After a great deal of deliberation, these are the five winning entries from the Podium Browser render contest! Great job and congratulations!
Some info about the judging process: Truthfully, there were several entries toward the top of our rankings that could have been selected for any of the five spots. The first round of judging scored each image on six categories: Use of Podium Browser, lighting, texturing, creativity, detail, and overall impact.
This narrowed the field to fewer than 10 candidates to be considered for prizes. There was a lot of discussion about how we wanted to prioritize our rankings. Since the contest was about both SU Podium AND Podium Browser, we felt it was important for the winners to represent both. We didn't want to simply choose "technically impressive" images if it meant that a better or more interesting use of Podium Browser would miss. Likewise, we didn't want to award an image for its use of Podium Browser if we though the rendering technique could have been improved. Ultimately, we selected five images that struck a great balance—not only beautiuflly rendered, but also thoughfully designed, using the Podium Browser library in interesting, creative, even unexpected ways.
- Special mentions: Competition was tight at the top, and there were a few additional submissions we didn't want to go unrecognized. Beneath the five winners we have included two "special mentions." We felt these images used Podium Browser exceptionally well and were very strong entries, but just missed out on placing in the top five.
- All winners will also receive a Podium Walker license: We wanted for the special mentions to receive something more than just a passing nod, and decided a fair way to do this would be to award a Podium Walker license to all seven winners including the two "special mention" picks. There is a significant Podium Walker update coming soon, so stay tuned!
So without further ado, here are our top five finishers and some special mentions:
1st place: Jamie Wood
Honorable Mention: Tanya Nadeau
Honorable Mention: Joe Pretorius - 3D Visualizer at John Brown Architecture
Special mentions:
Clarence Beaks
Dany Robin
Clarence Beaks: We loved the idea behind this image and the implied narrative. Clarence made great use of several Browser categories to depict the whirlwind effect that young children can have on a family home.
Dany Robin: We all admired the thought and effort that went into designing the space, the extensive (and creative) use of Podium Browser, and the hint of a surrounding environment to give the image context.