guns (or perhaps integral to the guns?) was a darkly amusing touch. The large cyborg's breathing tube could have used one more column of quads to round it out. Some additional concept work prior to modeling could have pushed the design of the rider or "brain" portion of the character to be more striking and unexpected. Little brainy guy driving brainless brute is an old theme and these artists didn't bring anything truly surprising or unexpected to the archetype. 5. Entropic - General Oracle Entropic's female general, Oracle seems to have more in common with a Blizzard fantasy MMORPG than with the concept sketch that spawned her. But her clean, elegant lines and haughty arrogant pose made her a stand out. I noted that the normal modeling was not used throughout the piece and that may have helped. I suspect that shadowy lighting was intended to cover weaknesses. Her hands need some attention ¡­ they lack that elegance found throughout the rest of the model. Some comments on a few that almost made the cut ¡­ Fazz222: Great model sheet/concept. The transfer into 3D lost the freshness and became yet another anime battle suit. I really liked the holo-claw idea, but it too lost just enough in implementation. Rv_el: Outstanding concept. Great execution. But it totally failed to convey "futuristic" or "general" to me. This was a fantasy monster in a fantasy setting, not a leader of an army of the future. The decision to pour the amount of polies used into the face instead of the tentacles was a poor one. The normal mapping could easily have carried the detail necessary to define the face, but the tentacles needed much more than they were given. Marc Holme - Art Director - Ensemble 1 - rawkstar - General Corum Great concept - this futuristic demon lord pretty much radiates power. Really strong, dynamic asymmetric design - great character to the face. Sharp detail. Great painted concept as well - this is a totally awesome job. 2 - Faz222 - General Kalistarius Basically a great concept really well executed. The best ideas are simple - this guy could have been a typical space marine, but the one new idea of the force field energy arms really sells the character. I can see him as the last man standing in this fight. Excellent rendition of an ok concept as well. There wasn't much to go on for color or texture in the concept. The hexagon grid on the arms really sells the idea - glad the artist added that in. 3 - Aesir - Child Excellent presentation - a futuristic genetically perfect super child. But still creepy and intense at the same time. Children are also vicious and amoral - if you take away their natural physical weakness with and replace it with genetic perfection, then they're super scary man. 4 - Klockwerk - General Grel of Kimaraa Nice concept painting taken to great execution. Final color scheme is interesting without being gaudy. The characters anatomy is powerful - the mechanical arm looks convincingly functional and is well balanced with the rest of the character Texture is sharp - really well painted - I like a nice sharp texture! Flesh tones have nice painted in spec - good sense of meaty volume on the muscles and face, Plus he has a regal, commanding air overall. Great work. 5 - [Decoy] Huxley & Chris [Roach[MXF]] Rockel - General Hihiro Great sharp texture details, nice use of metallic materials. The metal accents and overall rich, warm colors work well together. He's got a regal attitude - looks like general capable of leading his army to victory. Neversoft Entertainment: Ismael Medrano - Concept Artists - Neversoft Entertainment 1: RE3456 Tim managed to create a character that I feel fully addressed all of the requirements laid down within the war. There is no question this fellow is from the distant future, and he still has a sort of commanding and thoughtful presence. I think conceptually, "Sparta" is a good idea. I think a general of his stature, and command, needs a slightly more bad-ass conveyance. I would take this guy back to the start and come up with some vehicle designs that are more befitting. The pose of the figure, and angle of the shot in the final piece all add to the character, and I think give him a proper regal appearance. Over all a successful go at the contest. Consider something slightly less Dr. Robotnik for his chair though, and I think you will have yourself a kick ass character in your portfolio. Good concept, but work on the technical skills a bit more. Remember, skills can be learned fairly easily, good concept design is a long and arduous journey. 