Land of Wonder

In 2018, THU celebrated its new home, Malta, and the theme was Land of Wonder. This was the year we decided to create a category just for students, giving young artists the tools they need to start their careers. Altogether, we received a record number of 835 submissions!

Bjorn Hurri, Art Director and Lead Artist at Opus Artz studio, based in London, UK, won the Professional category. Maximilian Georg Liebscher, a Designer and artist working in Experience Development and Visual Concept, based in Dresden, Germany, won the Student category.

THU Clans

Winner

Te Hu

Number of entries

192

The theme in 2017 was THU Clans. Each different nationality and individual brings something unique to the community we like to refer to as “the Tribe”; a different perspective, a new vision, an interesting context, or a cultural twist.

The winner was Te Hu, a Technical Artist at Industrial Light and magic xlab, based in San Francisco, USA.
The 2017 submissions were incredible, so we also awarded five honorable mentions!

THU Reborn

Winner

Grace Liu

Number of entries

184

Prize worth

€ 5000

In 2016, we asked artists to imagine a new world, born from the darkness, where the spirit of the artist is reborn. A world where art is the common language and the future has infinite possibilities.

The winner was Grace Liu, a 3D artist specialized in hand-painted low-poly, concept artist and illustrator based in Texas, USA.

THU Tribe

Winner

Jakob Eirich (Yakonosuke)

Number of entries

370

Prize worth

€ 5000

2015’s challenge was all about The Tribe, whatever that means to you: be it a character, a set of characters, a landscape, or a more abstract concept.

The winner was Jakob Eirich, a freelance concept artist and illustrator living and working in Salzgitter, Germany.

THU Warrior

Winner

Max Kostenko

Number of entries

243

Prize worth

€ 3500

In 2014, the challenge was to create a THU Warrior. As always, entrants went above and beyond to invent some incredibly creative characters.

The winner was Max Kostenko, a talented digital artist from Moscow, specialising in illustration and character design.

THU Friend or foe

Winner

Dor Shamir

Number of entries

180

Prize worth

€ 2500

In 2013, we challenged artists to digitally create a new character to represent THU – the Trojan Horse was a Unicorn mascot.

Dor Shamir struck gold: having always loved creating unique and interesting characters, and fascinated by cartoons and cinema, he drew on his 10 years of experience in the industry to design and perfect his character.