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 ‘Under Strange Suns‘.
What were the interpretations this year? We’re thrilled to announce 2023’s winners.
Submissions are judged on creative detail and the artist’s ability to tell a compelling story. With 500 artworks entered this year, there were a multitude of unusual ideas to choose from, spanning across a myriad of genres, from illustrations, 2D composite art and fully 3D entries.
Alongside Atomhawk’s art leadership team, we were honoured to invite our friend, Thomas Chamberlain-Keen, as this year’s independent judge. TCK is a professional art competition participator, having entered into, won and judged many art competitions and challenges over the years. There was no one better to help us decide the six winners of Under Strange Suns!
Winners will receive a selection of incredible artist goodies from The Gnomon Workshop, Wacom, Escape Technology, Sumo Digital, Photobash, 3dtotal and Proko.
We could not be happier to announce that first place goes to Edward Tsang for this this microscopic adventurer. “Edward earns the Grand Prize with a delightful character design that thoroughly explores the symbiosis between a traveller and their moth companion as they tackle a challenging environment built around the Under Strange Suns theme,” said guest judge Thomas Chamberlain-Keen. “Their interdependence is not just assured but demonstrated through our heroes’ equipment, the moth’s behaviour, movement abilities, and the elegant visual links in their design.”
From all of us at Atomhawk, we want to extend a huge congratulations to Edward!
Edward is now the proud owner of PlayStation 5 Digital Edition courtesy of our friends at Sumo Digital, a 1-year subscription to The Gnomon Workshop and a Loupedeck CT thanks to Wacom and Escape Technology. Other prizes include generous store credit vouchers for Photobash, 3dtotal and Proko, as well as an Atomhawk portfolio review and The Art of Atomhawk, Volume 3.
Please check out more of Edward’s work at artstation.com/yeinart
We’re delighted to announce this year’s first category winner is Alex Frasca for this design of an aquatic explorer. “There were so many great character entries this year but Alex’s design really stood out!” said Charlie Bowater, Atomhawk Character Expert, “The final result is so attention grabbing, and the design sheet really lets you explore how much storytelling and attention to detail went into the character design. You can see how much thought Alex poured into every detail. It’s beautiful!”
Please check out more of Alex’s work at artstation.com/sanguine
Continuing our category winners, we congratulate Alan Albiach for the exploration of a civilization existing after a supernova event. “Alan’s piece stood out among the entries this year thanks to its great use of mood and atmosphere. The colour palette is well balanced and helps to create an otherworldly feeling,” said Environment Discipline Lead, Artur Zima, “Combined with a fantastic sense of scale and strong composition, this was a real eye catcher!”
Please check out more of Alan’s artwork at artstation.com/alanalbiach
Our final category winner this year is Leonardo Ambrosini for this dynamic space pirate action scene. Leonardo was a 2020 Honourable Mention (The Adventure Begins) and the winner of the Rising Star Mentorship in 2021 (The Return).
“Leonardo’s piece captured me straight away with its storytelling, characters, mid-action setting and colour palette, there are so many layers to the image, each time I look at it I discover something new,” said Chris Rocks, 3D Art Discipline Lead, “The judges loved the combination of 2D & 3D in Leonardo’s process which really makes for an amazing piece. I could easily see this as an animated movie or computer game, great work!” We are so inspired to see Leonardo’s growth as an artist over the years. Congratulations!
Please check out more of Leonardo’s work at artstation.com/leonardo_ambrosini
The Rising Star Mentorship is an award that has become a coveted prize for Art Competition entrants. We’re so pleased to announce that the recipient of the third Rising Star Mentorship is Tobey Tobella.
“Tobey’s artwork is a solid and very neat idea! I loved the incorporation of the brief’s theme into the design in a great and interesting way,” said Mauro Cerati, Principal Concept Artist, “From the character process to the colour variations and value comp, there is clear research shown and good taste. The overall character makes me want to discover more of the world and also encounter other Ether Vendors to see how they look like!”
Tobey has won an exclusive mentorship with an Atomhawk Artist and a Wacom Cintiq 16, courtesy of Wacom and Escape Technology. Other prizes include a 1-year subscription to The Gnomon Workshop, and store credit from Photobask, 3dtotal and Proko.
Please check out more of Tobey’s artwork at artstation.com/tobeytobella
Finally, The Hawk’s Choice Award is decided by the entire Atomhawk team, who vote for their favourite artworks which they believe nail the ‘Under Strange Suns’ brief. “I had so much fun just by looking at this image which radiates with good feelings and on top of that is nicely rendered. Giuditta did an amazing job bringing this character to life!” said Dario Jelusic, Atomhawk Art Director.
From all the Hawks, we extend a huge congratulations to Giuditta Migiani, this year’s winner!
We were floored to receive so many bizarre and imaginative 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: Duane Schimmel, Isabella Bicego, Jeanne Plounevez, Jennifer Hitchman, Myat Hein Khant and Serhii Semenenko.
Thank you to the 500 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 2024!
Please check out more entries with the hashtag #AHArtComp2023 on ArtStation, Instagram and Twitter.