2: mr kite This concept is excellent. I am not convinced that he is the leader of a huge battalion however, he sort of has a lone-wolf quality to him, which is cool on it's own, but falls just a tad short of the requirements I was given to judge by. There is definitely a bit of humor underlying this piece, and I always approve of such things. In terms of technique, I have no complaints, and only the minor suggestion of working up a few other poses, that might give him the feeling of command or leadership. I think that it all that would have been required to bump Kite from second to first. Great work. 3: rawkstar This general has a very strong fantasy feel, and it was a tough decision to put him in here. Technically, the model is very impressive, but I am only partially convinced that he is a general in a massive future war. I might suggest easing up a bit on the ethereal glowy bits, and focusing on a more sci-fi explanation for armor light sources. A very cool design, that is going to definitely shine in a portfolio. I wouldn't suggest much else in context of changes, save getting a character to fit the theme and timeline is a difficult but important part of the whole process. Good job, man. 4: poopinmymouth I like the design, of this character. She fulfills the timeline, and demeanor standards we were looking for. I think the final image hurt the overall judgment on her, in that she was difficult to read, but it is a minor fault. Out of the evil generals, I think her face is the most successful, she manages to have a completely dangerous, and mad look about her, and that is definitely what we are going for here. In the future, be mindful of your final image. You have to be careful with composition, and character, or model clarity, because it is often this that will be judged by the people with the money. Beautiful work, keep it up. 5: Ghost_Rider This character is quite kick ass, he has the presence of a bad-ass general, to be sure. But the reason he isn't ranking higher is due to the fact that he doesn't feel very futuristic at all. As is, he has a sort of biblical, 'God of War' feel to him, a largely fantasy bend in design. This isn't a bad thing, it is just important to address the requirements when designing for a specific era. Also, I would be wary of using photographic elements that have little bright artifacts in them, as the wing textures do, without cleaning them up so the style matches the rest of the hand painted elements. Good color choices, and all indications of strong modeling skills, so congratulations are in order for a good quality character. Throw this guy in the old portfolio for sure. Excellent work. Chris George - Lead Character Artist - Neversoft 1. ChiefBeef by mr kite This is such an excellent entry! From concept, to execution, to the final render, everything is quality from start to finish. Not only is the entry high quality, but the character makes a believable General. I really love the color map. Good to see that people are still aiming for high quality, shaded color maps to compliment the normal and spec maps. The character seems like a "hands-on" general, grunting out orders in the middle of battle. The kind of guy that gets respect from his troops by getting his hands dirty on the battlefield. Beautiful work! 2. General Corum by rawkstar Another awesome entry! Awesome modeling and texturing. In fact, I almost had to flip a coin between this piece and Mr Kite's. This guy looks tough, and the special effects are a nice touch. I honestly have a hard time imagining the care and planning that had to go into this piece before proceeding with each area. The head is truly excellent, especially the eyes. This general no doubt leads by fear. You have no choice but to follow his orders. Extremely clean work. 3. General Delilah by poopinmymouth I love to see models that forego normal mapping on occasion when done well. This model is done very well, as is the texture work. The texture has great detail, and I especially love the hair. She reminds me of a seasoned General on the deck of a starship. Very Star Wars. She leads through her diligence and intelligence. I love the fact that her years of service have kind of worn on her. 4. General Brood by Spacemonkey The design on this character alone would frighten me off from attempting to model it. Truly excellent blending of creature and technology. Loving the little pilot resting on his back as well, a nice touch that adds a tiny bit of humor to an otherwise frightening General. If the guy on his back is indeed a pilot, then he is technically the general. Gotta love it when the little guy overcomes all odds. 5. General Kuda by Modeling_man I really enjoy the unique design of this entry. And once again the quality is there at every level. I particularly like all the little touches, like his jewelry and accessories. Also, and excellent treatment for the podium presentation. This guy would no doubt be ruler of the seas, if not a god of the sea. I have no doubt that any battles waged underwater would be won by the army led by General Kuda. Epic Games: Jay Hawkins - Concept Artist - Epic Games 1st place: rawkstar This is one beautifully executed character model. Its easy to get caught up in all the exceptional detail and texture and forget that this model also has fantastic proportions and is extremely creative down to the last nut and bolt. I wouldn't think twice about following this guy into battle whether from fear or admiration. Rockstar did an awesome job conveying the power and prestige that a general must have in order to gain respect from