Unity Community Art Challenge - November 2014 - The Magical Crate

Unity Technologies is happy to announce it's next "Unity Community Forum Challenge"! Everybody is welcome to join in and show other fellow artist what they can do and compete for the First Place!

This months Challenge is themed "The Magical Crate". Most every game has crates! They are so essential yet often overlooked! Craft a "Crate" that makes a difference! Let your creativity flow and show us your version of a "Magical Crate". Have a look at the various RPG games for inspiration and reference and then use your imagination to surprise us!

As a result we want to see a beautiful small Diorama/Turntable of your "Magical Crate"!
Post Work in Progress Screenshots or even use Sketchfab to present your work in progress. See rules below.



1. Participants will have till the end of the month (November, 30th) to submit their Final Entry

2. Final Entry must be a "Diorama/Turntable" showcasing the theme "The Magical Crate". We encourage you to use Sketchfab to post your final result here on the forum.

3. Polycount Limitation for this Challenge is 20.000 Vertices. Only ever use as many polygons as necessary to define a shape! This is a game art challenge after all! Make use of normal maps etc to give your textures/meshes more detail.

4. You can use normal maps, specular maps etc to enhance your work visually. Perhaps try to combine textures onto one texture sheet if possible for efficiency, however it's not a requirement. There is no restriction on how many textures you can use but keep in mind that this is a game art challenge so don't go too crazy.

5. Entrants must post at least 1 WIP (Work in Progress) Screenshot before submitting their Final Entry. We suggest you post more and get feedback! Please visit https://help.sketchfab.com/hc/en-us/sections/200485707-Uploading-3D-Models for further information on how to use and upload to Sketchfab.

6. Your final entries must be submitted through Sketchfab. Please tag your work with the words: "UCAC-3".

7. No previous work can be used. This essentially means that you should create everything from scratch!

8. No nudity or gross violence please! Keep it clean and fun for everyone!




This month the great folks from Sketchfab are sponsoring our contest once again! The winners will receive the following:

1st Place : 1 Year of Sketchfab Pro and Cardboard VR
2nd Place: 1 Year of Sketchfab Pro
3rd Place: 6 Months of Sketchfab Pro

We hope to see many of you participate! Let's get this started!

 

Wow, nothing comes to mind. This might prove tricky. Never given so much thought to a crate. xD

 

think i should participate in this one too? xD

 

Something like this ?

 

Being creative is part of the challenge Almost anybody can make a wooden crate but making something that is "different" visually and functionally isn't always so easy. Curious to see what people come up with.

 

Yes we're just waiting for Thomas to announce the Unity Pro prize.

So you mean an actual crate, not chest? Good god I got nothing. D'x

 

@ChrisSch I think you misunderstood. A "Chest" is usually something that contains valuable items but I'd say it's fine, so Chests of any kind are allowed. Either one can hold items.

 

Hmmm... I'll have to get some idea-fuel* and have a think about this one...

*also know as coffee

 

I liked your little write up on your website in regards to the last challenge! Nice read. Always like to hear/read what people think afterwards (or in between for that matter).

 

Can't say I have time to participate, yet again, but a few ideas that anyone is free to steal or iterate upon.

Pandora's Crate
Tardis Crate (It's bigger on the inside)
Crateception / Russian Doll Crate
Crazy Antikythera type mechanism with lots of animated gears and moving parts as the crate opens.

 

I had something sort of like the last type in mind, but I'm too busy atm, maybe I'll have time later in the month. xD

 

Thanks I kind of rushed through talking about the texturing part since I didn't have any WIP shots of it at that point - far to stressed over finishing it to remember something like that! I've also been a secret stalker of your blog for some time now

On topic, I think I've come up with an idea. I'll poke some polys around in the next couple of days and see what happens!

 

Hmm - I have an idea for this one, might just compete this time! (if I get the time...)

 

Very exciting! Interesting topic; the first thing that comes to mind is the Mario Kart item box...


Good luck everyone! Don't forget to tag your models on Sketchfab so we can find them all

 

I am thinking of a crystal treasure chest or something like that.
Research start this week hopefully

 

Here is a sketch of the idea which pops into my mind while reading the contest rules.



Feedback appreciated!

 

Sounds cool, maybe I'll actually learn some 3d modelling while giving this a go

 

@Frogames - Now that's what I am talking about mate! Love that concept/idea!!! This will be fun to see it come together in 3D! Bring it on mate!

 

Looks great @Frogames, can't wait to see it in 3D.

My concept is in a similar direction - something you don't want to let out of a crate rather than something nice and shiny. Nothing to show yet though... but aiming to keep my entry smaller than my last one!

