For questions/answers on the Challenge, please post here…

  1. Please read the instructions before posting here.

  2. Please help us to answer questions. If you see a question already answered, please refer the person to that answer so that we don’t keep repeating ourselves.

Technical Support

For all technical errors while using the Challenge site, please email me (Robert Mibus, robert@ballisticmedia.net).


Q: How early do I have to start submitting milestones?

A: As early as possible. Although there is no due date earlier than the final closing date, part of the final judging vote puts emphasis on Community Interaction, which means that people who ‘hold back’ their work in progress till the last minute can be penalized.

Q: Can we work in teams? What about pairs?

A: Yes, teams can submit to the video (trailer) category. See also the Looking For Group thread.

Q: I’m using a new email but the challenge keeps sending stuff to my old one. How do I fix that?

A: You go into CGTalk’s UserCP (User Control Panel) and change your email address there. If you still have problems, email me.


A: You can contact the other winner with the prize that you want, and ask if they want to do an exchange. What you guys do with your prizes is up to you, and we’re not going to be involved in it.

Q: How do I actually enter the competition?

A: Go to the challenge site and click on “Enter The Challenge”. Upload your pictures through the challenge site submission (“Submit Your Entry”) or the CGChallenge Uploader.

Q: Do I tag every concept sketch uploaded as a milestone, or just THE final concept sketch.

A: Everything is a milestone until you do the final image.

Q: How I can get out of this challenge?

A: Just stop submitting.

Q: Can I have multiple entries?

A: Not in a single category. As stated in the guidelines, no multiple entries although it’s possible to enter multiple categories as long as your submissions are vastly different in concept.


A: No. Please use the Challenge site facility to upload your Work-In-Progress. The purpose of the image hosting on the Challenge site is to give everyone the equal opportunity to post their work-in-progress, and have it hosted. At the conclusion of the Challenge, you will undoubtedly remove any Work-In-Progress images from your personal website and generate broken links all over CGTalk - so please use the Challenge upload facility.

Q: What’s the difference between ‘Illustration’ and ‘3D Scene’?

A: Illustrations are all we previously had in the challenges. 2D / 3D work, post-processing, go and make some final artwork. For the 3D Scene, we’re after a really well-done model (of an environment or an object), which you’ll show us with a short animation (eg. a turntable or flythrough).



A: Yes

Q: Can I use Poser, Daz 3D or pre-fabricated models?

A: No. The purpose of the “Challenge” is to challenge artists in creating original concepts and characters. Where’s the challenge in using pre-fabricated characters as main subjects?

Q: Can I use Poser to make background characters?

A: No, if your characters are tiny it won’t take you much effort to model some lowpoly humans anyway.

Q: Can I use a trial version of a software?

A: Yes. We don’t care. The final image must not have watermarks on it.

Q: The guidelines in the instructions says that the resolution for the final image should be at least 2657 pixels wide and/or 3636 high, 300 DPI (portrait). Why do you need such a high resolution for?

A: We want to train people to create artwork for print. Therefore, things such as detailed textures and meshes become important in the creation of your artwork. The final image needs to be prepared for print, and we want everyone to work towards producing work that is print quality by habit.

Q: What resolution do you want the final image to be exactly? What about if we make the image a different aspect ratio and orientation?

A: Your final image aspect ratio and orientation will dictate your final resolution. We want images that will print at 300dpi on a 22 x 30cm page (whatever orientation). Please do your research and work this out yourselves. Your final image will need to be rendered at enough resolution to print and hold up detail.

Q: Because of hardware limitations, is it ok to render a part and use it as a background, or render in “layers” and composite it all togueder later?

A: All post trickery is allowed and encouraged in the Illustration and Trailer categories.

Q: Any problems if I do it with a student license of Maya?

A: If it is watermarked then yes. Otherwise, no.


A: Why wouldn’t it be? (yes)

Q: While I know its ok to use 2D textures in this 3D project…is it going to be ok to use a 2D element as a back drop? Like a background…like a matte painting?

A: Yes. Allowing and encouraging a mixture of 2D and 3D techniques is why we’ve combined the two categories.

Q: Are we allowed to use web downloaded textures?

A: Yes, but they will have to be modified to suit your image. If stock textures are recognised there may be a penalty by the community and the judges, consciously or unconsciously.


