Meet Mat 3 - The 3D Digital Painting Contest
Adobe Substance 3D introduced our little mascot with the first Meet MAT contest back in 2017, he has become kind of a big deal. With hundreds of paint jobs, a dedicated book, collectible figurines and various 3D printed versions, MAT has been busy! And today, MAT is back. He changed a bit. He grew. He needs new texturing, new looks. He needs you.
Overview
Welcome to Meet Mat 3, the latest edition of the annual digital art contest. Unlike previous editions, this year’s contest will be exclusively for non-professional digital artists with less than one year of industry experience. The goal of this contest is to create a fun and engaging environment for aspiring artists to showcase their talent, connect with industry experts, and improve their skills.
In addition to the chance to win the major prize, there are planned special prizes, opportunities, and recognition for participants. These include special trophies, featured artist spotlights, interviews, social media promotions, and more. So what are you waiting for? Let’s go!
Contest Brief
The objective of this contest is to showcase your creativity and talent by using Substance 3D Painter to texture MAT. The design brief is open, so feel free to let your imagination run wild and create anything you like. Any theme and any style is allowed.
To make your entry stand out, we encourage you to utilize the new Curve Feature and powerful displacement maps available in Substance 3D Painter. These features will earn you bonus points.
Important Dates
- Entries Open 20th November, 2023
- Entries Close 19th January, 2024
- Finalists announced 2nd February, 2024
- Winners announced 16th February, 2024
Dates mentioned are at 11:59 pm on the date in question. All dates are based on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
Requirements
- All entries must be new and original.
- You must share regular updates of your progress
- Texturing must be done in Substance 3D Painter
- You must use default Substance Painter shaders
- You may not modify any aspect of the mesh template
- No third-party models/assets can be used
Prizes & Awards
Our massive prize pool is not just for the top artists! In addition to grand prizes like a Dell Workstation, Lenovo Laptop, Asus Zenbook Pro, NVIDIA GeForce RTX, Wacom Cintiq Displays and Tablets, Adobe Creative Cloud Subscriptions, incredible 3D prints, and magazine subscriptions for outstanding entries, we’ve got exciting surprises for random entrants. This means, the earlier you enter, the more chances you have to win. We are also excited to release some rare digital contest badges to share online, and make your portfolio look awesome.
Training & Support
Mat Masterclass: 4 x video training lessons will be released on our Youtube Channel so you can follow along with a pro. The lessons will teach you the skills and techniques needed to create a winning entry using Adobe Substance 3D Painter.
Live Q&A session: Following each video lesson, you will be able to participate in a live Q&A session to make sure all your technical questions can be answered.
Live Feedback session: Our judges will go select random entries each week and provide feedback to help improve entries and your chances of winning.
Discover Server: Make sure to join our Discord server to participate in all the live sessions, meet other entrants, and to have all of your questions answered.
Eligibility
Entrants must be at least 18 years of age or older, and have no more than one year of professional industry experience at the time of the contest’s closing date, which is January 5, 2024, working in the fields of 2D Animation, 3D Animation, Concept Art, Game Development, Visual Effects, Architectural Visualisation, Motion Graphics, Immersive Media, Product Design or Virtual Fashion.
For further information please read the rules.
Deliverables
- 2 x Renders: Each entry should include renders using the provided ‘MeetMAT’ project cameras. Render a single image from both ‘Render Cam Front’ and ‘Render Cam Perspective’ at 4096 x 2160 pixels. Additional renders can be included.
- Regular Updates: Provide a minimum of three work-in-progress updates on your entry page to document different stages of your creative process.
Get Started
- Download Substance 3D Painter.
- Download MAT scene file from Dropbox Folder.
- Click Submit Entry button (located below) to start bringing Mat to life!
- Share regular updates and submit final renders before entries close.