 

Hey guys! This challenge looks awesome! I've been brewing a bunch of cool ideas for fantasy chests lately, this is awesome timing!! Its my first time doing a challenge here so I have a couple questions:

1- Is there a special place for me to post my progress? should I make a work in progress thread or just post here?

2- Is this chalange as big as the previous one? can I focus on the chest and a small surface or am I required to make a big scene like @NomadKing made last month? Really awesome by the way!

3- And lastly, am I able to sell my asset on the unity asset store once the challenge is over?

Can't wait to see what you guys are all going to make! TO THE DRAWING BOARD!

 

@Frogames My idea is somewhat similar as well... I'll post some WIPs in a bit, but I've already made some progress on the sculpt!

 

@Rosie Posie - Hey there Rosie! Welcome to the challenge Well, let me answer your questions....

1. You can just post your WIP's right here in this thread. Screenshots, video links, Sketchfab all allowed.

2. It's totally up to you how much effort you want to put in. If you want to go big go big! Big doesn't necessarily mean that it's going to have an advantage over a smaller scenery/Diorama. It really matters how well things are executed. Originality is also going to earn plus points.

3. But of course! If anything, people should see this as a great way to create a new portfolio piece or to sell the final asset in the Asset Store!! I'd do the same

Hope that answered your questions.

 

I was thinking of a very impressive and detailed invisible box

 

@shaderbytes what if it's only visible from the inside?!?

 

@Sketchfab hehe im going to try and think up something tricky!

 

Hoo
@shaderbytes and @Sketchfab Why not use the back-face culling in a clever way!! could give out a cool effect! like a translucent ghost box that's only visible from the inside!! Sounds like quite a challenge!


So here's what i got so far! I keep going for the mimics for some reason... Let me know what you think!

 

Nice concepts @Rosie Posie

The bottom drawing brought this guy back to my memory :



If you dont know , its from the game Rayman Origins.

 

Love those concepts @Rosie Posie, especially the guy at the bottom!

Thanks for the compliment about my last entry - the next one won't be as big, it's just my "crate" on a little platform

PS: Your lanterns and candles on Sketchfab look awesome!

 

I'd love to see a 20,000 vertex invisible box!

 

Here is my rough concepts so far.

I will spend more time on these concepts between now and this weekend.

Adding to my porfolio would be my aim.

 

Its going to be stellar , here is a picture of my WIP :



Ok I better stop now before the joke becomes stale .. I am going to make something visible for the comp though

 

Hahahaha!! @shaderbytes I was waiting for ever for your image to load! I got tired and scrolled down, you got me good!

 

Anyone got any updates?

 

Thank you for the comments.

@Rosie Posie I like your concept arts!

Another WIP

 

I think I'm going to try to give this one a go!

Got a start on a Zbrush sketch and just a quick test in toolbag2.

Magic Organic Chest -



Interested in checking out how sketchfab works with unity.

 

@VertexFiend Very impressive!

Another update

 

@VertexFiend and @Frogames both of those look great so far!

 

@VertexFiend - That's an interesting take on a "Crate"! Somewhat creepy/cool

@Frogames - That's shaping up nicely mate!

 

Wow.

 

I like the way you developed your concept!

 

@NomadKing Thank you!

@Thomas Pasieka Yes, but I'm still not happy with the colors I have choosen. What do you think?

@raven99 thank you!






Edit: finally back to the original colors and tested the Sketchfab export -> https://skfb.ly/BMpY

 

@Frogames - I like the current colors as seen in your Sketchfab WIP. It just fits the rather cartoony approach better I think. Very well done so far mate! The hand on top of the crate is a bit dark ...perhaps brighten it up some?

 

Looks great @Frogames, very fun texturing.

Here's a random shot of what I've got so far - no other info, just a mysterious looking crate with a bit of lighting!

 

@NomadKing - Well that's a start

 

@Frogames - Love the vibrant colors! It really has a great fun whimsical feel. It would be cool to see the same kind of pushed squash/stretch shapes in the crate that are in your concept. I guess it all depends if it would fit into your poly budget.

In any case . . . great work. I'm looking forward to finding some time to detail and paint up my Zb model.

 

@VertexFiend thank you for the suggestion!

Here is my entry for the contest!

 

@Frogames - Excellent job there mate! Textures and all looking very nice! Very cool entry! Congrats for finishing it up!!

 

@Thomas Pasieka thank you!

 

@Frogames - Came out great! Its cool you could work in some of those curves into the planks!

Got a little time tonight to add some color . . .

 

@VertexFiend - Looking good there! On to the next step

Where is everybody else with their entry!?