Posts from "Hero-Artist" Contest - Winners

Nival Interactive announces the results of the "Hero-Artist" competition for the best poster for the game Heroes of Might and Magic V.

The high level of participation once again confirmed the incredible popularity of the Heroes of Might and Magic V game universe. Each of the four hundred works submitted deserves a separate mention, originally revealing the authors' ideas about the fantastic world of the game. The competition was made even more exciting and relevant by the fact that the works were evaluated by a special expert panel, which included artists and designers from Heroes of Might and Magic V.

The passion surrounding the competition was fueled by the impressive prize fund: its total amount was over $5,000. However, the contestants themselves admitted that the idea of the art competition and the opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of their favorite game even before its release was even more valuable to them. As in any Competitive event, there are winners in the "Hero-Artist" competition. It was indeed not easy to determine them, but the jury approached the issue impartially and professionally, reviewing all the submitted works and studying the strengths and weaknesses of each.

So, the winners are:

• 1st Prize, $2,000 - Leo Hao
• 2nd Prize - $1,500 - Roman Gunyaev (Guro)
• 3rd Prize - $1,000 - Void

In addition, the authors of the 10 best works will receive prizes of $100 each.

The intrigue of the competition remained until the very last moment - the voting on the website for the audience award provided an opportunity for everyone who followed the competition to express their opinion. And here, with a clear lead over the rivals, the work of the author Vladimir Gulevsky (GRAFuS) won. He will receive the honorary prize - a Sony PSP portable game console!

Nival Interactive wholeheartedly congratulates the winners of the competition, as well as everyone who participated in it in any way, including as fans!

Nival Interactive
Nival Interactive is one of the world's leading computer game developers, with a team of over 200 top specialists. Recently, the company has released such popular games as "Night Watch", Ex Machina, and the "Blitzkrieg" and "Operation Silent Storm" series. Currently, the company is developing the Heroes of Might and Magic V project. At the 2005 Computer Game Developers Conference, the company was awarded the title of "Best Developer", and Heroes of Might and Magic V received the "Best Game" award for 2005.

Approximately 400 entries were submitted to the "Hero-Artist" competition – each one deserves a separate mention, originally reflecting the authors' visions of the game's fantastical world. Determining the winners was not easy, but the jury approached the task impartially and professionally, reviewing all submitted works and examining the strengths and weaknesses of each. Nival Interactive, and especially the competition's "art council," wholeheartedly congratulate the winners (tram-pa-ra-pam, paraaam!) and everyone who participated in this highly professional competition. All Nival employees and other fans who closely followed the unfolding Heroic battle throughout the competition received a great deal of pleasure and unforgettable impressions! Thank you to everyone who wasn't indifferent! So, the winners are:

1st Prize - $2,000 Leo Hao	2nd Prize - $1,500 Roman Gunyaev (Guro)	3rd Prize - $1000 Void

In addition, authors of 10 more of the best works will receive prizes of $100

The intrigue of the competition lasted until the very last moment – the vote on the website for the audience's favorite prize provided an opportunity for everyone who followed the competition to express their opinion. And here, with a clear lead over the rivals, the work of author Vladimir Gulevsky (GRAFuS) won! He will receive the honorary prize – a portable Sony PSP game console!

Let's discuss the results... and the best works... Which of the works do you like the most? There are fewer choices here than the 400 works, and even fewer than the 28 that were in the previous poll :)

I like these the most:

• Druid with an elf on a hill
• Work by GRAFuS (although it's not very original, it's a well-executed classic)
• Although many criticize the work (as plagiarism of The Lord of the Rings), I somehow like it (designed with images of 5 Heroes)

P.S. Could one of the Moderators add a poll for this topic? I'm busy with work here - I need to update the scripts on the site and solve technical issues. [I think I'm already

Let's go over the winners.
1st place. Well done. Very high quality. The theme isn't original. But I don't like the way the game's title is implemented. It has "Sword" and "Magic," but it's missing the most important thing, "Hero." IMO, it's weaker than Grafus's. It's too chaotic. And the spectral dragon ruins the whole picture.
2nd place. Super high quality. Everything is in its place. Very original. Especially the pixie on its knees. But again, there's no "Hero." IMO, it didn't win only because of the overall sadness of the artwork.
3rd place. Another Lord of the Rings :) In the background :) Minas Tirith and Orodruin. I knew plagiarists would be among the winners. :)
Grafus. Who would doubt his success in a popular vote? :) Well done. It's strange that he didn't win a prize. His work is better than Leo Hao's.
As for the other prize winners...
5 works are plagiarism. I've seen this somewhere before (although it might just be the same authors drawing works for different games). But even if that's the case, what was Nival looking at? And the angel in golden armor is the ravings of a madman. What woman would allow an outfit to look more impressive than she does? The outfit should only emphasize beauty, and nothing else. Besides, even Carlsson wouldn't be able to fly if he was covered in armor from head to toe

P.S. Could one of the Mods add a poll for this thread? I'm swamped with work—need to update scripts on the site and handle Technical Support. [for the admin, I think I already write too much here :)]

What is the poll about?
There are two options:
1. Which one do you like...
2. Do you agree...

Personally, I don't agree! Plagiarists should be thrown to the dogs!
They chose Lord of the Rings, and then they'll try to prove (grumbling) that "the world of Heroes is not Tolkien's world." Pfft...
To be honest, I'm not fond of Grafus either. He might be fit for first place (2 thousand bucks), but he shouldn't count on my (viewer's) sympathy.

My favorite:
http://www.nival.com/contests/heroes1/art166.jpg

Yeah... The work that took first place was worth it (meaning, it deserved the first place). It was drawn by Leo Hao. The guy who designed most of Aria's albums... Definitely, respect!

My favorite:

:):):)
Yes, it's a funny picture... I like it too:)

And here's another beautiful one

Second place is awesome! I'll put it on my desktop! And a hero isn't even needed here! The main thing about Guro's picture is that there's nothing superfluous in it! That's it! I'm putting it on my desk! Guro, my big respect to you! P.S. Regarding the picture being "blessed"... I can say one thing: Monks used to tear devils apart, and here, it's just... intense... despite all my hatred for the spawn of hell... poor devil... :D

Respect! Especially for the second picture; the dragon in the first one spoils the image.

First, I got tired of it after the fifth time playing the game. It's a shame that you can't edit which image you want to see when loading the game. I would choose the second one. I wouldn't get tired of that one:D

I liked the first one the most. Great job! :)

Haha, in my opinion, there are good-looking units in the tenth game too, you just need to take a closer look.

Yeah, that's right. I also liked the artworks featuring angels and the one with the monuments.

Angels represent the highest ideal in the fifth game, and women are beautiful... and with swords... and they can even fly, so in my opinion, it's better if they remain female!

Angels represent the highest ideal in the fifth installment; women are beautiful... and with swords... and they even fly, so I think it's better if they remain female!

Oh, my God! How many times do I have to explain that angels are NOT women!:mad: They are genderless!:) It's just that the artists looked at their faces and thought they were women.:(