Car Render Challenge 2023 Winners Announcement

Hello everyone, It’s high time to sum up the Car Render Challenge 2023.

Also he gets the Fox Renderfarm and Render team choices.

FoxrenderFarm team: « The production details are handled perfectly, the image is colorful but not overloaded, and overall it’s an impressive piece of work ».

iRender team: « Nature has always held many mysteries and wonders that man has yet to fully explore. It seems that we have gradually forgotten this, but fortunately the work has brought back this feeling for me. The ideas are very creative and fascinating. Thank you, author! ».

Made with using Zbrush, Houdini, V-Ray, Nuke, Substance Painter.

What our jury says:

Samuel Winter: « This is amazing, and let’s face it, a bit mental too! A spider piloting a stick car with snail wheels? Count me in! The level of detail in every part of this image is fantastic. Beautiful materials on every bit of geometry, vibrant colours, and some depth of field to help frame our vehicle. The glowing mushrooms with illuminated spores not only look brilliant, but provide some nice bokeh highlights in the foreground. Not to mention the subsurface scattering on the snail’s material. Overall, a lush vibrant scene, but more importantly, interesting and engaging ».

Jacob Norris: « This is an entirely new concept of a car for me, the likes of which I have never seen and may never see again. While being incredibly creative from a conception standpoint, it is also a beautifully rendered, composed, and crafted artistic piece. This is hands down the winner for me. Great work! ».

Tom Grimes: « The vibrant colors, the amazing detail of the hairy spider and slimy slugs, and the wonderful humor of this concept made this one my choice for winner. Bold and eye catching! ».

Michal Horba: « This is funny, creative and colorful. I like it! ».

Stefan Kraus: « Love the idea of that spider controlling the snails – the colors are great, too ».

Carlos Colorsponge: « This rendering is a breath of fresh air, offering a super original and distinctive perspective. The execution is masterful, showcasing an admirable attention to detail that goes beyond mere aesthetics; it actively contributes to the storytelling ».

Chris Scubli: « The shallow depth of field and vibrant colors really sell the miniature whimsical setting. It’s a creative, funny take on the racing car, and it’s just a pleasant look overall. The particles are enough to add detail without being invasive, as the composition is clean enough around the car to lead focus to what’s important ».

Zacharias Reinhardt: « I love the creative idea here, which is very unique compared to all the other renders in this challenge. In addition to that, the rendering quality is top notch. Fantastic models, materials and lighting. My only minor complain would be, that the image feels a bit busy. But other than that, fantastic work! ».

Laurens Corijn: « Very high level modeling and rendering, unusual but well executed subject ».

Jason van Gumster: « I’m a sucker for creative spins on a challenge. This one tickles my brain and the execution on this piece is fantastic ».

Quick interview with Joshua:

Made with using Zbrush, Maya, RizomUv, Blender, Substance painter and Adobe photoshop.

What our jury says:

Xiaoyue Zhang: « The first entry that caught my attention is this one. It immediately resonated with me due to its strong connection to the theme of automotive design. The masterful craftsmanship evident in the modeling, rendering, and composition of this piece further solidified my decision. The car’s intricate materials are flawlessly presented, and the overall model is meticulously detailed, making this artwork stand out from the rest ».

Samuel Winter » « I really love the subtle lighting in this scene, the bounced light and soft shadows give the impression of an overcast day, which contributes to a feeling of realism. The materials are well crafted, and the attention to detail regarding the grime and dirt across the car and environment, cement the scene as a real place ».

Tom Grimes: « A classic image for a car render contest, but done very well with nice detail and lighting. I always like the sense of urgency that goes with a pit stop image ».

Cong Duong: « Time is always the most precious asset in every race, and the diligent and professional spirit of the support team is vividly and meticulously portrayed, with everything being expressed clearly and in detail ».

Calvin Bacon: « A beautifully executed render, with the motion blur on the pit-crew serving as the perfect enhancement to this dynamic shot. Outstanding lighting, shading, and storytelling, accompanied by a high level of detail ».

David Baylis: « Very nice composition, and great camera angle. This feels like you are living the moment and is key in a render. I really like the subtle details on the branding of the clothes, as well as the garage door in the back. Nice touch ».

Jarosław Dzedzej: « A great render capturing the dynamic scene from car races. It requires a master 3d craftsman to make such a scene, and a real car racing enthusiast to convey the action and tension of the pit stop moment. So many great details in this render. A real feast for the eyes ».

Chris Scubli: « The detailed environment and naturally-posed characters help create this snapshot of a pivotal moment in a race. It shows how much the central asset, the car, can be enhanced by everything around it. The lighting does the job without feeling overly designed. Context and complementary colors are what make this image shine for me ».

