MCprep Version Artwork Contest

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Now announcing the first ever MCprep version artwork contest! Please read this whole page first, but quick buttons below to enter:

Theme

The theme is “MCprep 3.4 new features“. This is a still render contest to get submissions for and decide upon the winner for the MCprep 3.4.2 version artwork. There will be three judges.

Who is the contest for

This is a contest made for Minecraft content creators who use Blender and MCprep. It is open to anyone in the world!

When does the contest start?

Immediately! For the record, that’s Monday, September 5th 2022. It runs until Friday, September 23rd 2022 at 9am PDT (that’s morning US eastern time). Entries submitted after this time are not eligible to win, and may not be included in the contest summary highlights.

Creative Constraints

There are special constraints for this contest:

• You must use at least 1 new feature since MCprep 3.4
• You must use the provided map in some way (download the map here)
• Must be a 16:9 aspect ratio (1920×1080 preferred, but at least 1280×720)

The Rules

In addition to the above creative constraints, there are these practical rules too:

• You must be willing to share your final, packed (or zipped with relative paths) blend file. If you win, your files will be added to https://bit.ly/MCprepSplash
• All entries must be submitted by the deadline. If you submit past the deadline, you are not eligible to win.
• You are limited to ONE entry. If you enter multiple times, only your latest entry will be considered for winning and included in the showcase.
• You must make the render yourself, and it must be made for this contest (no reposting or remastering old work – see Q&A for more details and examples)
• It must be made in Blender
• Use of MCprep is technically optional, but you would be highly rated down if you don’t use it – see judging criteria.
• Minimum resolution is 1280×720
• Entries must be still renders, no animations
• The 3D render must come from Blender – it’s ok if you edit in photoshop or another software as well. It is not ok if you only use Blender as a reference and did a complete paint-over, or used another 3D software to render the primary image.
• Submit your entry via the google form provided below
• Keep entries family friendly – no explicit, overly gory, overtly sexual, or inappropriate material. If in doubt, ask the judges.
• You must join the MCprep discord server, so we can identify by username and ensure no duplicate entries. We will also use this to reach out if there are any concerns with entries regarding the above rules.

Judging and Criteria

We have three judges for this contest: TheDuckCow, Standing Pad Animations, and zNight. Thank you judges!

Judges will use the following criteria when voting for their top choices:

• Overall Splash Art production quality | This includes render polish, composition, and any other techniques that add to the overall production quality and aesthetic. Furthermore, it needs to work well as splash art. This means leaving some amount of “negative space” for us to place the MCprep version text on top (see releases for how this has looked in the past).
• Showcasing MCprep new features | This is a render contest for MCprep updates after all! You will be explicitly judged against your use of the new features in MCprep 3.4.0 (check the change logs). That means bonus points for using effects, new mobs, and new models like the spyglass, and more.
• MCprep basics | Are your materials non-blurry? Did you utilize meshswap? Are you using a variety of mobs (including self-made) or item spawning? Do you have good MC sky lighting, or light-emitting blocks from meshswap spawner? Show off what you learned bit.ly/MCprepTutorials!
• Originality | Don’t just make the first thing that comes to your head, think of something creative or unique! Be creative.

There naturally will be 1 winner for this contest, with no further sub categories.

Stating the obvious: Be fair and don’t try to sway your judges! Big thanks up front for this team offering to not only help judge the entries, but also help answer questions on the discord server.

Rewards

As there is no country restriction, the below rewards are fair and feasible to deliver for anyone who enters or wins.

• Splash art recognition | Your splash art will be used for the next MCprep release (it might not be right away), with credit written into the image itself (we can add that later, so don’t feel the need to bake that into your image directly)
• Hall of fame | Permanent spot on TheDuckCow’s contest hall of fame site, to be established when winners are announced.
• Feature Update video | The winners will be highlighted up front in next MCprep feature update video, the same video where new MCprep changes are announced. This may not happen immediately after the contest is over, be aware.
• Social media blasting | All winners will be given some love and shared on social media from TheDuckCow!
• Call with TheDuckCow | Chat with TheDuckCow on a personalized half hour call! You can use the time however you like, such as to elicit feedback on past work, hold a one-off private blender lesson, or even just hang out

Note that everyone who enters will be highlighted as part of the results showcase. All entrants will get full credit and hopefully grow their audience and skills some!

Contest Submissions

You can enter your submissions below:

Note: you should directly upload your render (image file, no blend files) via this form directly. This will streamline the judging process. This form requires you to have a google account to upload the file, you can create a temporary one here if needed in order to upload your entry. You are free of course to also publicly share your splash screen publicly, before or after the contest ends.

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Questions?

Please direct all questions through the contest-discuss channel of the official MCprep Discord server. The judges will be active there and ready to respond to specific questions.