Challenge
This time we'd like to see you create your perfect office space complete with gadgets and knick-knacks! It can be something realistic or taken straight from your imagination, modern or old-fashined, huge open plan or tiny and crammed with lots of stuff. You can choose if you want to focus on a microenvironment within the office (for example a simple corner desk with a lamp and just a few objects) or the office space as a whole. This allows for members with various skill sets to participate, and we hope that it will encourage new Maya users as well as the more seasoned to give it a shot. What we're looking for in this challenge is a complete art piece.


Prizes
1st Prize - $500
2nd Prize - Lifetime Membership at SimplyMaya or SimplyLightwave
3rd Prize - The Art of Kung Fu Panda 2



Challenge Duration
Two months, July 26th - September 26th



Challenge Rules
1. No characters are allowed within the office environment, with the exception of plants you can only include inanimate objects in your final scene.
2. All entries must post a work in progress thread on the forum, final entries without WIP will not be considered when the challenge is judged.
3. The final render must be original work created specifically for this challenge, however it is fine to use models you have created in the past as part of your office environment if you whish to do so.
4. The main part of your work in this challenge should be made in Maya or Lightwave.

Judgement Criteria
1. Creative Approach - This is a design challenge so creativity and originality in creating the model will be awarded bonus points, this applies to the space as a whole as well as individual pieces of furniture present. Please note that this does not mean that a minimalistic photorealistic image can not win if a highly original piece with complicated geometry is present as it comes down to a combination of artistic abilities and technical skills, if two images are considered equally strong in terms of technique the more creative design will win.
2. Technical Skills - The obvious things such as pinching in models, streched textures, blown out lighting, weak shading and other technical flaws that draws down the overall impression of your piece will give minus points. This means that an entry that has had a lot more work put into the texturing than another will be preferred, providing that it is done without any technical mistakes. A more complicated scene modeling, texturing or lighting wise but with weakness in one of these field competing against a simpler scene that has been perfectly executed will lose between two.
3. Final Image - As always it's an art challenge so good color composition for materials and lighting that compliments your scene is important as well as how you chose to frame it with your cameras. This challenge is about the final look of your scene, it is not a modeling only challenge but about creating a piece of art that you can be happy with. A complicated model will not win over a simpler one that is more interesting to look at once it's textured, lit and rendered. It's up to you to decide if you want to aim for a photorealistic or stylized cartoon look in your renders, these will be considered equally and it will come down to what we consider the highest quality work. No favouritism towards either, however an image that is supposed to be photorealistic will be judged harder if it fails to achieve this regardless of the other elements present.

To enter this challenge start a thread here with the title

My Dream Office Challenge - Your User Name

If any further clarification is needed, or if you have something you want to make for this challenge but you're feeling uncertain about if it fits the brief please don't hesitate to ask.

Good luck and have fun!