World of Warcraft Student Art Contest 2021

January 17th by Blizzard Entertainment
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1/17/2022- Time is running out to enter the 2021 Student art contest. Entrants have until 11:59 PM PST January 31, 2022. It's not too late to get your entry in! We look forward to seeing what you create.

Blizzard Entertainment’s university relations and World of Warcraft development teams are proud to present the eleventh annual World of Warcraft Student Art Contest! We’re calling on college and university students to submit original artwork or animations that would be a great fit for World of Warcraft.

Share with us your creative vision of something we’ve never seen before that still fits within the World of Warcraft universe. You can view previous winning submissions here.

Online submission forms are available on our contests page as of October 15 and entries will be received up to 11:59 PM PST January 31, 2022.

Prizes

Four Grand prize winners (one from each category) will be chosen by the World of Warcraft art team, and will receive the following epic prizes*:

  • Wacom Cintiq Pro 24
  • 1-hour virtual mentorship session with a Senior Blizzard artist
  • A one-year subscription to World of Warcraft
  • One (1) Blizzard Sketchbook
  • A Blizzard Entertainment T-shirt

*Blizzard reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value for any prize.

Please note that only current US and Canadian college and university students are eligible to win. Residents of North Dakota, Vermont, Connecticut, Maryland, and Quebec are not eligible to participate.

Learn more information on student programs at Blizzard, visit the careers page.

Good luck to all entrants!

Categories

Environment Art Contest

Using your creativity and ability to work within the World of Warcraft art style, create a small environment diorama that would fit well in the game world. Your quest: Concept, model, and texture an environment piece that you could imagine stumbling upon during your travels across Kalimdor, the Eastern Kingdoms, Outland, Northrend, Pandaria, the Broken Isles, or Argus.

Required elements are trees, rocks, grass, and props, plus a small structure (such as a shrine).

Your final piece should have a structure similar to the example provided below. We're looking for lower poly-count models (e.g.: around 1,500 polys for a mature-sized tree), so keep that in mind when creating your environment.

The final submission should be a high-resolution JPEG file no larger than 5MB.

Graveyard With Stairs Climbing to a Stone Tower Surrounded by Woods
“The Most Dangerous Game”
Peter Burroughs
CG Master Academy (CGMA)

Read the complete contest rules then submit your entry here.

Character Art Contest

Using your creativity and ability to work within the World of Warcraft art style, concept, model, and texture a non-player character (NPC) or creature that you could imagine roaming the plains of Durotar, exploring the depths of Deepholm, or just sitting in the Pig and Whistle Tavern knocking back a mug o’ Thistle Tea.

Required elements are the character or creature, along with some sort of clothing or armor. Feel free to go further by adding weapons or other accessories.

The final piece should have a structure similar to the example provided below. Stay within a budget of 6,000 polys with one 1024x1024 texture for the finished character.

The final submission should be a high-resolution JPEG file no larger than 5MB.

Bird-Like Mount with Reds Plumes and Green Skin
“Nazmir Bloodscavenger (mount)”
Lars Robertson
Texas A&M University

Read the complete contest rules then submit your entry here.

FX Contest

Using your creativity and ability to work within the World of Warcraft art style, create a player ability that could be added to the kit of one of our existing classes. You could conjure up anything from the power of the void for a massive flying ball of death, call upon the elements of nature to ensnare an entire mob, or wield the power of the Light to rip a giant fissure through the ground.

Required Elements

  • Buildup of the ability, impact of the ability, and the aftermath.
  • Feel free to go further by adding characters, creatures, props, or other 3d assets if needed.
  • No frame length required.
  • Submit a movie file (format can vary) as your final submission.
“Spirit Guardians”
Frank Le Cocq
Laguna College of Art and Design

Read the complete contest rules then submit your entry here.

Animation

Using your creativity and ability to work within the World of Warcraft art style, create a unique combat animation from one of the three choices listed. Imagine entering a dungeon and battling against the Lich King and his undead army or traveling deep beneath the Firelands to take down Ragnaros. 

Required elements: 

  • Weapon (rig) of your choice, can be a character or creature. 
  • Feel free to go further by adding weapons, additional characters/creatures, or other accessories. 
  • Provide video(s) from 3 different angles: side view, back view (player view), 3 quarter view. 
  • Must be animated at 30 fps and set to meters.
  • No frame length required.
  • No motion blur or camera movement.
  • Submit a movie file (format can vary) as your final submission.

Animation Choices: Please choose one

  1. Two hit (combo) attack
    • Must start and finish in the same pose.
    • Model can end away from starting area if need be.
  2. Weapon spell attack
    • Must start and finish in the same pose.
    • Should include a charge up/precast and release/spell cast.
    • Model can end away from starting area if need be.
  3. Summon and transition
    • Example: Emerging from the ground or entering a room.
    • Should transition into a passive or combat stance.
    • Should have lots of personality.
“Nora Pot Combo”
Anthony Ma
Purdue University

Read the complete contest rules then submit your entry here.