May 7th: DRUMROLL PLEASE! And the winners are...

Hi everyone, I'm honored to announce CG Cookies very first challenge. It's going to be a blast!  🔥🔥

On this Challenge page you'll find everything you need to know about this challenge. Feel free to use this forum thread to ask questions, seek advice, look for feedback, or to just hang out and talk about Blender and cookies. Everyone is welcome to join the conversation! 😃

Showing work in progress is highly encouraged, we would love to see what you're working on. Also, getting (and giving) peer feedback is one of the best ways to improve your skills! Create your very own WIP thread on the forum or share your work here in the comments below. 

On social media use #cgcookiechallenge so we can check out what awesome things you guys are up to!

THE CHALLENGE

Blender 2.8's brand new realtime render engine Eevee and trusty old Cycles are a hot topic these days. There's a blazing battle going on about which one is better, people taking sides, friends become foes... let's settle this discussion once and for all! 

We challenge you to take Blenders very own mascot Suzanne (the monkey head) and create an awesome render with either Eevee or Cycles. You can use Suzanne as your main subject or add her as a detail to spice things up, but she has to be chilling somewhere in your scene (examples a bit further down below 😊)

WHY SHOULD YOU ENTER THIS CHALLENGE?

It's a great way to practice and hone your CG skills, fill up you portfolio, learn something new, hang out with likeminded people, and most importantly to have some good ol' fun!! 😄 oh and let's not forget the XP and eternal bragging rights if you win 😉

STICK TO THE RULES AND YOU'LL DO JUST FINE AROUND HERE

✅ Use either Eevee or Cycles for your final render. Want to use this challenge as an opportunity to dive into Eevee, but you've never used it before? Just watch this brand new Eevee course and you'll be up to speed in no time!

✅ Use Suzanne somewhere in you scene 🐵

✅ Use Blender for modeling and / or sculpting, since it's a Blender kinda challenge 😉 add-ons are allowed, they are for Blender after all!

✅ You can use whatever software you want for texturing & shading (like Blender, Substance or Photoshop) and you can use whatever textures you would like to use.

✅ Using an image or HDRI as a background is allowed.

✅ Post processing with the compositer is 100% an awesome idea! It's part of Blender so go wild 😎 As for other software (like Photoshop or Gimp), it's allowed, if kept to a minimum. Some firefly removal, sharpening or basic color correction is okay. No drastic changes though, your render should still look like what you made with Blender.

✅ Whether you are just starting out or you're an experienced Blender-head, all skill levels are welcome! We're all in it to improve our CG skills 😄 Everyone with a CG Cookie account can enter this challenge (grab a membership or get a free account if you don't have one yet). 

✅ One entry only. And it has to be a still render, no animations for this one. Give it your one best shot 👊😎

❌ No old work or 3D models created by other people. Everything in your scene should be brand new and made by you. It's a challenge after all, let's get those creative juices flowing and start stretching your CG muscles. You got this! 👍

HOW TO ENTER

There's a separate Challenge Submissions page. Just drop your finished image in the comments of that forum thread before the deadline hits. Don't forget to mention whether you've used Eevee or Cycles!

MEET YOUR JUDGES

From left to right:

• Kent Trammell [CGC Instructor & Content Lead]
• Jonathan Lampel [CGC Instructor]
• Ethan Snell [CGC Instructor]
• Midge Sinnaeve [CGC Instructor]
• Miranda van Elst [CGC Challenge Host]

SOME COOKIE TIPS

🍪 Suzanne, where are you hiding? Tip for people new to Blender, this video from the FREE beginner course here on CG Cookie shows you how to add objects to your scene, including the monkey head! 

🍪 Some good free resources are HDRI Haven (HDRI's), Texture Haven (textures) and Pixabay (images). Do you know more great places to get free resources? Share them in the comments below!

🍪 Use as many Suzanne's as you want. One, two, five, or even create a whole wall out of hundreds of monkey heads. It's all up to your imagination!

🍪 All types of Suzanne's are welcome, but if you're unsure about something just ask your questions in the comments below. 

COOKIE GALLERY GOODNESS 

The CG Cookie gallery is a great place to find inspiration, there's amazing art to be found! Here are some Suzanne influenced artworks for you to enjoy (click to enlarge):

⏰ This challenge ends in 4 weeks on Sunday April 28th at Midnight 

(We have many different time zones in our community, so as a rule of thumb just stick with whenever it's midnight in your time zone 😊)

I'm thrilled to kick this challenge out of the nest and to see what awesome things everyone will be creating. Don't forget to enjoy the ride, have fun with it! 😄

MAY THE BEST RENDER ENGINE WIN. LET THE GAMES... BEGIN!! 💥