D2/Narrativ Old Gods Challenge Tribute

D2/Narrativ Old Gods Challenge was a blast and it wouldn’t be possible without you all. Big shoutout to all the incredible artists who participated in it. We really appreciate the time and talent poured into all 80 images and animations we got. That’s why we put together a gallery of the best entries from the challenge. And not just the top 5. There were so many awesome works, we just couldn’t leave them out. So we share lots of honorable mentions as well.

First of all, a heartfelt thank you to all the incredible artists who answered the call for this challenge. Your creativity was beyond anything we imagined. (And we can imagine quite a lot.)

Also, big shout out to our friends from Narrativ. They were so generous as to make their stunning models available for this challenge. And for you to have a go with them.

So as the custom dictates, we wanted to honour your creativity and bravery to push yourself further and further. We created this gallery to share your incredible works with the community. Here are 30 entries that we chose during the judging show as the most impactful, inspiring or imaginative. Or all of those. Browse through the images and prepare to be amazed by the talent of so many amazing artists from around the world.

And as a side note: if you’d like us to mention your Instagram with your entry, we’ll be happy to add it. Simply let us know. Also, we hope we didn’t misspell any of your names. But if we did, we’re very sorry and promise to fix it as soon as possible.

Let’s start with…

1st Place:

Dominik Dziura

Simply brilliant image! We all loved it. The frame, the mood, the execution, the tones and the overpaint - all are masterfully done. It feels epic. More like a movie still frame or a concept art, especially where the light hits the abdomen and shoulders of the god. Very strong character doesn't do much, but his sheer presence is so intimidating. And with the foreground shapes of people approaching him, it creates an engaging story. There's lots of render magic but also some nice brush feel to everything. It's pure skill

2nd Place:

Bartosz Palus

Really beautiful image and very well considered one. There's this nice juxtaposition of the past hidden underwater and present floating over it. That faded-blue, blurry effect is also very powerful and surprising. Great composition with the boat pointing to where the god is, guiding the viewer's eye. Plus the actual rendering of it all is executed to perfection.

3rd Place:

Francesco Schito

This one is super fun and feel very nostalgic at the same time. Even if you didn't do models as a kid, it makes you feel the joy of creating something special. We really liked the whole concept and the contrast between the photorealistic background, with all the details, and more cartoonish hands. It's surprising and well executed.

4th Place:

Brandon Cheng

This entry is themed with the gods, but not in in-your-face way. There's a sense of something grandeur that was lost in the past, and now it's rediscovered. The execution of this image is really stunning. The more you look at it, the more details you find. Also, technically and artistically it's done so well. The materials, values, composition - all of them sum up to something really powerful.

5th Place:

Lucia Frascerra

This is a super fun interpretation of Poseidon, with this nice vacation vibe. It's so realistic, too. If you've been to Italy, you can really appreciate all the realistic details, like a modern storefront in an old building setup. We liked the color palette reduced to yellow and turquoise, but with the colors popping in a very Italian way. It's well executed with lots of cool details. It's a perfect implementation of AI - the core of the image is strong, you can see author's 3D powers in use, and on top of that you have the layer of awesomeness. Pure magic.

Congrats to you all!

During the judging show we could choose just the top 5 images. But there were so many stunning works, we just couldn’t help but acknowledge them too. So as a thank you for the time and effort you put into your creations, here’s a gallery of 26 honorable mentions.

Ahmed Awahab

This image really stand out because of its original color palette. It's completely different from all the other entries. We really enjoyed the composition, the dynamic, tiltel frame and the contrast between characters' silhouettes and the harsh, geometric surroundings. All the little details, like the feeling of vibration and stones in the air, added a nice touch to the whole image. Very well done.

Cristina Coste

We really loved the overall composition and the concept of upperworld and underworld. The reflection that is not one to one representation of the above world and the character that is so godly she can even trick her own reflection as well. The vignetting with the trees and actual god rays make it feel very well composed and striking.

Daniel van Engers

A great image that has a golden age aura about it. The light and the sephia-like color treatment are very effective in bringing nostalgic and pleasant feeling. You also get hints of other gods in the back, each with different materials. It helps your eye travel through the image, and shows you where to focus your attention.

Dario

This one is really beautiful and it reimagines the model. Makes it so fresh, very powerful and very emotional. There's a beautiful color treatment, very nice contrast between something static and dynamic with the shapeshifting of people in the bottom. It sort of look like a fever dream. It makes you fascinated and scared with this person all at the same time.

Davide Poggio

This is powerful stuff. There's a nice contrast of dark silhouettes of people down low and bright white god-like figures raising above them. It makes them stand out from the background and feel really epic. We liked how the light enhanced the anatomy and materials. And all the little details you can find when you look at the image closely. Davide brought a little bit of magic to a mundane situation.

Denisa Barbu

Here's an image that grabs your attention straight away. There's this larger than life figure protruding from earth. It can only be fully aprecciated from space, because of its colossal size. Such an epic sense of scale. There's this Sistine Chapel vibe with Adam and God theme. It's all quite unique.

Eugene Liashuk

We liked this contrast of slick and futuristic form with organic for of traditional elements. But what's most cool about it is that almost blasphemous treatment of the gods. The concept of building the world on top of them, disregarding what they are supported to be. Like they're in the past, they're a part of landscape now, and we've raised above it.

Federico Melis

This is a really cool concept that makes your imagination going. The red vs blue concept, and the fighting figures makes you think is it a battle game or a tactic one. It actually reminded us of chest game from Millennium Falcon, We loved the details: the tipped popcorn and a god figurine in the back (with D2 logo in it). It's like toy-to-life story and it keeps you engaged.

