In an unusual year that kept many of us home, artists fashioned worlds that we could escape to. Now, at the start of a new year, we’re taking one last look back before moving forward into what January has to offer. We’ve collected our favorite stylized, realistic, animated, and experimental projects from 2020 here: let’s dive in!
Best Stylized Environment
Florian Elie – “Green Green Grass of Tunnel”
Florian Elie’s “Green Green Grass of Tunnel” offered a peaceful and shady space that we kept coming back to. In the coming weeks we’ll be releasing our interview with Florian but, in the meantime, you can read their interview on 80.lv. Florian is in good company with Jonatan Ersarp’s breezy “Windmill Environment | UE4″ and the imaginative hideaway of “The Hermit.”
Honorable Mentions
Realistic Environment
Alexandre Hubert, Samuel Moquin, and William Labrie – “E P I T Λ P H”
The theme of self-destructive conflict guiding “E P I T Λ P H” stuck with us into the new year. Read more about the themes and process behind the project on Experience Points. This category had fierce competition, with Dávid Csákvári’s sweeping views of the Taiga biome and Quentin Mourier’s wild ride through the jungle.
Honorable Mentions
Best Animated Short
Laura Jamorski, Camille Hubert, and Arnaud Pezere – “Wild”
The ECV student film “Wild” stood out to us with its impeccably articulated physical comedy. To create tropical environments of your own, you’ll want to master fronds. While they didn’t come out on top, don’t miss the urgent message of Moby’s “My Only Love” and the tragic fantasy story of “Alarith!”
Honorable Mentions
Best Fanart
Daljit Singh – “The Revenant”
The realism and scale of Daljit Singh’s “The Revenant” made us feel like we were in the wilds of South Dakota, looking for vengeance and avoiding bears. Keep viewers immersed in your world with a review of optimizing LODs. Other works of fanart that captivated us as much as canon were Samuel Sheath’s “Zelda Forest Temple” and Blizzard artist Mike Marra’s interpretation of World of Warcraft zone “Nagrand.”
Honorable Mentions
Best Outside-the-Box SpeedTree Use
Tran Ma – “Floral Crown”
Tran Ma’s use of vegetation as a gorgeous headpiece stood out as one of the most unique uses of SpeedTree to date. Branch out with your next project and review the basics of growth on our docs. Other projects that surprised us with their ingenuity were Javier Arjonilla’s macro view of a tiny world “Silent Life chapter 1” and Constantine Chesire’s experiments.
Honorable Mentions
Start your environment with SpeedTrees inspired by the Top 5 of 2020!
Colorado Blue Spruce
(Cinema)
The horizon of, “The Revenant,” is built up of many trees, among them are drooping evergreen needles like those of our Colorado blue spruce.
