Dominance War IV : General Discussion

#41

Hi,

Just had a minor question, it there more then one mini challenge, other the protait ones, i read somewhere that there is suppose to be 2 of them, not sure if its true, thanks in advance

Cheers

Rup

#42

hey
its allow to upload General in CG showcase gallery after upload finall image on DW?
or is some restriction about uploaded chaallenge image?

sorry for my english.

#43

I havent been able to find out, is there another 9 day comp before the main one starts on March 12th? The CGT article a while ago said ‘mini comps’, I just assumed there was 2.

edit - think ive found the answer, no second mini comp :slight_smile: Bring on the main one!

#44

Hi, is there a gallery where you can see all the final submited arts from every forum?

#45

or we at lest should make a thread where you only post your final art.

#46

ummmm… http://www.gameartisans.org/contests/minis/view_entries_cgsociety_3d_1.html ??

& http://www.gameartisans.org/contests/minis/view_entries_cgsociety_2d_1.html .

#47

Got it, thanks for the reply.

#48

God damnit… I was too late. I can’t believe I missed the deadline for submission.

#49

Thanks Seven,

Thats sucks though, but on to the main event, cheers!

Rup

#50

Hey Guys.

Does anyone know if for the main challenge we will have to set up our own threads or is it going to be in one main thread like the mini challenge?

By the way does anyone know how I could find out more on how to import an OBJ from 3ds max into mud box? I created a mesh and got the obj into mudbox but I can’t subdivide it over level 2 without mudbox crashing.

Thanks

Yone

#51

voting will start soon for the mini challenge, and i will start posting threads for the main challenge once i get final info from the DWIV guys.

#52

Hey, this usually means that you have some overlapping verts and/or verts that are not welded correctly. The way I always fix it is to go back into 3DS Max, put an edit poly modifier on top of your stack and poke around until you find and fix the verts.

Hope that helps. :slight_smile:

#53

I guess I got in the game a bit late, and apparently missed a lot.

The main challenge is on march 12th it looks like, does that mean all the mini challenges are over and done with?

This is my first dom war, and I must have jumped in at the wrong time …

Any info = helpful, please provide :slight_smile:

Thanks

#54

So, the main big challenge starts march 12 ? Is that correct ?

#55 
yeah, looks like it on the website;) but lets wait and see, im sure we will get informed soon?
[http://www.gameartisans.org/dominancewar/index.htm](http://www.gameartisans.org/dominancewar/index.htm)

im kinda excited & nervous about the main challenge! looking forward to it tho ; )
#56

I entered two previous Dominance Wars and, while I didn’t win anything, they were hugely educational and they really made me push my personal limits. However, they’re not easy to enter and finish for first-timers, so I thought I’d throw together some info for people entering the first time on how things are generally organized.

[b]ENTERING THE COMPETITION:[/b]

You need three things to enter Dominance War:

1. An account at whatever forum you're supporting (CGTalk, Polycount, GameArtisans, etc.)

2. An account at GameArtisans.org so you can enter the contest, upload thumbnails of updates to your entry and access areas you need an account for otherwise.
  1. A thread on the forum you represent where you post updates of your entry.
    You need to post constant updates to get feedback and stay in the competition. If the judges don’t see that you’ve updated your thread regularly, you may be dropped from judging because they might think you are just using old work or otherwise cheating. There will be threads started at GameArtisans.org as well as the forum you represent that will explain the process of entering the competition, so don’t worry too much if you don’t understand all the rules right away.
[b]
PARTICIPATING IN THE COMPETITION:[/b]

Dominance War is, even more than a competition, an event where artists from around the world can come together online to help each other and push our art forward. Because of this, work-in-progress threads are ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL. A thread where you post all your work from preliminary sketches through to the finished product, where you let others comment on your work to help you, offer encouragement and critiques, or just let you know if they think your stuff is cool lets you get new perspectives on your work.

Getting fresh perspectives on your work is necessary to creating something that kicks monumental ass because it lets you see things you've created from a new, different or better point of view. This can help you iron out design issues, work through technical problems (oh, ho ho, the technical problems you'll have...) and give you encouragement if you don't feel like your entry is going as well as it should. To get new perspectives, we have work-in-progress threads for each competitor where you'll post your updates. A teacher once told me to submit work for critique "early and often," and that's  some of the best advice I've ever received when it comes to art. Even if you don't keep design concepts your earliest sketches, make sure to post them so that others can at least learn from your design process.

[b]
FINISHING THE COMPETITION:[/b]

Even if you feel your current skills aren't on par with the best out there, do not, under any circumstances, allow this to stop you from working. Finishing a piece, even if you don't win, is far more important than winning because it will teach you things for next time that will come in handy later in other game art pursuits.

Even if the end product isn't something you're very proud of, being able to say you finished Dominance War is still a huge thing if only for personal pride. It's no easy task to start, work on and finish an entry for a contest of this size and duration, so don't worry about your entry as long as you finish and you get it in on time.

That brings me to my next and final point:

[b]Dominance War, for all its absolutely cutthroat competition and massive creative outpouring, is as much about time management as it is about art.[/b] When the competition starts, you'll have a limited window of opportunity in which you can get to work and finish. When it comes time to enter, the [i][b]first[/b][/i] thing you should do, even before you start working on concepts or preliminary designs is to [b]write yourself a schedule[/b], give yourself deadlines you need to meet and STICK TO THEM. Give yourself a deadline for when you should be done concepting, done modeling (one deadline each for high and low-detail versions of your model if you're entering the 3D section), done texturing and done with final presentation.

Manage your time wisely, give yourself margins of error, make sure you have realistic expectations and [b]MAKE YOUR FINAL DEADLINE SET A WEEK BEFORE THE SUBMISSION DEADLINE.[/b] Making sure you have enough time to tweak and polish your entry before submitting it (hopefully not at the last minute) is absolutely essential to making sure you don't have to rush your work and turn it in when you're still not finished with it.



I hope this is helpful to anybody who reads it. Good luck to all who enter! See you on the other side.
#57

Good post, Swizzle - thanks for that. I attempted to enter last year and got off to an okay start, but more or less chickened out in the middle of it. I intend to finish this year. And I will do exactly as you propose: Making a schedule and sticking to it, and not just running headlong into it. Thing like this shouldn’t be taken lightly…I am not entering because I believe I’ve any chance of winning, I’m entering because I want to be a part of the whole wonderful thing - so many creative minds going together, so much amazing input and so much inspiration. Can’t wait to get started. :slight_smile:

#58

I’ll second that emotion!!!
Great post Swizzle! Thanks :thumbsup:

#59

great advice Swizzle! it will really help noobs like me :slight_smile: I will definitely enter the main war, hope i finish…

Go CGsociety… Get ready for war… Sharpen those weapons (or pens) lol… :slight_smile:

#60

Does anyone have any ideas about what the main challenge might be about this time?
Any inside info or maybe just a speculation or two?

I can’t wait.