Péter Sárhidai: « Nice composition, I like the use of a yellow and the attention to details.Caught our eyes on first glimpse ».

Also the author gets Special prize from the InstaLOD team for the « Most detailed model ».

InstaLOD team: « With its moody, cinematic style and immense attention to detail, this render creates a neon-lit atmosphere ».

Made with using Maya, Guerilla, Substance 3D Painter and Nuke.

What our jury says:

Vincent Gault: « Superb concept, scene setup and lighting. The Cyberpunk feeling is well achieved here ».

Samuel Winter: « I can sum up this image in one word, moody. The scene is dripping in futuristic melancholy, provided by understated lighting, and a fog that helps mute the colours of the illuminated elements in the background. The vehicle itself gives off vibes of mystery as it hangs in the empty street. Coupled with its industrial design ».

Amit Mozar: « Very professional output. It conveys the sci-fi scenario seamlessly. The plus points – Design of power boosters, hovering in the air, small mechanical details, cinematic render, proper use of haziness and depth of field, accurate reflections ».

Maciej Ptaszynski: « A great atmosphere and excellent technical work. You can easily detect the atmosphere of the place. Great detail! Beautiful artwork! ».

Barry Marshall: « Shades of Bladerunner in this one! Great car design in a perfect environment ».

Jarosław Dzedzej: « This work immediately took me to the Blade Runner universe. The reference is clear and executed with great passion and attention to detail. I love the creative approach to the car model and the vivid city environment. What is really amazingly done here is the rainy atmosphere consistent across the whole scene ».

Frederic Servant: « Beautiful atmospheric urban scifi night scene, great composition and cinematic yet subtle lighting, and a cool model to boot. This ticks all my boxes and could be my desktop wallpaper. Bravo ».

Péter Sárhidai: « Obviously and by far one of the best entries! Really I can only say nice things about this image, it has everything from great to a nice atmosphere that sells itself without revealing too much detail ».

Quick interview with Camille:

We congratulate the winners!

Special prize from Marmoset and RebusFarm team gets « Ride, Coffee, Book » by Mohammad Amin Jamali.

RebusFarm team: « We love the car and the mood created in this render. It takes one to a place of comfort, and it is an interesting combination of a car, which is rather connected to « being fast » and a cozy coffee shop, which stands for slowing down. The design of the car is well executed, and the lighting in this render is great. Awesome composition and overall execution ».

Marmoset team: « A fun theme overall with a variety of lighting and material styles used to help construct a natural and compelling composition. A nice touch on the chosen camera angle to catch the reflected neon light in the clear coat paint and windshield ».

Special prize from E-on Software team for the « Most evocative environment » gets « It’s been a while » by Lucien Michanol.

E-on Software: « A superb atmospheric environment show casing the vehicle in a highly unexpected position ».

Special prize from Chaos V-ray team gets « Daliy Life » by Yi Xiang.

Special prize from Chaos Corona team gets « Sci-fi F1 » by Vlad Hladiyevskyy.

Special prize from Nevercenter team gets « Nostalgia » by Daniel Yanuario.

Nevercenter team: « We love that this is rendered like a 1980s photograph—an interesting use of photo filter effects in rendering! ».

Special prize from Otoy team gets « Miniature car workshop » by Eugene Samofal.

Otoy team: « The technical work was exceptional, with excellent lighting and composition. We also appreciated the self-referential theme – of a render reconstructing creating a toy model of a classic 70s supercar. The combination of the concept with superb technical execution made Miniature Car Workshop our choice ».

In addition, we’d like to point out the works of other finalists, which we can’t just ignore and slide round.

« Trapped In Time » by Ako Ghadermarzi.

« The Only Star of Miami Beaches » by Onur Bakir.

« Trespass » by Shangyu Wang.

« All in Together » by Kasun Udara.

« Legacy Reimagined: The 1965 Mustang Revival Project » by Dummy.

« Desert Mad Max Car » by Chandika Samarakkody.

« Worlds Apart but are they? » by Malchus Akash.

For those who like statistics:

86 artists took part in the competition. Forty six members of jury selected forty three renders to the final stage (each place in top-five gives special amount of points: first place – five points, fifth place – one point. All points/votes are sumup).

Which software were used by participants:

Special thanks to the sponsors who support our event and help 3D artists to create their masterpieces. Each of them is the best in their field. You can always count on their quality service, and so we are happy to recommend you their products.

Would be great to see your comments and thank you all for amazing challenge.