This challenge is organized by THU, Lda, with registered offices at Rua Elísio de Melo nº41 2º floor, 4000-196 Porto, Portugal. By participating in this Challenge, you agree to abide by the following Rules and Criteria. Please read our Privacy Notice for more information regarding how THU treats your personal information.

 

Eligibility

Participants must:

• Be at least 18 years old to by the time they enter the challenge;

• Join as an individual entry. No teams are allowed for this challenge. Each participant is allowed only one entry;

• Create a THU account and fill out the submission form to enter the challenge. All entries must be submitted via the THU Platform. All entries must be completed and submitted by the closing deadline, July 28, 2024, at 23:59 (WEST);

• Participants must choose and enter only one of the following categories:

  • Professional Category: for all artists worldwide who are no longer students;

  • Global Student Category:  open to international students enrolled in accredited higher education institutions, with documentation certifying their active student status. Proof will be required to validate participation;

• Participants not currently enrolled in a university or higher institute must apply to the Professional Category;
• Past and existing employees of THU are not eligible to apply.

 

Submission Requirements

• Participants can use any 2D, 3D, traditional, or mixed media techniques as long as they can deliver digital images as work-in-progress (WIP) shots and a final image in high resolution;
• Entries must be submitted through the THU Platform by the closing deadline of July 28, 2024, at 23:59 (WEST);
• The use of Generative AI at any stage of the entry is not permitted;
• By submitting an entry, participants acknowledge their agreement to these rules and criteria.

 

Deliverables

• Final Submission: Your mandatory deliverable is a completed artwork. You must clearly state your vision and describe the creative process behind your final piece. Keep your description concise! No need to get all Shakespeare. Please use a max of 550 characters;

• The representative final entry image must be be high-resolution: 1920px+ on the longest edge. e.g. landscape should have 1920px+ width, portrait should have 1920px+ height (a JPG or PNG file, less than 5MB);

• You can start working on your Final Submission right away and save it as a Draft when needed, before you decide to submit;

• We encourage you to post works in progress (WIPs) in the “My creative process” section (Inside "My Projects" Menu) before submitting your Final Submission. This helps the judges understand the process that led to your final work and the community and fellow participants to relate to your piece;

• To start a WIP piece, please click on "New Post" under "My Creative Process" and publish when you finish. You can create as many WIPS as you may like; 

• WIP artworks can include concept art, silhouettes, sketches, progress shots, etc.; 

• We suggest publishing at least 3 WIP posts: 1 at the beginning of the entry, another in the middle of the process and a last one at the end of the creative process.

 

Entering the contest

• THU takes no responsibility for lost or undelivered entry material. Keeping a copy of the work is the participant's responsibility;
• You must submit original work only. Submissions cannot infringe the intellectual property rights of any third party. If you are using and incorporating images, music, or other creative material belonging to someone else, please identify and credit them. THU doesn't assume any responsibility for works submitted in violation of competition rules or those that violate copyright regulations. Copyright infringement is cause for immediate disqualification during all phases of this challenge;
• THU may share contact details of the winners to sponsors, partners, or judges to promote the challenge, deliver prizes and help with the operational procedures.
• You will receive THU email communications regarding the challenge. These may contain important updates, related information, or offers. Please read our Privacy Notice for more information regarding THU email communications;
• Respect the nature of each competition. The Professional category is for those who are no longer students. The Global student category is for student participants, who are enrolled in a recognized higher education level course worldwide. Global participants must submit documentation from their universities certifying that they are currently active students. If you cannot provide one, your entry will not be eligible. Feel free to submit the documents as soon as possible, starting from June 3 until the contest deadline.

 

Ownership of your work

• Participants retain the copyright of all entered materials;

• THU and its partners may use images submitted for the challenges for promotional purposes. We'll mainly share these in media (print and online), social media, our Platform, and our sponsors' websites;

• Winners grant THU the first right to publish their submitted work online or in print;

• Participants have permission to share their submission's WIP on social media networks or their websites during the challenge. 

 

Deadlines and Milestones

• Submissions open: June 3, 2024;

• Deadline for submissions: Jul 28, 2024 (23:59, WEST);

• Submissions evaluation and selection by Judges: From Jul 29, 2024 until Aug 5, 2024;

• Winners announcement: Aug 9, 2024.

 

Judging Criteria

• It is important that the artwork reflects the theme of the challenge in some way;
• Entries must be new artworks specifically made for the challenge and cannot be based on the concept art of another artist;
• Entries will be judged on both creative and technical details. The theme of the challenge must be evident in the final image. An original take on the theme and community interaction on the THU Platform is highly valued;
• Judges will also consider your WIP. You'll be able to share these in the “My Creative Process” section;
• The following criteria will be taken into account in the evaluation:
  • Agreement with the theme;
  • Storytelling;
  • Originality;
  • WIP sharing;
• Judges' decisions are final.

 

Judges

The judges of the challenge are Anne Vieth, José Alves da Silva, Marc Simonetti, Maria Panfilova, Sabine Engelhardt, and Vera Schmidt, and their judgment will be final.

 

Prizes

Professionals:

• 1st place: Golden Ticket ME24 (Ticket + Flights + Accommodation + Meals during the ME + Maxon One license for 1 year) 
• 2nd place: Ticket ME 2024 + Meals during the ME 
• 3rd place: Ticket ME 2024 

Global Students:

• 1st place: Golden Ticket ME24 (Ticket + Flights + Accommodation + Meals during the ME + Maxon One license for 1 year)
• 2nd place: Ticket ME 2024 + Meals during the ME 
• 3rd place:  Ticket ME 2024

 

• First place winners are responsible for having their citizen card/passport up to date to travel to Portugal;
• If the winner of the 2024 Golden Ticket already holds a THU 2024 ticket, they have the option to transfer the ticket to the next main event in 2026 or assign the ticket to a Plus 1 of their choosing. They can request this until September 15, 2024.

 

Reason for Exclusion

• All work has to be original. Entries must be new artworks made explicitly for this challenge and cannot be based on the concept art of another artist. Any sign of plagiarism is cause for immediate disqualification during all phases of this challenge;
• Any image deemed to contain content that depicts racial, political, religious, gender discrimination, or any other inflammatory material in an inappropriate manner will be disqualified and removed. THU team evaluates what is considered appropriate material;
• Artwork created with artificial intelligence (AI) is STRICTLY not permitted and will result in immediate disqualification.