From the Moon to Mars: Adobe Dimension’s Art Contest Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo Program

Create an image using Dimension and the NASA-themed collection of 3D models from Adobe Stock and you could win some out-of-this-world prizes.

Render by Vladimir Petkovic

Almost five decades after Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon, NASA’s InSight probe touched down on Mars. Now we’re challenging designers to take their own small step into the future, and celebrate 60 years of space exploration using Adobe Dimension, Adobe’s 3D compositing and rendering tool.

For our global art contest, From the Moon to Mars—Apollo 50th Anniversary Challenge, we’re asking artists to pick a 3D asset from our Adobe Stock collection NASA: 60th Anniversary 3D Celebration and transform it into a complete scene using Dimension. The winning entries in the contest, organized in partnership with online portfolio service ArtStation and judged by retired NASA astronaut Nicole Stott (an artist herself), will receive out-of-this-world prizes including an HP workstation and an iPad Pro with early access to Photoshop for iPad.

Render by Vladimir Petkovic.

“NASA has achieved incredible feats in the 60 years since its creation and the 50 years since the Apollo Program began. Now, thanks to the talents of some incredible designers and Adobe Stock’s NASA collection, we’ll have the chance to both relive the glory of the moon landing and celebrate the exciting space exploration to come through these 3D creations,” said Nicole, a veteran of two missions to the International Space Station and co-founder of the Space for Art Foundation and Constellation.Earth (she was also the first person to paint a watercolor in space).

“I am ‘over the moon’ to be judging this competition, and can’t wait to see these designs come to life in Dimension.”

Former astronaut and artist Nicole Stott will judge the ‘From the Moon to Mars—Apollo 50th Anniversary Challenge.’

Enter a new world of 3D design

Created to make 3D accessible to everyone, Dimension takes the rocket science out of producing 3D imagery. Thanks to its sophisticated machine-learning algorithms, designing a photorealistic scene can be as simple as importing a 3D model and choosing a camera angle. Dimension automatically places the model ‘into’ the background image and sets up matching lighting for you. Even if you’ve never used 3D software before, your existing knowledge of tools like Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator should have you up and running in minutes.

For the Moon to Mars—Apollo 50th Anniversary Challenge, we’ve provided the 3D models for you: the NASA-themed collection on Adobe Stock covers everything from rockets, landing craft, and space suits to the moon and planets themselves. We’d like you to take at least one of those assets and use Dimension to transform it into a complete scene. The exact subject is up to you — it can look back to the original Apollo moon landings, or forwards to future space missions — so the only limit is your imagination.

Render by Justin Patton.

You have until January 21, 2019 to complete your entry, after which it will be judged by our panel of experts including Nicole Stott, and judges from Allegorithmic, Photoshop, Nvidia, HP, Wacom, Pixlogic, and the Adobe Dimension team. The grand prize winner will receive tons of great prizes, while there are additional prizes for first and second runners up. Here’s what you can win:

First Place:

Second Place:

3rd Place:

Honourable Mentions:

Render by Vladimir Petkovic.

You can begin to submit your work on December 10, 2018, and the contest remains open until January 21, 2019. ArtStation, the online portfolio service and marketplace for digital artists, is providing full instructions for how to enter, plus tutorials and resources to help you get started. Head on over to the contest page to get started — and let your creativity take flight.