Check our new course: "Master Cinematic Storytelling in Blender"! 🚀
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Learn more
Check our new course: "Master Cinematic Storytelling in Blender"! 🚀
25th CG Boost Art Challenge for 3D Artists - Improve your 3D Skills!
For our 25th challenge, we received 137 submissions with all kinds of creative and stunning futuristic vehicles!
Our jury had a good but also hard time judging all the great accepted submissions. Each judge voted for their own top 5 artworks. We also picked three random winners for the challenge raffle, see all the winners below.
Regrading the prizes, we will contact the winners during the next few days.
Congrats to the winners and honorable mentions, and a big THANK YOU to our sponsor and everyone for taking part!
Now scroll down to see the winners.
We’re congratulating Philip Hofmänner for winning the first place!
Follow Philip:
Website
“The world is destroyed, but mankind has found a way to transport itself into the future with a portal. The idea is that nature could have recovered after a few million years. Will mankind take this second chance and do better this time?
I started without a draft directly with a rough model of the portal in C4D. After that I defined an interesting camera composition, and then I built everything else around it.
I’ve been working on this picture in my free time alongside client projects whenever I could find a few free hours. I don’t know exactly how many hours but if I had to guess it was maybe around 20h.
After years of working in the advertising industry and architectural visualizations, I wanted to finally build an online portfolio with more personal work. That’s why I participated in this challenge to get some attention. On Instagram and Artstation I will soon upload some stuff. Follow me if you like. Thanks!“
Created using C4D, Corona-Renderer and Photoshop.
Lukas Walzer: “Wow, what an epic picture! It’s impressive both in detailing and overall composition, whose simplicity makes everything look even more massive.”
Gregory Smith: “A spectacular image, rich in detail and perfectly communicating a complex narrative. A superb piece of environment work.”
Ozana Nemčanin: “This work is insane. It is epic. So many details that are backing up the story and also the elements are extremely well-balanced. Just wow! Bravo Philip!”
Aidy Burrows: “What a great epic scene! Really liking the contrast between the green lush environment beyond the portal and the blueish rundown counter environment.”
Wybren van Keulen: “I love the double story in this dystopian image! Bulldozers and excavator in the lead…”
Masha Bazueva: “I absolutely love everything about this artwork! The author drives your attention through the scene, and you immediately understand the story. Then, after a first look you can go through the image and discover the details…like the destroyed city in the background that tells about how bad the situation is (maybe there was a war?), the bulldozers in front of the crowd that immediately start to change the recovered world make me wonder if the mankind learned the lesson. I really would like to know more about what happened and how the story continues.”
Ewa Wierbik: “First of all, the amount of detail is humongous. I like the idea of a dystopian, destroyed city and a big portal to a new, probably better world (apart from the fact that excavators are already there). Clear difference between the old (gray, dark, dirty and probably collapsing) and new world (green, alive). The author had a lot of work, and did it great.”
Darko Vucenik: “After chocking the Earth in pollution to a point of no return, it is time to evacuate to another planet. Storytelling in this piece is great. I love how the ruined industrial landscape frames the wormhole gate. There is so much detail in the image, yet it doesn’t overwhelm the viewer. Technical execution is excellent.”
Christoph Werner: “A very nice work. The motive fits the task very well and tells a story. I like the color composition and how the artist leads the viewers eye in this picture.”
Ken Liang: “Amazing in all regards! First of all, this is a very interesting concept. Secondly, I just love the sheer amount of details that are jam packed into this artwork. Last but not least, the execution is flawless, from the modeling, shading, lighting, composition, effects, to all the post work.”
Marius Iatan: “A different interpretation of ‘transport’ and a render of a dynamic scene having a story to tell.”
Amina Khan: “Marvellous scatter detail with very little overlap and repetition. Striking use of color to tell an intense story.”
We’re congratulating Romain BUSSY for winning the second place!
“My first idea was to make a vehicle that uses plastic waste thrown back into the seas as fuel. Not as an ecological solution but by the absence of oil. Plastic waste would then be a paying and necessary resource to operate vehicles. In addition, global warming having raised the water level, it seemed logical to me to create a “canadaire” (rescue plane carrying water) as futuristic transport.
Have a nice day!“
Created using 3ds Max.
Lukas Walzer: “Well, we’d all love a waste-sucking machine like that, wouldn’t we? (Or is it spitting the waste?) Absolutely impressive due to its epic composition, rich details and realistic color palette!”
Gregory Smith: “A very effective entry; there’s a nice sense of depth and scale in the environment, whilst the narrative is engaging with a subtly original take on the topic.”
Aidy Burrows: “This is probably a very authentic vision of the future assuming some kind of back to the future technique of converting solutions from problems. Technology grasping the cycle of life. Great composition with the snaking of the tube into the foreground emphasizing the depth.”
Wybren van Keulen: “Great use of a hot topic in the current times – turning it into the fuel of the future… I love the grey atmosphere and subdued colors, and the futuristic material of the hose adds a great bit of texture. A winner for me!”
Masha Bazueva: “Here is another great submission with a great theme. I really love how in this work the author managed to join a hard surface well-done subject to such an important topic like environmental protection and recycling. The composition is well done, it greatly drives the attention from garbage to the vehicle and allows us to observe all the details. Love the colors and the atmosphere as well, they perfectly fit the situation. Great work, I love it!”
Ewa Wierbik: “Great artwork, composition and storytelling. Nice idea of trash collector or ocean sweeper. I like the colors and mood on this render. Everything looks well-balanced. The future doesn’t look good, and you showed it in a very blunt way.”
