What will you create?




Winners Announced!

X-Particles Challenge 2017

The X-Particles Challenge is a fun competition, open to all regardless of skill, where big prizes can be won.

The 2017 Winners

We had some great entries and congratulations to all who entered.

Here are the winners!



1st Prize - Thomas Barry

Thomas had the standout entry this year and all the judges were in agreement that he should be awarded to the top prize.



2nd Prize - Alex Android



3rd Prize - Rory McLeyn



4th - Bogdan Toma



5th Prize - Mário Domingos



Honourable Mentions

There are prizes for entries which fell outside the Top 5 but nonetheless caught the judges eye.


Bogdan Toma, who ended up coming 4th really impressed the judges with his entry so was awarded an additional prize!

A slick demonstration of X-Particles constraint systems with a mix of very pleasing transitions makes this piece one of my favourites in this years challenge. - Mario Tran Phuc


I like the technical execution of the elements. - Mike Batchelor



Bo Dodge

This one is my honorable mention for difficully points. Tons of different techniques going on with this one. - Nick Campbell



Weasel Creative

First nice volumetrics I've seen someone do in XP4 besides Insydium staff ;) - Dino Muhic


Nice use of EFX! - Jon Bosley



David Sum

Well executed - didn't award points due to reliance on Houdini - that's cheating in my eyes :) - Brandon Parvini



Mitya Markov

The rendering and colors are really nice, I like what they are doing here. There isn't enough originality to put it in my top, but I do really like it compositionally. - Casey Hupke



Andrew Cartwright

Andrew's entry stood out to me because he's learnt a lot to get to this result, and the X-Particles Challenge is about nurturing an interest in both Cinema 4D and X-Particles. If you read Andrew's blog, you'll appreciate he put in the time to dig in to unfamiliar territory so I want to congratulate him for that and hope to see another entry in 2018! - Andy Needham


Demo Prize

The Demo Prize goes to the entry that used the X-Particles demo and produced the best result.



The Demo Prize - Dmitry Sorokin

Dmitry used the X-Particles Demo and rendered out the result using Cinema 4D's Hardware Renderer. Great job!



Watch all the 2017 entries on Vimeo

Watch Now

Where can I learn X-Particles?

There are a variety of resources to learn X-Particles.


If you don't have X-Particles you can download a 30 day demo here.

Watch the 2017 X-Particles Challenge Showreel!

Thank you to everyone who took part. Join us again in 2018!


Follow us on Twitter for the latest news and updates

@xpchallenge

Prizes

Thank you to our Sponsors for providing some amazing prizes.

Prizes from the list below were awarded to the Top 5 Entries and to the Honourable Mentions and a special prize was given for the best use of the X-Particles Demo.

Watch all the 2017 entries on Vimeo

Watch Now

Meet the Judges

Show them what you'll create!


Andy Needham

Andy is the organiser of this competition and a London-based freelance motion graphics artist and an author on Lynda.com and LinkedIn Learning

Mario Tran Phuc

Mario is based in Frankfurt, Germany and is a very experienced VFX Designer who won the first competition - he lives and breathes X-Particles.

Nick Campbell

Nick makes learning more accessible and effective over at Greyscalegorilla by creating easy-to-follow tutorials and training.

Brandon Parvini

Brandon is a freelance motion designer and director based in Los Angeles. He placed 2nd in the 2015 challenge and is a welcome addition to the judges panel.

Casey Hupke

Casey is a freelance digital content creator who has been working in the live visual, and commercial field, for over a decade. He has contributed work to major tours for U2, Lady Gaga and Deadmau5.

Mike Batchelor

Mike is the product manager for INSYDIUM LTD the creators of X-Particles and Cycles4D and has a passion for Motion Design and VFX.

Dino Muhic

Based in Hanau near Frankfurt, Germany, Dino is a freelancer who specialises in motion graphics and visual effects.

Jon Bosley

Jon has been using Cinema 4D for 12 years. Currently freelancing, he has a wide variety of industry experience in Visualisation, Motion Graphics and VFX.

Sponsors

Thank you to our amazing sponsors for making this competition possible.

The 2016 Winners

In 2016 we had some great entries and congratulations to all who entered. Here are the winners!



1st Prize - Mikhail Sedov



2nd Prize - Kris Cook



3rd Prize - Bogdan Toma



Honourable Mentions

There are prizes for entries which fell outside the top 3 but nonetheless caught the judges eye.



Vlad Maftei

I thought this entry was really creative and fun - it embodies the values of the X-Particles Challenge. - Andy Needham



Jessica Tan

I really like this fresh piece. - Mario Tran Phuc



Josh Dickens

This entry was done with X-Particles v2 (so an old version) but still delivers in animation and in style. - Dino Muhic



Tiber Ergür

While the actual use of X-Particles wasn't as advanced or involved as some of the other entries. I thought it was one of the strongest pieces as far as camera and overall aesthetic and tone goes. It stood out as feeling like one of the most complete pieces submitted. - Brandon Parvini



Jason Poley

Great exploration of fluids and geometric forms showing the diversity of X-Particles as a graphic tool. - Tim Clapham


Great use of fluids and the composition is nice and clean. - Mike Batchelor


Special Prizes

We awarded two special prizes in 2016...

The Community Prize goes to someone who has been actively sharing, mentioning, commenting and supporting the X-Particles Challenge on social media and The Demo Prize goes to the entry that used the X-Particles demo and produced the best result.



The Community Prize - Michael Szalapski

The Demo Prize - Ashish Ingle

The 2015 Winners

2015 was the inaugural year of the X-Particles Challenge. We had some fantastic entries and some truly deserving winners.



1st Prize - Mario Tran Phuc



2nd Prize - Brandon Parvini



3rd Prize - Guillaume Combeaud



4th Prize - Ratata



5th Prize - Frederik Wiedel