his troops. Just an all around badass piece of work. 2nd Place: mr kite I laughed out loud when I first saw this model. This guy is awesome! I would fight behind this guy any day based purely on the amount of beer he could probably consume. I love the sense of humor in this piece. It so obvious he commands his troops with an iron fist, but he had to help out his stature with the giant helmet and death robot. Extremely well thought out down to the last detail. I hope Mr Kite had as much fun making this model as I enjoyed looking at it. 3rd Place: Mop & Tully I was instantly grabbed by the stature of this general. He seems calm, calculating and a master at the sword. Its as if his steed even has respect for him. Everything about this piece is tight and clean down to the concept. There is no doubt that Xemakos has been in the trenches and worked his way to general fighting alongside his fellow¡­.whatever he is. I also like how he and his "lizard horse" share a similar countenance. The final pose and render are very nice as well. 4th Place: Klockwerk Obviously a veteran of many battles, there is no question General Grel commands the respect of his legions. I was impressed by the proportions and "weight" of this model. There is no question that this guy is insanely strong and tough as nails. The model was well executed starting from the concept. The cyber arm is a nice touch. Perfect for crushing the skulls of insubordinates. It would, however, be nice to see this guy rendered with a more dynamic pose and lighting to suit his demeanor. 5th Place: rv_el I really enjoyed picking out all the detail in General Olahbracen. It is very apparent that a lot of consideration was put into the design of this piece. I was especially impressed by his aquatic armor and weapon. Although he is very brawny his ornamentation gives him the flourish of a more cerebral hero. He has proven himself in battle now he is a tactician with poise. The final render is almost like a painting. Lots of nice color and light. The tentacles are a nice departure from the standard biped character. I think it would be cool if they were given the same menace and power as the generals upper body. Maury Mountain III - Artist - Epic Games 1st rawkstar: rawkstar General Corum stands out as one of the strongest, vile, and powerful generals in this comp. The armor design, details, physique, and stature scream power and authority over some fictitious army that undoubtedly would waste any force that stood in its way. His face mixes between a commanding and terrifying glare that his troops would either follow, or surely be squished by the blue staff of doom. I am positive that Corum would be on the front lines soul sucking, gutting, and crushing any critter on the battlefield, and every one of his "men" would sacrifice themselves for him in danger. The overall design is very strong and really shows off Vitaliy's technical skill for unique and interesting ideas and attention to detail. Very solid work. 2nd mr Kite: mr kite This was a very hard decision to make, because Beef was probably my favorite entry stylistically, but didn't have the extra punch a general would have, but more of a squadron or platoon leader. I really love the "authentic" look of the mech armor, with decals and camouflage, this guy just screams character and quality. Every detail that went into the concept seems to have made it in, and the decision to make him a little more beefy rather than ripped and muscular really sells it. Excellent model and texture work, this design is definitely one of the best. 3rd Daz: Daz Gen. Von Hagen does not seem like the kind of guy who'd be wielding the plasma sword or tactical nuke hand pistols, but rather the guy on the mechanical horse in the background issuing orders through some cerebral connection. His eyes put off that he is secure, and knows his army will follow. While the design is fairly simple, the detail in the face shows that Von Hagen has seen some blood in his time. It really reminds me of a Battlestar Galactica, or a Farscape character - being theatrically possible, while still looking futuristic and commanding. While his armor is not crazy-future-psycho-technomadness, Daz did an awesome job of making him believable to exist in a world we don't know but still make his clothing human enough so we can empathize with him. The only suggestion I would make would be to possibly add some addition surface texture and detail to the normal map to mimic what you have going on in the diffuse. Specifically: the scratch across the chest piece, or even a subtle bump on the trench coat / metal bump on boots. Awesome stuff man. 4th Mop / Tully: Mop & Tully This piece is so elegant it's almost too pretty, really reminds me of a samurai type warrior. The addition of the 'war horse' Xemakos rides gives it the extra punch to put him on the cavalry lines leading his¡­. Men (?) to battle. The grimace and overall presence of this character show off his ability to lead, and kill. I really enjoy how soft and fleshy he looks, yet still has a rock-hard sense about him. I would not want to punch him in the face! If I were to suggest anything, it may be to add a little more complexity in some areas of the texture to get more minute details in - both the diffuse and the normal map. All in all, excellent work Mop and Tully. 