Darko Vucenik: “It would be nice if vehicles of the future would refuel and clean up the environment at the same time. It is a very nice concept. I like the design of the craft with all the intricate engine details. Plastic filled sea is nicely done. Great texturing.”
Cedric Van der Kelen: “Realistic looking, nice shaders. The design of the craft could’ve been displayed more.”
Amina Khan: “Great art, and a great message? Sign me up! Fantastic depiction of a realistic future. Consistency in theme throughout.”
We’re congratulating Benedicto Mendoza for receiving the third place!
Follow Benedicto:
Artstation
“I made this using Blender 3.0 with the built-in Cycles-X. I wanted to test it, and it really is faster than the last version! Also used Substance Painter especially in texturing the body of the bus. This is my 1st time using the software and learned a lot about it in doing this artwork. Also used some BlenderKit trees and shrub for the background and MakeHuman for the Granny and the kids.
In the not-so-distant future when Electric batteries became obsolete. New discoveries of renewable energy now come from Crystals and its Anti-Gravity, Anti-Velocity, Carbon-Absorbing, and Oxygen emitting properties will power all the vehicles to come.
After 30 years of driving the Crystal-powered Schoolbus Mrs. Norris never getting tired to wave goodbye to every student, she takes home. Samantha waves back as she returns home coming from the Mars Intergalactic Elementary School.”
Created using Blender, Substance Painter and Photoshop.
Lukas Walzer: “I just love the goofy Sci-Fi approach in this one! This vehicle’s design is crazy for sure, but nonetheless perfectly executed and striving for plausibility. And then the setting itself is also very charming!”
Marius Iatan: “I like the ‘trike’ bus concept with the driver sitting in the front wheel. The vehicle looks futuristic enough, and yet the scene as a whole is familiar and doesn’t look out of place.”
Ozana Nemčanin: “I adore this image Benedicto made. Such a warm story behind it. It is well done. Great model, texturing, and surroundings.”
Wybren van Keulen: “An original design presented in a beautiful surrounding! The warm summer evening atmosphere really comes across with the warm lighting. Spot on!”
We’re congratulating Ben White for receiving an honorable mention!
Follow Ben:
Artstation
“I’ve been wanting to do a cyberpunk related project for a while, so this was the perfect opportunity to do so. Thought I would try a slightly more unconventional approach by putting the camera in the perspective of the driver, telling a story through the environment and contents of the car interior. Strewn about the vehicle rests the accumulated trash from many long nights surveilling suspects and chasing down leads, yet the detective presses on, pursuing his quarry in a sprawling metropolis of the future.
I had a lot of fun with this project, trying to capture a gritty retro futuristic style. One of the more enjoyable aspects was derived from creating many of my own textures from details I noticed during my daily routine. From the residue left behind in my coffee cup, to the screen on a digital Oscilloscope at my office, I was always on the lookout for more elements to incorporate into my scene, hopefully creating a more believable world.”
Created using Blender and Photoshop.
Lukas Walzer: “Some genuine Blade Runner vibes there! This image fantastically captures everything we love about old school cyberpunk: Neon colors, rain and fog, 80s chunky design, giant ads and retro UI.”
Wybren van Keulen: “This retro-futuristic scene feels like a game – it’s like you’re there behind the wheel. The neon lights combine beautifully with the rainy weather to create a colorful atmosphere.”
Martin Klekner: “I love the Bladerunner-like setting of this piece, and how it captures sci-fi film vibes. Everything from the colors to the motion blur, and slight chromatic aberration works great for me. Maybe the sky is a bit too empty for my taste, for example, some dark clouds or even taller skyscrapers hidden in mist, added to the very far background would make it even better. But overall, this piece made me look at it again and again.”
Ken Liang: “Great classic cyberpunk render – vibrant and colorful. I especially love the details that are littered all over the artwork and literally on the dashboard. Also, worth commenting on the water drops on the windshield and the motion blur, really brings the whole thing up another level. However, I only wished that more effort were spent on the hands.”
We’re congratulating Fred Soub for receiving an honorable mention!
“I first imagined an abandoned environment without having yet decided which vehicle would be my main subject. I just knew that I wanted to transform a service transport, recognizable by everyone.
I finally chose a school bus because I found it interesting to imagine a place almost destroyed, after an apocalypse, a war or an invasion, and which now resumes the school bus service for the surviving children.For the style of transport, I wanted a DIY effect, a mix between old and new technology to highlight the urgency of the transformation they had to experience.
I took advantage of this wonderful challenge to start learning Tyflow with the projection of cables or the flashes of energy for example.”
Created using 3ds Max, V-ray and Photoshop.
Gregory Smith: “This image presents a really nice sense of place, with a lot of interest in the main asset and the environment generally.”
Marius Iatan: “A jury-rigged bus if I ever saw one. However, there is coherence in the scene and quite a lot of detail. Well done!”
Ewa Wierbik: “I like the idea of the world after some disaster, gives me “War of the world” vibes, but in the future. I especially like the amount of details and nice composition. I’m not entirely sure I would have got on that bus, but it looks really nice.”
Martin Klekner: “Really like the dirtiness and the sense of scale in this piece. The floor could maybe use a bit more detail, since it takes up so much space in the composition, but the flying bus and the background are top-notch!”
Cedric Van der Kelen: “Cool design, too much noise in the textures, makes your mid-level details unreadable”
