The Atomhawk Art Competition has become a beloved annual event for many artists around the world to express their individual creativity. The mission is simple: take an enigmatic prompt and turn it into a piece of concept art that is both original and head-turning. This year’s theme was “Forgotten Creation”. What were the interpretations this year? We’re thrilled to announce 2022’s winners.
Submissions are judged on creative detail and the artist’s ability to tell a compelling story. With over 480 artworks entered this year, there were countless imaginative creations to choose from, spanning across a myriad of genres, all lost to time and memory.
Alongside Atomhawk’s art leadership team, we were honoured to invite our friends, Glenn Brace and Ben Blethyn, from nDreams Studio Elevation as independent judges. As they combine Elevation’s veteran experience with exceptional new talent, blending state of the art technology with emotional and aesthetic innovation, they were the perfect addition to help us decide the final six winners who exemplified storytelling, creativity and technical acumen.
Winners will receive a selection of incredible artist goodies from Wacom, Escape Technology, Sumo Digital, 3dtotal, Proko, Photobash and ArtStation.
GRAND WINNER:
QUINTEN
We could not be happier to announce that first place goes to Quinten for this epic collosus collapsed in a subzero crevasse. “Quinten’s artwork has been executed to perfection. The seamless mix of 3D and 2D, the lighting and the level of polish all help to sell this epic moment of explorers discovering an ancient, snow-sunken guardian,” said Ben Blethyn from Elevation an nDreams Studio. Quinten has been an Art Competition regular since 2020’s “The Adventure Begins” and we were inspired to see Quinten’s growth as an artist, resulting in a deserving Grand Winner.
From all of us at Atomhawk, we want to extend a huge congratulations to Quinten!
Quinten is now the proud owner of an Xbox Series S courtesy of our friends at Sumo Digital, and will receive generous store credit vouchers for 3dtotal, Proko and Photobash, as well as a choice of portfolio review or paintover by an Atomhawk Lead Artist, and 1 Year of ArtStation Pro.
Please check out more of Quinten’s work at artstation.com/hemlockz
KEY MOMENT WINNER:
SERHII SEMENENKO
A new addition to the prize structure this year was the introduction of Category Winners, ensuring that all specialisations of artists had a fair chance to place as a winner. We’re delighted to announce this year’s Key Moment winner is Serhii Semenenko’s post-apocalyptic train carriage scene.
“There’s a funkiness and confidence to Serhii’s bold markings and finish, in the way that I can recognise this as a highly successful mood-piece,” said Glenn Brace from Elevation an nDreams Studio. “It has the essence of concept art, where the artist is conveying an epic idea with just enough visual fidelity, mood and awe. Some lovely judgement on show, loose suggestive markings carrying the load, complemented with details in all the right areas. Bravo Serhii!”
Please check out more of Serhii’s work at artstation.com/paintabler
CHARACTER WINNER:
YUN HUAI HUANG
Continuing our Category winners, we’d like to extend our congratulations to Yun Huai Huang’s winning creature that left us feeling a little haunted! “Characters were a strong category this year but Yun Huai’s Living Coffin of the Saint was our winner for its beautiful design and strong sense of storytelling. I love the shape language utilised in this design and it’s a joy to get up close and personal with this piece and discover all the hidden details,” said Charlie Bowater, Atomhawk Lead Artist.
Please check out more of Yun Huai’s work at artstation.com/yunhuaihuang
ENVIRONMENT WINNER:
ANDREA STANGA
Our final category winner goes to Andrea Stanga and this atmospheric mansion discovery, giving us a powerful sense of nostalgia. The judges noted that there was a great sense of approachability to Andrea’s artwork. All aspects of the environment built on each other to tell the story of the forgotten painting, and yet there’s a mystery to it which leaves the viewer wondering and wanting more.
Please check out more of Andrea’s artwork at artstation.com/a_s_ascher
RISING STAR MENTORSHIP:
CHARLOTTE KÜLGER
The Rising Star Mentorship is back for its second year, an award that has become a coveted prize for Art Competition entrants. We’re so pleased to announce that this year’s Mentorship winner is Charlotte Kügler, who was one of our Honourable Mentions from last year’s “The Return” competition.
“There was a unanimous agreement that Charlotte deserved the Rising Star Mentorship for 2022,” said Drew Whitmore, Atomhawk Art Director. “An incredible amount of effort and love was poured into this piece; there are bits of story and detail in every corner and crevice you look at. Charlotte is in a great place to be able to take full advantage of mentorship from one of the artists at Atomhawk.”
Charlotte has won an exclusive mentorship with an Atomhawk Senior Artist and a Wacom Cintiq 22, courtesy of Wacom and Escape Technology. Other prizes include store credit from 3dtotal and Proko.
Please check out more of Charlotte’s artwork at artstation.com/charlotte_kuegler
HAWK'S CHOICE AWARD:
MAXIME SCHILDE
Finally, The Hawk’s Choice Award is decided by the entire Atomhawk team, who vote for their favourite artworks which they believe nail the “Forgotten Creation” brief. From all the Hawks, we extend a huge congratulations to Maxime Schilde, this year’s winner!
Please check out more of Maxime’s work at artstation.com/maximeschilde
HONOURABLE
MENTIONS
We were floored to receive so many great and thought-provoking entries for this year’s competition. The impressive ideas presented were so great, it was almost impossible to narrow it down to simply six winners! Therefore, we’d like to extend congratulations to our honourable mentions: Verena Lehner-Dittenberger, Ivelin Trifonov, Fergus Russell, Nick Iorfino, François Arnaud and Samantha Shieh.
Thank you to the 487 people who entered our art competition this year. We were humbled by your enthusiasm, creativity and ingenuity and we hope you will join us again for next year’s competition in July 2023!
Please check out more entries with the hashtag #atomhawkcreation on ArtStation, Instagram and Twitter.
