2023 Spring Best of Term Winners Announced

2023 Spring Best of Term

We are thrilled to unveil the winners of our Spring 2023 Best of Term (BOT) competition, showcasing the exceptional talent, commitment, and creativity of our students at Gnomon.

This competition recognizes the outstanding work produced by students across our full-time programs and individual courses, both online and on-campus. 

"It’s incredibly cool to see so many students who put in the work, day in and day out, get the recognition they deserve,” Max Dayan, Director of Education, said.  

From sci-fi game environments and look development to hard surface modeling and sandstorm effects, our students created pieces that featured their individual artistry while also demonstrating their adeptness in applying the skills they have acquired in class. The remarkable breadth of creativity showcased in the BOT competition is a constant source of excitement, as the diverse array of projects submitted by our students allows us to introduce new categories each term. 

Congrats to our grand prize winner Sasha Honcharova, who won "Best of Term - Games Environment | Interior" for her incredible "Abandoned Church" project! Sasha created this original concept piece in our Game Creation 1 and Intro to Maya courses* using a variety of software including Unreal Engine 5, Maya, Substance Designer, Marmoset, ZBrush, Nuke, and more. We love taking in this hauntingly beautiful environment with so many grand and subtle details mixed in. 

“Sasha's environment was absolutely stunning,” Dayan shared. "It's a true testament to what you can accomplish with authentic vision and relentless hard work."  

(Check out this article on 80LV to learn more about Sasha's inspiration and creative process for the "Abandoned Church" project.)

We invite you to explore the full list of winners below and view their amazing artwork on our Student Work page here: https://www.gnomon.edu/student-work/best-of-term

Winners/Credits:

Sasha Honcharova – Games Environment | Interior - GRAND PRIZE winner
Original Concept
Responsible for all aspects. Besides very few downloaded assets (boxes, backpacks, spiderwebs, falling leaves blueprint, and wood sorrel grass), all textures and assets were created by Sasha.

Fame Premjaicheun – Character | Games
Concept credit: Tony Sart
Responsible for all aspects, except for environments from Quixel

Elliot Yang – Character | Hardsurface
Concept credit: Junbeom Baek

Bryan Soegondo – Character | Realism
Concept Credits: Aerith (Final Fantasy 7 Remake) by Square Enix - Red Peony drawing by NIXEU

Akira Quan – Character | Stylized
Concept credit: Francis Brunet, model and textures by Akira Quan, cloth dynamics by Lindsay Yang

Liz Chua – Character | Texturing
Original Concept 

Yuansi (Ivy) Mai – Effects | Demolition
Original Concept (live-action footage license purchased)

Rahul Gupta – Effects | Liquids
Original Concept 
Assets from Megascans

Josh Karlin – Effects | Pyro
Responsible for all aspects (shot is originally from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2)

Rahul Gupta – Effects | Sandstorm
Original Concept (Backplate from Pexels - @Kelly)

Ethan Jones – Environment | Exterior
Concept Credit: Xiangzaho Xi

Rafael Serralheiro – Games Environment | Animation
Original Concept/Bird: Darren Bartley

Moya Hoard – Games Environment | Lighting
Original Concept - Rob's Home 
Responsible for all aspects except plants (Megascans) 
Music: Crickets Sounds for Sleep | Night Ambient Sound Effect | 1 Minute by: Listen To Nature

Nicholas Madsen – Games Environment | Medieval
Inspired by the concept “Tales from Wall Town” by Gavin Manners

Hoang Nguyen – Games Environment | Natural
Original Concept

Noelle Wong – Games Environment | Sci-Fi
Concept Credit: Alena Kuzminykh

Evgenie Magovski – Hardsurface Modeling
Original Concept 

Daria Savchenko – Lighting and Rendering
Original Concept 

Rain Rouhani – Look Development
Concept credit: Cecile Carre

Ada Vychopnova – Matchmoving and Integration
Original concept, starring Max Yash (BFX vex)

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