5th Klockwerk: Klockwerk Man, this guy is really freakin' cool looking. He has the "chest thumping as he crushes your skull" vibe about him, which just pours power and force. I really enjoy the details you included in the kilt, and neck / head armor - it really gives him the extra punch of being a leader, and of some obvious importance rather than the guy who cleans the trenches. Excellent execution from concept to the final product, however I would have liked to see a little more attention spent on some areas of the texture. The body bits are awesome, but it seems like the shoulder, mech arm, and bits of the armor could go with an extra pass of polish to solidify them. Great work Klockwerk! "The Awesome Award" Cholden and John Jones: CholdenNJonJones I'm adding this just because this is freakin genius. It makes me laugh every time I see it, mostly out of surprise that you actually went through with the idea and made a Seal-Tank armed with Bikini-Gurads. Hahahahahaha, I love it. I want a t-shirt with that guy on it. Ritual Entertainment: Mark Morgan - Senior 2d/3d Artist - Ritual Entertainment First: Chief Beef My top two were super hard to call, because I'm a coworker of second place, and damn if these aren't both incredibly executed. I have to go with Beef because he's so unique, and I love the softness of the art style- the almost sepia desaturated tones. Something almost Steamboy about it. At any rate, execution here is top notch, and I really am giving Chief the nod because he's so different than most of the Doom/Quake/Unreal/Spacemarinecyborgrobomeat fare that we are forcefed. I love the concepts too- very well thought out. Second: Corum Vitaliy gets better every day, and this model is no exception. I love the detail of the skulls/faces in the effects, and the overall "Soul Caliber" anime vibe he's got going. Looks like a badass for damn sure. I also dig the concept. Not as thorough as Beef's it is well rendered, and I can appreciate that. Third: Brood I at once am tired of RoboMeatMen, and yet find this guy pretty fresh. Very well executed. Definitely meats (sic) the quality expectations of models in Doom3, and would fit perfectly in an expansion. Fourth: Olahbrachen This one tops my list for originality (among my pics)- the aquatic theme. Its always hard to design sea creatures that have a good sense of presence and power. This one succeeds and definitely is a real hard fighter for Third, but Brood wins out because I think the execution was just a hair better there. The "set" on this one was a tad lacking, and didn't live up to the general himself. Really hard time finding fault with my top picks- they are all great work. Fifth: Hirhiro To be honest stylistically he doesn't really appeal to me, the baboonish character in Samurai-esque garb. But the execution is top notch- the high poly model rocks ass. Unique concept, great modeling and texture work. Excellent effort by all finalists, but these 5 represent the greatest display of design and implementation on the part of their creators. Nick Pappas - Senior Artist - Ritual Entertainment 1st - General Corum by: rawkstar I choose rawkstar's first for two main reasons. One, aesthetically every part about this model is great. The high poly is gorgeous. The texture maps are perfectly done. Secondly, there's so much style in this model. Of all the models he looks the most like a general to me. He's that evil badass that's been winning battles for years. He's both feared and respected throughout his world. 2nd - Chief Beef by: mr kite It was really hard for me to put this in second. I absolutely love this guy! His concept is fantastic! Every little piece was well planned¡­ the jacket, the bomber art chick, the samoan tattoos! Such a great design! The color choices are awesome too. The final look is so soft and real. The presentation was soo good too! 3rd - General Kuda by: Modeling_man This one is great too! His silhouette is awesome. All curves on this guy make him really feel alive. He's very exotic yet still feels like he could be a leader. 4th - General Xemakos by: Mop & Tully I like the model and texture a lot. The presentation is excellent nice soft render. The only negative thing I have to say about it is regarding the design and the concept. He doesn't feel powerful or respectful. He just feels like an alien scout from star wars. He feels very fragile. 