[2018] World of Warcraft Student Art Contest 2018

Blizzard Entertainment’s university relations and World of Warcraft development teams are proud to present the eighth annual World of Warcraft Student Art Contest! We’re calling on college and university students to submit original artwork or animations that would be a great fit for World of Warcraft.

Share with us your creative vision of something we’ve never seen before that still fits within the World of Warcraft universe. You can view previous winning submissions here.

Online submission forms are available on our contests page as of October 15^th and entries will be received up to 11:59 PM PST January 31, 2019.

Prizes

Four Grand prize winners from each category will be chosen by the World of Warcraft art team, and will receive the following epic prizes*:

• A Tour of Blizzard Entertainment’s headquarters in Irvine, California.
• A 2-hour face to face mentorship session with a senior Blizzard artist.
• A one-year subscription to World of Warcraft
• A Blizzard Entertainment notebook (featuring an original sketch by a Blizzard Artist
• A Blizzard T-shirt

*Blizzard reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value for any prize.

Please note that only current US and Canadian college and university students are eligible to win. Residents of North Dakota, Vermont, Connecticut, Maryland, and Quebec are not eligible to participate.

Learn more information on student programs at Blizzard, visit the careers page.

Good luck to all entrants!

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Categories

• Environment
• Character
• FX
• Animation
• Environment Visual Development/Concept Art Contest

Environment Art Contest

Using your creativity and ability to work within the World of Warcraft art style, create a small environment diorama that would fit well in the game world. Your quest: Concept, model, and texture an environment piece that you could imagine stumbling upon during your travels across Kalimdor, the Eastern Kingdoms, Outland, Northrend, Pandaria, the Broken Isles, or Argus.

Required elements are trees, rocks, grass, and props, plus a small structure (such as a shrine).

Your final piece should have a structure similar to the example provided below. We're looking for lower poly-count models (e.g.: around 1,500 polys for a mature sized tree), so keep that in mind when creating your environment.

The final submission should be a high-resolution JPEG file no larger than 5MB.

Read the complete contest rules then submit your entry here.

Character Art Contest

Using your creativity and ability to work within the World of Warcraft art style, concept, model, and texture a non-player character (NPC) or creature that you could imagine roaming the plains of Durotar, exploring the depths of Deepholm, or just sitting in the Pig and Whistle Tavern knocking back a mug o’ Thistle Tea.

Required elements are the character or creature, along with some sort of clothing or armor. Feel free to go further by adding weapons or other accessories.

The final piece should have a structure similar to the example provided below. Stay within a budget of 6,000 polys with one 1024x1024 texture for the finished character.

The final submission should be a high-resolution JPEG file no larger than 5MB.

Read the complete contest rules then submit your entry here.

FX Contest

Using your creativity and ability to work within the World of Warcraft art style, create a player ability that could be added to the kit of one of our existing classes. You could conjure up anything from the power of the void for a massive flying ball of death, call upon the elements of nature to ensnare an entire mob, or wield the power of the Light to rip a giant fissure through the ground.

Required Elements

• Buildup of the ability, impact of the ability, and the aftermath.
• Feel free to go further by adding characters, creatures, props, or other 3d assets if needed.
• No frame length required.
• Submit a movie file (format can vary) as your final submission.

Read the complete contest rules then submit your entry here.

Animation

Using your creativity and ability to work within the World of Warcraft art style, create a unique combat animation from one of the three choices listed. Imagine entering a dungeon and battling against the Lich King and his undead army or traveling deep beneath the Firelands to take down Ragnaros. 

Required elements: 

• Weapon (rig) of your choice, can be a character or creature. 
• Feel free to go further by adding weapons, additional characters/creatures, or other accessories. 
• Provide video(s) from 3 different angles: side view, back view (player view), 3 quarter view. 
• Must be animated at 30 fps and set to meters.
• No frame length required.
• No motion blur or camera movement.
• Submit a movie file (format can vary) as your final submission.

Animation Choices: Please choose one

1. Two hit (combo) attack
   • Must start and finish in the same pose.
   • Model can end away from starting area if need be.
2. Weapon spell attack
   • Must start and finish in the same pose.
   • Should include a charge up/precast and release/spell cast.
   • Model can end away from starting area if need be.
3. Summon and transition
   • Example: Emerging from the ground or entering a room.
   • Should transition into a passive or combat stance.
   • Should have lots of personality.

Read the complete contest rules then submit your entry here.

*New Category!*

Environment Visual Development/Concept Art Contest

Using your creativity and ability to work within the World of Warcraft art style, create a new zone or area for a new culture in the Warcraft universe. What would the natural environment elements (mountains, tree, flowers, etc.) look like in this area? How would this culture create their architecture? What sort of story elements and motifs would they use on their everyday object and props?

Required elements are a full color painting. Focus on selling the story, mood, and atmosphere of this area in the Warcraft universe. How would you showcase your vision for this environment to art leads?

Include call out sketches (does not have to be full color) for at least 1 natural element (tree, foliage, rocks, etc.), 1 piece of architecture, and at least 1 prop object. Think of the callouts as something that would be handed off to a 3D Artist to build the in-game version of.

The final submission should be complied into 2 high-resolution JPEG files no larger than 5MB (1 full color painting and 1 compiled sheet of call-outs).

Read the complete contest rules then submit your entry here