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The rules for the 2004 Blender F1 Challenge are relatively the same as years past. The theme is to create what you feel to be the Formula One car of the future. It can be one day, one year, or one hundred years! If you look at all of the past favorites, you will see that these are no ordinary F1 cars. Some touch the ground and others do not. What you do is use your imagination. For your benefit, please let me share my feelings regarding previous years contests:

What I learned from previous Blender F1 Challenges
If you take a closer look at the entries from previous Challenges (links above) that got the most voting points, what do they have in common? Attention to detail! Lighting, texturing, composition and precision modelling made these entries stand out from the rest. The time spent on these models really shows in their quality.
Textures! No doubt the best models had the best texturing. Texturing makes the model look real. It is amazing what a properly placed decal or detailed reflection map can do to make a model come alive.
Lighting! The best finishers also had lighting that showed the important features and added to the overall scene while maintaining a realistic feel. Several entries, in my opinion, were underlit. A model could be the most awesome creation ever but that will not matter if we cannot see it!
Composition! Composition is how the objects are placed in the scene. Take a close look at the top Challenge entries and you will see that the composition is very similar. Three-quarter angles from a slightly higher perspective. Also look in any car magazine and you will see similar composition. People are natually used to seeing certain types of objects from a particular point of view. Cars are one of them.
Listen to the Community! Many of the images submitted to the F1 Challenge were posted on the Community forums for critique before they were sent to me. Based on what was suggested by fellow Blender users, many of the entries were modified for the better (anyone remember how many updates we saw of XWarrior's winning entry last year?). The Community can be an awesome tool to help you make your images better if you listen to them.
One additional observation, if I may. Never underestimate the effect of having your image tell a story. Several of the entries had simple stories built into them and that can give them a human touch. Take some time to thumb through any magazine and look at the advertisments. The best ones always tell some sort of story however simple it may be.....


Now... a word about the rules. The Blender F1 Challenge has always been about using Blender and to have fun at the same time. I have always strived for fair and even rules to give every Blender user from newbie to guru a chance at placing well. That said, the rules...

All images must be created and RENDERED (Blender Internal or Yafray) in any officially released Blender version that is available for download. Plug-ins for Blender are allowed. No post-processing in any external application (i.e. Photoshop, GIMP...) is allowed. Entries must be submitted as a JPEG image no larger than 1024 pixels wide or high. Either send an email attachment to curtis@seesystems.com or email a web link to the files so I can download them (preferred method). Entries can be updated at any time before the contest ends so do not be afraid to make those last minute tweaks. The top 5 in contest-end voting will be asked to provide .BLEND files.

The contest ends Saturday, May 15, 2004 at midnight (just before it turns to Sunday) Pacific coast USA time. This will give you plenty of time to create a masterpiece!

Prizes (thank you to Ton Roosendaal for the help arranging the prizes for this year's Challenge):

  • 1st price: Manual 2.3, Texture CD and T-shirt plus a full color poster of your entry
  • 2nd price: Manual 2.3, Texture CD plus a full color poster of your entry
  • 3rd price: Manual 2.3 plus a full color poster of your entry
  • The important thing here is to have FUN! NOW, rev up your brain cells and start thinking to the future of Formula One!!
    Thanks!
    CurtisS