5th - Brood by: spacemonkey I think this was also very nicely executed. But didn't really feel like a good general too me. It felt more like an enemy then a leader. I liked the high poly model a lot and thought it was very nicely sculpted. Mythic Entertainment: Adam Gershowitz - Lead Character Artist - Mythic Entertainment Grand Prize (Cgchat) - Chief Beef by Andy Nisbet The Top of the pack grand prize winner was a tough call. I went back and forth between the Kite's Chief Beef and Mr Rockstars Corum. Both were excellently done on all levels. However while rockstar's was more technically sound I felt the creativity of Chief Beef won the day. This chacaracter really broke the mold on the standard hero/villian type portrayal. The design and the idea was unique and original and the implementation just oozes character. Just looking at the character allowed me to visualize all sorts of intresting cut scenes and scenerios, how the character could play, how he would animate, what the voice would be like, how a visual style could be built around him. It's the type of character that a team could take and run with and that's very important these days. On the technical end the models and texture were well done, even though the vechicle could have used some more spit and polish, better detailing more flecked paint etc. The normal maps were tasteful and not overworked, while many people could sumize that the normal maps were underworked I feel they were done to a very appropriate level for the style of the character. People seem to have lost sight of uber zbrush model does not a good character make. As a whole strong technical work, very strong design, very good implementation. 1st Runner Up (Polycount) - General Corum by Vitaliy Naymushin As I stated earlier the 1st and 2nd spots were a tough call. Mr Rockstar's Corum was a fantastic piece of work. By far this entry has the best use of normal maps in the entire competition. The high res work is outstanding, the texturing is well done and the specularity and lighting brings out the model without making it seem too glossy. This piece would look at home with some of the best CG work you see in games currently. The weakness I felt here was the lack of originality in the design. This character was pretty well thought out and executed but still retained the sci-fi feel of quake, Gears of War, Unreal, Halo etc. You know things in general people are used to seeing, on a whole I think with the broad set of rules the design could have been a bit more inspired. Regardless this model still gives the general more then enough character to allow me to envision him as a seriously evil antagoist. 2nd Runner Up (polycount) - Brood by Tim Appleby Brood is another well executed normal mapped entry. The technical implementation of the character is top notch with an excellent high poly model, and good textures. At first glance I dismissed the concept of the character a generic Quake cyber demon. However under closer inspection a lot of the intresting bits of character become apparent. The weapons and rider are especially creative and I like the idea of the weapons being shoved through a smaller demon so they can claw at you if you get close. The major reason Brood didn't make it higher on my list is while it's a creative demon it doesn't really scream "General" or "Leader" to me. I understand the concept of the little guy being in charge and riding this monstrosity. But never made it past the "Hey that's a cool one shot level boss idea", its just not a creature I can see as a major antagonist in a game. 3rd Runner Up (Cgchat) - General Spartan by Thomas guillon Fantome's general spartan is nice piece. His color choices and detail work is solid, and the modeling and additional maps are also tastefully done. Overall what drew me to this character is the design and the concept. I very much like the idea of a mechanical / spirtual mix that you get from this piece. However I think in some ways this combination was also what kept it out of the top 3. The concept had a lot more to fill in the joints of the character making them seem solid from the energy flowing through them. The final piece lacks this and b/c of that some areas seem overly fragile and underbalanced. This piece would have been more successul had there been more work to fill in these weak points with more of the suggestion of energy holding this guy together . Other then that overall very strong entry. 4th 5th Runner Up (Tie) (Cgchat/ Polycount) - General Olahbrachen by Mike Kime & General Kuda by Brian Parnell There are so many good entries in this comp its really hard to place people below the top two. However 2 pieces really stood out to me as a matched pair. Both of the aquatic generals just work together. They are both strong pieces with good texture work modeling and decent normal maps. Both have strong character and unique features, but the thing that sells them is the fact that they really are a matched pair. Even if these wasn't the intent, the two pieces easily work to tell two sides of a story and I could see them as the oposing sides of a war. With this in mind I have to give them both props for equally good models that play off each other. Even if you never intended them to do so. Secret Level: Eric Chyn - Next Gen Character Artist - Secret Level It was tough to nail it down to just 5. There were plenty of pieces that I thought were very well done and deserve recognition. Unfortunately, I have to narrow it down to just 5. 