Ievgenii Kalinovych

This image is super fun with an obvious Dungeons and Dragons theme. But it also gives us a bit of "Stranger things" vibe. Maybe that's beacuse the composition and color treatment presents it in a cinematic way. The media were used here so creatively. The idea is fantastic, no matter if it's done in 3d or with AI. In the end, it's executed incredibly well.

Ivaylo Begov

Fantastic image with a fantastic mood. It so seems futuristic, high-tech and even a bit post-apocalyptic. There's this robot-like character or an astronaut approaching a gigantic god statue. It's intriguing and mysterious. And it makes you wonder what's going on? Where is this place? There's a nice composition. Geometrical shapes blend with organic elements, and the diagonal shot adds dynamism.

Koycho Krachanov

This one is so cool. We really liked the fact that the artist based the concept on his love for cars and still managed to incorporate the gods into the image. That's exactly what we hoped for with this challenge. To take what you know and do well, and experiment with in, adding something completely different. And it worked so well. This cool statue valley around the racetrack reminded us of old video games. It's very interesting, and you could see it was made out of passion.

Mario Stoyanov

This one is so cool. You look at it and immidiately start guessing if the Zeus here either came to save the day or is he actually responsible for all the destruction, Mayve he's just looking back at the pillage someone else's done. It seems like a title sequence of a movie and you just feel there's a bigger story behind it. Plus, the color palette is just stunning.

Martin Jario

We loved that there's this story behind this image. And the fact the the god is sucking his enemy's soul out of him. It definitely makes you feel something. And you can come up with so many storylines to this image. It's very powerful. All you know is that it's a moment in the battle, and the rest depends on your imagination.

Matteo Buffo

Super powerful and very creative image. It reminds us of Frank Frazetta works. It's very interesting both in terms of a subject matter, and in its treatment. It's quite convincing as a painting. Especially when you look at if from a distance. There's a heroic, classical vibe to this image, that makes it a pleasure to watch.

Mirela Cotoranu

It's a great example of pretty rare art piece in this competition and it's really something fresh. There's an interesting context, a juxtaposition of zebra on the savanna and this futuristic, but also pretty ethnic structures. The color palette is astounding with this kind of offset areas of color. It certainly goes into a cinematic look, On top of that you have the storytelling that you could reinterpret in many different ways. Super powerful.

Neil Cross

This one is so cool. It makes you think of a traveler that's been on a long journey somewhere. And now he's come to his destination, that is meeting his god. This big, intimidating statue putting him in his place. There's this classic contrast of light and dark and the diagonal lines adding dynamism. You could turn this image black and white, and it would be still powerful. That's how well the composition is done.

Oleh Horban

On the first glance it looks just like a messy warehouse with this monumental statue in the middle of it. But there are so many cool details in this image you'll see once you start zooming in on it. Like a dog peeing on the statue's leg or D2 branding on containers. We had so much fun exploring it. You can come up with so many stories based on this image.

Omar Barghout

We loved this one. The mist all over the scene creates this mysterious, eerie mood and gives you just subtle hints of what's going on. You can feel the suspense, and you wonder who is this small, fragile person coming towards mighty gods. What's the story there. The whole setup is pretty epic and powerful. And all that's done without putting any colors in it.

Philip Moreton

We enjoyed that this image is in a form of a triptych. That's hinting that there can be a continuation of a story. And as you watch it closely, you can see more details in it. There's this beautiful story of a fading god, defeated by his enemy.There's something about those colors that also feels so unique. They're blended together so well, and you can see the author had so much fun with it.

Sanya Lohovska

Old gods are dead. There's a new goddess in town! And she's taking no hostages. As always, Sanja shook us with her unique style. It's very aggressive and bloody and simply amazing. And it's not just in the substance matter that made us shiver, but also this sharp chromatic aberration, the color palette and the composition with a slight tilt in the background. Spectacular.

Sergei Chaschin

There are so many layers here. You can see something different each time you look at it, depending on your mood. It's like magic! There's a very bold composition of shapes. The Koi fish working as sort of sun rays, and this character with aureole around her head. It looks almost as a picture of a saint. Or maybe the exact opposite. We really loved the contrast between 2D and 3D, and the tonality range radiating from the orb.

Sofia Monti

This is so nice. The fresh god right after a bath. We loved the tonal rage reminding us of a golden age. It makes you feel as if you were walking in one of the European parks and stumble upon an art installation or something celebrating Greek myths. It feels contemporary but could also be placed in a period piece of a film or cinematic.

Stevo Kovacevic

Another cool image in terms of storytelling. It really fuels the imagination to come up with different explanation of what's going on here. With the spotlight on the goddess, the fading colors and all the details creeping in the shadows. Even the expression on the goddess face. It's a very cool and very powerful image.

Yan Loïc

It's Gods' Olympics. We loved the idea of bringing the gods to modern sports events. It's so imaginative and funny. There's this interesting and fresh perspective, and wide angle that really helps to make the characters feel dramatic, even larger than life. Each of the gods has their own unique color palette, which is also very nice as a set. It all looks like a commercial for some sport apparel or something. Really cool.

Watch the Judging Show

Missed the Live Judging Show? Watch the recording of the event on D2 Conference You Tube channel. Together with Fabio and Jason from D2 Conference, Luis and Johannes from Narrativ we discuss the challenge entries in detail. We hope you’ll have fun watching it.

It's a tradition now!

We’re proud to say this is the third challenge we did w D2 bunch. If you missed previous ones, jump to tribute pages. And prepare to be amazed by the talent of all the participants: