ATOMHAWK ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF 2021 ART COMPETITION

Atomhawk is extremely pleased to announce the five winners of its 2021 art competition. Along with prizes for first, second and third places, this year also saw the debut of the Rising Star and Hawk’s Choice Award categories. The contest ran for five weeks from July 7th and Atomhawk encouraged artists of all skill levels around the world to take part with 365 people entering. Entrants had to submit an art piece based on the theme of “The Return.”

After much deliberation with the judges, six winners exemplified storytelling, creativity and technical acumen. Winners will receive a selection of incredible artist goodies from Adobe, Wacom, Escape Technology, Proko, Sumo Digital, ArtStation, 3dtotal and Photobash.

The Grand Prize winner is Kat Talar with an evocative, dreamlike landscape. “The atmosphere portrayed in this scene draws me in; makes me want to know more about this story,” says Atomhawk UK Studio Director, Darren Yeomans, “the Atomhawk Art Competitions are a storytelling contest first and foremost and Kat nailed the brief in all aspects. The artwork’s composition works well, supported by beautiful lighting. I’d love to see this as an animated short.” More of Kat’s work can be seen at artstation.com/kattalar.

Second Place is Svetlana Berezina with an enchanting depiction of lost love. “I was immediately drawn to the style of this image; one of the more unique interpretations of The Return theme,” says Atomhawk Lead Artist, Charlie Bowater, “Svetlana exemplifies composition, lighting and storytelling that invites the viewer to step into the headspace of the heroine.” More of Svetlana’s work can be seen at artstation.com/gwennet.

Third Place winner is Ted Arfken with a gritty, horror-themed piece. "Fantastic composition and framing of the main character along with great mood makes this piece positively terrifying,” says Dario Jelušić, Principal Concept Artist, “Great job Ted! This was a real stand out." More of Ted’s work can be seen at artstation.com/tarfken.

The new Hawk’s Choice Award saw two joint winners, Murilo Justiniano & Alben Tan. Among other prizes, they will both receive their choice of a portfolio review or paintover by an Atomhawk Senior Artist, in hopes to help them further their artistic careers. More of Murilo’s work can be seen at artstation.com/murilo_justiniano and Alben’s at artstation.com/alben_tan.

Finally, the Rising Star Mentorship was won by Leonardo Ambrosini. “I really like the overall composition, storytelling and world that Leonardo built, so there is a good artistic foundation,” says Principal Concept Artist, Thomas Stoop, “I’m positive our team can help push the overall design and work on some technical aspects to elevate the work to the next level.” Leonardo has won an exclusive mentorship with an Atomhawk Senior Artist and a Wacom Cintiq 16, courtesy of Wacom and Escape Technology. Other prizes include store credit to Proko, 3dtotal and ArtStation. More of Leonardo’s work can be seen at artstation.com/leonardo_ambrosini.

“Seeing all the incredible entries this year has been wonderful,” says Tim Wilson, Managing Director of Atomhawk. “I’d like to thank every single person who took the time to enter. The amount of talent and imagination on display has been inspiring. I hope everyone looks forward to entering again with an exciting new theme next year.”