5th place Entry by Jordan [TinMan] Walker War General's name: General Azazel Excellent work. He feels like he belongs on the front lines of an epic battle. It's hard to get a sense of scale from him though. 4th Place Entry by Mike Kime War General's name: General Olahbrachen This was a nice change from the other entries. I like the underwater feel to it. I also thought he took good advantage of the normal map. 3rd place Entry by Tim Appleby War General's name: Brood This was disturbing but still cool. I definitely liked this one. The arms were pretty strange but it all worked. It's a great job on the textures as well as the normal map. 2nd place Entry by Andy Nisbet War General's name: Chief Beef I love this character. He oozes style and personality. All aspects of this model were done extremely well, from the concepts to the final render. His skin was top notch. 1st place Entry by Vitaliy Naymushin War General's name: General Corum I think this is the winner of the competition. It's easy to imagine him with legions behind him and he has a sense of history. The texture is nicely painted and he's clearly taken advantage of the normal map. This is outstanding work. Chris Kniffen - Senior 3d Artists - Secret Level 5th place: Entry by Chris [Rats78] Brincat War General's name: General Dmytrov I really liked the simplicity of this, yet at the same time, the textures make it look great. Could have used a bit more colour, but I thought it was well done. Nice original design. 4th place: Entry by Richie [Klockwerk] Marella War General's name: General Grel of Kimaraa Overall very nice, but could have been a bit higher res mesh with some more detail, and a more original design (although I do like it alot). Love the textures, clean mesh, concept art, and nice render. 3rd place: Entry by Vitaliy [rawkstar] Naymushin War General's name: General Corum Although I dont care for this design, I thought he does look like a general. The amount of talent that went into this is great, nice model, detailed textures and normal maps, and final render, even though it looks like alot of typical video game characters, like something I've seen before. Great work though! 2nd place: Entry by Andy [mr kite] Nisbet War General's name: Chief Beef I'm a sucker for this style of character. Well executed. Great model and textures. I wish he would have done more in the render, like a more active background and/or atmosphere, but I still love it. I think it could have even been better if he stuck closer with his original concept art. 1st place: Entry by Brian Parnell War General's name: General Kuda This is a great concept, and beautifully executed. It has fantastic character and originality. Love the textures and lighting in the final render. Probably could have pushed the normal map detail more, but overall I think it's great. Iron Lore Entertainment: Brian Jones - Senior Artist - Iron Lore Entertainment First: General Corum By: rawkstar This contest was custom made for the skill set Vitaliy possesses. He's been working on similar content for a long time now so when this contest began I knew he would be a heavy favorite. Well he certainly didn't disappoint. Vitaliy's entry nailed all aspects of the brief. His character screams futuristic General and the technical skill demonstrated was leaps and bounds ahead of the mass majority of entries. He really pushed the limit of the spec. Second: Chief Beef By: mr kite Andy by far had the strongest design in the comp. My first place bounced back and forth multiple times. Chief Beef is my personal favorite aesthetically, but once you break everything down to the brief Vitaliy's entry just edges it out. Beef is extremely well executed. From the concept to the final model there simply isn't anything you can fault. Third: Roderick Murder Cholden & Jon Jones For an entry that seamed to start out as a joke Roderick Murder turned out to be one of my favorites. He screams general and it's amazing how far the creative team was able to push the spec. A very fun entry which was well executed. Forth: General Xemakos By: Mop & Tully What I loved about MoP and Tully's entry is the Star Trek/Wars Sci Fi feel of they're entry. Where most entries would fit into Quake or Doom 3, Xemakos looks like something strait out of a Sci Fi television series. Aesthetically it was refreshing to see something more of a subtle side. He isn't bombarded by an overabundance of unnecessary detail. Sometimes the best designs are the simplest ones. I really like the softness of the mount but feel there should have been more contrast. While it should definitely tie into the rider, it should also be able to have its own identity. The skintone should have been pushed a bit more away from the rider. Fifth place was extremely hard to choose. In the end it was a tie: General Kuda By: Modeling_man Brian's entry actually says General more than the other Tim's. What holds it back is that there really isn't a since of the future with this character. He would fit in pretty much any time line you wanted. He really lacks any tech at all. Reading