First-year student Breyanne Willis won for her design Beware the Mothman after receiving the most votes from students and staff.
Second-year student Chrissy Rodenhiser was the runner up for her design Astro Adventure.
Fifty-one students and staff filled out ballots, which were designed to look like movie tickets.
Participation was a prerequisite for second-year students because it was part of their curriculum. First-year students were given the option to submit an entry.
Along with Willis, fellow first-year classmates Jackson Usher and Ever MacCulloch also participated.
For winning, Willis received a copy of the latest issue of FX Digital Artist Magazine with a collection of photoshop brushes. Rodenhiser received a Cineplex gift card for finishing as the runner up.
Second Year Running the Contest
This was the second year 2D/3D Animation and Digital Arts instructor Skyler Greencorn ran the contest. Its goal is to instill some competition between the students while testing their skills in a fun and communal environment.
“The topic of film culture and movie posters has a lot of room for creative liberties, so the students can employ their skills in a fun and exciting way,” said Greencorn. “This also doubles as a really good display item in the hallways of the school, building the hype and excitement for all the students.”
After last year his excitement for the project grew because of the interest between first- and second-year students.
“It’s always so rewarding to see our students put so much effort into a project and seeing them all on display makes us instructors very proud,” he said.
Submissions “100 percent” topped last year’s in terms of quality
“We had nine completely unique poster designs on display and the work is consistently good across all participants.”
The contest was an opportunity for the students to participate in a competition that pushed their creativity to the limit by designing a custom movie poster. They selected one of three genres: horror, science fiction or fantasy as inspiration and as their theme.
After selecting a genre they worked freely within its confines. They could combine and explore genre mash-ups like gothic romance, sci-fi western and medieval period fantasy.
They were asked to focus on a vibrant and clear concept, but had the freedom to be whimsical, funny, scary, adventurous or mysterious as they used any artistic medium of choice.
The designs had to be college appropriate, so the students were prohibited from using overly graphic violence, nudity or triggering imagery.
Submission parameters included the posters being due Feb. 15, had to be a PDF file, 11 inches wide by 17 inches tall and a minimum resolution of 300 dpi.
Additional requirements included providing a short bio with their name, age, their inspiration for taking the 2D/3D animation and digital arts program and their career goals.
Displaying their social media handles of choice was allowed and gave the students the opportunity to market themselves by showcasing their work.
A challenging project
Greencorn said the challenge the students faced with this project depended on the amount of effort they put into their design, which they took seriously.
“The quality of images presented are all consistently excellent. Making for a fun competition overall with lots of quality candidates to vote for. The goal was to make it very difficult to pick just one while voting.”
Feedback on the project within the college has been nothing but positive.
“Us instructors are beaming with pride,” said Greencorn. “We have students and staff from other programs approach us and tell us how much they love the artwork on display in the halls. This is definitely a contest we will continue into the future and each year we will try to one up ourselves.”
