V-Ray for Maya renders student contest-winning image

Hwiyeon Cho’s eye-catching “Poppyland” won the Jury Prize in our “Illumination” student rendering competition. Discover V-Ray for Maya’s role in its creation.

How did you feel when you were announced as our jury’s favorite in the Illumination contest?

It was amazing! Honestly, I submitted my piece without expecting to hear anything, and I was so happy to learn that I won first place. I was proud that my hard work achieved great results.

You won the jury’s hearts with your project Poppy Land. Could you tell us more about the idea behind it?

The merry-go-round scene is part of my portfolio, which is set in Poppy Land, the enemy base in the movie Kingsman: The Golden Circle. I had already created the existing background, but I added rides to make it look like an amusement park. These are my favorite environments; fun and full of colorful things.

In line with the theme of the competition, your scene is lit beautifully and has a distinctive mood. How did you achieve that? 

I tried to capture the beauty of the merry-go-round at night and the numerous light bulbs, reflective materials and camera angles were important for this. The bulbs and materials are arranged to reflect light and highlight the decorations. Wet patches on the ground reflect the ride so that the picture does not look empty. I accentuated the ceiling light with a low camera angle that avoided the dark roof of the ride.

Why do you think students should enter challenges like this one? What was your biggest motivation?

I learned so much about how much work I can do through entering this challenge, and I plan to enter more to increase my momentum. In addition, you can get feedback from people, learn a lot from other people's works and get the motivation to develop further. And I think it's good to gain recognition and feel proud if you win.

What’s the next big thing you want to achieve in 2021?

My main goal is to completely learn about new tools and create new workflows through them. I want to grow and increase my value. I hope that 2021 will be a year when I gain a lot.