the brief and the criteria that the contest organizers gave us to judge by he just doesn't have all the requirements to put him solid as my fifth place. I defiantly think he tied his character into his base better than any of the other entries. General Brood By: Spacemonkey Tim Appleby's entry is extremely well executed technically and aesthetically. This creature is something strait out of Doom or Quake. Unfortunately Brood does not scream general to me. This entry only says grunt. I know that technically the little guy is supposed to be the general but it really only comes off as something tacked on to squeeze by the spec. If there was a bit more thought put into the "Commander/General" side of this character then it might have been much higher on my list. Joe Mirabello - Artist - Iron Lore Entertainment 1st: rawkstar/Vitaliy Naymushin: First place was a hard decision, but ultimately it has to go to this piece. No other entries say 'Commander' or 'general' as much as this one, and it's beautifully done all around. The concept and the final both feel very consistent with each other and the level of detail is really impressive. I kind of wish that there was a bit more thought put into the pedestal and backdrop, but that's not really related to the character work. I love the color scheme on this! 2nd: mr kite/Andy Nisbet: This almost snagged first for me..in fact, I personally prefer Mr. Kite's treatment of normal maps.. I have no idea how he gets such a soft non-plastic feel to them...his stuff looks too 'good' to be normal mapped (Heh.. I'm not really a fan of the standard normal map look) Putting it up side by side with Rockstar's though, well, Rockstar's General just seems a bit more 'Commander'-ish, and Kite's feels a bit more 'Frontline Grunt/Tank'. Since that was asked to be one of our main judging criteria it has to be the tiebreaker in this case for me. All around though there's nothing but awesomeness happening with this model, and it's a shame I couldn't give two first place votes. 3rd: Fantome/Thomas Guillon: Something about this piece really stands out for me... she doesn't necessarily feel as commanding as some of the other entries, but I love the strange robot-Greek combination, and the attention to detail is nice throughout. I'm not quite sold on the 'electric' bolt things, or how she's holding up all that weight on those tiny ankle-cables, but it's still an all around impressive piece. 4th: Spacemonkey/Tim Appleby: so this piece is realllllly a throwback to quake2...I'm a sucker for hyperviolet grotesque characters...and something about a little ugly dude playing pilot to a giant uglier dude seems very 'General' to me.. like Krang from TMNT or something. He really feels like a game's 'Big Boss', which is good. I don't care what anyone says about the quake era 'feel' being hackneyed these days... I love it! 5th: Faz222/Anthony Ferrandiz: Choosing fifth place was almost as hard as choosing first for me, there's a ton of great pieces that I wanted badly to put up here, but ultimately Fazz222's felt the most like a 'leader'. I could really picture this guy kicking butt on both the battlefield and the command room. The design is effective and powerful, and the colors work nicely. I like the weird hex treatment on the blue-glow-y bits. It would be nice to see a bit more sharpness in the texture work, but that doesn't hold this piece back from being strong in the end. Random comments: GhostRider - I love how this turned out. I feel the wings were holding back the piece a little, but I love the rest of it! This is one of the nicest painting jobs you've done! Sectaurs and Guass...I have no idea what the hell that is, but it's rad looking. 'Long Range Excrement' sounds like an interesting form of artillery. 3DSK: Peter Levius - 3d@3d.sk 1. General Oracle: She is smart and sexy so the troops swould do anything for her. Is she also able to see the future? It's probably no accident that her name is Oracle :) From the artistic point of view she has it all. She is tall, she got the bunch of cyber implants, big wand and 5 blue glows. Perfect :) 2. General Brood Nobody would ever disobey this guy. Try to not folow his orders and he will use your head as a silencer for his gun. You can feel the raw power and rage. However the little guy at the back of his head can take care of strategy while he is drinking blood of his enemies :) 3. General Corum This is how would Michelangelo portrait devil if he could see in to the year 3006. And as we all know devil is pretty strong leader capable opf everything. Will he cross his sword with general Saraphel? 4. General Saraphael Wow, angels are back by the year 3006. I am pretty sure that there will be judgement day by that time so he is on the right place at the right time. You cannot do wrong with the wings and huge sword. And I believe he can see the fight condition prety clearly from the sky. 5. General Roderick Murder Big fat slimy thing?with tank implant, huge guns and chicks in shiny leather? Yes!
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