Golden Ticket Challenge
The theme was "Land of Wonder" and the Tribe had to imagine the magical side of Malta, a parallel universe ready to be explored.
Professional Challenge Winners
Bjorn Hurri, Tiago Sousa, and Ruben Hiraga were the winners of the Professional Challenge! Bjorn Hurri decided to join in because he is a big believer in the community:"This was a great opportunity. The fact that my painting won has my face in a wide grin, and I can’t wait to experience THU for the first time in person!”
See all entries on ArtstationThe Prizes
1st Place
Ticket to THU2018
Flights
Accommodation
Meals
Wacom MobileStudio Pro
2nd place prize
1 year subscription to ArtStation Pro
Free Access to all THU TV volumes
3rd place prize
1 year subscription to ArtStation Pro
Free Access to all THU TV volumes
Student Challenge Winners
This was the year we decided to create a challenge just for students! Maximilian Georg Liebscher, Joy Yang, and Caio Sinem surprised the jury with their creativity and talent. Maximilian participated in the challenge to advance his skills in storytelling and concept art."I’m hyped for this event and hope to see you guys in Malta!”
See all entries on ArtstationThe Prizes
1st Place
Ticket to THU2018
Flights
Accommodation
Meals
Lenovo mobile workstation
2nd place prize
Ticket to THU2018
1 year subscription to ArtStation Pro
3rd place prize
Ticket to THU2018
1 year subscription to ArtStation Pro
The history of the Golden Ticket
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!

This year's challenge was brought to you by
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.

This year's challenge was brought to you by
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.

This year's challenge was brought to you by
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.