I’m a bit confused about the difference between “Illustration” and “3D Scene” catagories. If I took a still from my 3D Scene entry and painted over a bit of it, could I then enter it into the Illustration catagory as well?


…I’ve never read Eon. Seems like an interesting concept. Reagan era astronauts who discover the earth nearly a millenium away. You know, if I had an extra two hours a day I’d go to ebooks and download the novel, but I don’t. Could we start a post simply detailing story points for spazzes like me?

I’ve got so many questions that will decide the design of my entry. Hypothetically, if I were to go and design a building out of seashells and granite, Bear might come back and say, “I never said that! They used metal!” Do you see my predicament?


I too am a little confused about the difference between the 3D scene and the illustration. The only thing that I can gather is that the 3d scene HAS to have an animation to prove that it is a 3d scene.

And the illustration is just a concept (possibly)… or it is just the same as the 3d scene you just don’t have to create the animation.

Or is the illustration supposed to be like a character close up or profile (possibly)… and the 3dscene supposed to be just an environment… or are they all supposed to be an environment…

See how we are a little confused?

Oh and by the way…(in the instructions) under the 3dscene:

                            Final Render - 4 seconds - [b]JPG[/b] (online) & 

Isn’t that supposed to be a movie not an img… or does it need to be a series of jpgs… or is it just an overlook.


You could start at Wikipedia


You could also start here, where there are excerpts of the book provided by CGS as well as links to external EON resources, including the Wikipedia article:

About EON

All the rules and guidelines are explained in depth on the Challenge page.




This challenge looks exciting! :bounce:

I have two questions:

  1. Is it permissable to use a generic human model that I have created as the basis of creating models for the challenge? Or does every single model that I use in the entry need to be created from scratch for the challenge (or at least from a box :wink: )?

  2. I am confused by the prizes listed for the trailer challenge (4 copies of XSI, 4 nVidia Quadros, etc.) Does this mean that there will be 4 grand prize winners?

Thank you! :slight_smile:

  1. No

  2. It’s a team prize, so the winning team has to split the prizes up. I’d suggest a maximum of four people in a team so it’s easy to divide stuff :slight_smile:




Hi There! great and unusual theme.

I have a question about 3d scene category. Still image should be a hogh resolution frame from the short movie? Or can it be processed a bit more than the animation?


Im assuming that this is a faq covering all 3 categories (2D, 3D, and Trailer).

My question comes in choosing music for the trailer…is it expected that the soundtrack is also original?
I know that evrything else has to be created specifically for the challenge (no previous models etc etc etc), as has been the standard for all challenges since I can rememeber…HOWEVER! This is the first time that I can think of that the challenge has been related to creating a ‘short film’, which brings in an entire new set of questions.


Would it be within the challenge rules to submit a piece of work that is also to be submitted as a piece of university coursework?

(Obviously I would contact the university to verify if work submitted into the challenge could also be submitted as coursework.)


Are we allowed to do only matte painting? using photo elements,painting and 3d all at once?


Hi Mibus,

IMO you did not answered exactly to the core of the question:
Is it possible to enter on both illustration and scene categories the same view of a scene where one will be as a still image and the second will be an animated one??

Thank you for any info.


two questions from me,

first, can we model elements, even whole environment and just paint them in 2d software? or 3d elements just can be block models for referance?

second one,in 3d scene can we use composite efects? such as faking haze, camera projection, layer compositing (background, clouds etc.)


Perhaps I’m just dense and I’ve missed something very obvious, but when exactly is the deadline? I haven’t seen a hard date anywhere (and I throught I read all the pages on the challenge page fairly carefully), just people saying something about it lasting three months and stuff.


One question about the 3d scene category.
How much the animation counts?Is it the same as the turntable in Journey…
I see no difference between an entry in the 3d scene category and a 3d image in the illustration category just that the former must have the animation.


it is written on the very first page about EON Challenge :slight_smile:
[b]just under the main picture:

The CGSociety is proud to present the

Eon Challenge (CG Challenge XX)
04 October 2006 - 15 January 2007[/b]


I think that 3d scene category needs some more comment.

Now I understand that we create a 3d scene from which we create an illustration as previously in 3d category (with all postproduction allowed) and on the basis of the same
scene we create a short animation also with some postproduction. Animation may differ
a bit from the illustration.

Is this interpretation correct?


It`s still unclear for me. One illustration and an animation but what is the illsutaration a still form the animation without retouching?? :shrug: