Create a story narrative inside an isometric environment centered on a character. The scene should invite the viewer to ask … “What happened?” The answer may be factual, emotional, ambiguous, or unresolved. Reveal the story through space, objects, lighting, material choices, and even forensic evidence. Characters should be present and meaningful, but the narrative must be carried primarily by the environment itself … not by dialogue or explanation.

With an amazing set of models from BigMediumSmall, KitBash3D, Netflix, and Pixar, you’ll get to create something worthy of your imagination to showcase your shading, lighting, rendering, and compositing skills for the possibility of winning amazing prizes, including a Dell mobile workstation powered by AMD and NVIDIA!

Amazing Sponsors, Mentorship, and Prizes

We are excited to have our friends at AMD, DELL, NVIDIA, Ranch Computing, Big Medium Small, Foundry, fxphd, KitBash3D, Netflix, Megalis, Tonko House, Ozone, SideFX, Thoughtful3D, and Xencelabs co-sponsor this community event with tens of thousands in prizes.

Challenge Summary

Theme and Style

To honor the spirit of “Diorama” the theme is “Discovery.” Create a visual story inspired by your favorite detective film, an invasion of your favorite hometown, a supernatural occurrence, or a subtle dramatic event … the only limit is your imagination. There does not need to be a single correct interpretation. Strong entries reward slow looking and allow the viewer to assemble meaning from what they see.

The genre is open and may be utopian, grimy, dystopian, mundane, nostalgic or sentimental. Sophisticated lighting, shading, and composition are expected, but only in service of clarity and storytelling. The goal is not spectacle, but discovery. Scenes may be presented at any scale, from miniature dioramas to stylized or photorealistic environments. Characters may be toys, animals, creatures, or lifelike humans. Above all, communicate story and meaning.

In short,  instead of submitting an entry with a cinematic format:

We're making a diorama, like this!

Works in Progress

Get critiques and help from Pixar’s RenderMan team who will moderate this challenge. This is an opportunity for you to learn and develop your skills. Everyone is encouraged to post works in progress and ask technical questions … the challenge is intended to let participants try out new techniques.

Format

All images must follow the following standards:

• All submissions must be a complete creation of the artist submitting, from concept to final render, including the background image used in compositing.
• No group collaborations permitted.
• All submissions must be rendered with any of the official RenderMan Plugins (Maya, Houdini, Katana, and Blender).
• Only 1 submission per participant.
• All posts must be WIP in order to verify progress.
• You must work with the existing assets. Slight modifications to existing models for efficiency or bugs are ok.
• New 3D models are permitted! ...but only if they are for support (added value). You must use the supplied models for the main storytelling. For example, you can add characters, accessories, and environment details such as lamps, garbage, rubble, props, clouds, vines, grass, etc...
• All images must be submitted in a 16 X 9 ratio. Letterboxing is OK.
• If you submit images larger than 4K, they will automatically downsized to a maximum of 3840 X 2160.
• For more details, please read the FAQ above.

Final Submission

When the Challenge is closed, all semi finalists chosen will be notified to submit their final projects. This will help us verify compliance with challenge rules. A BOX folder will be provided for submission.

Compositing

Post work is limited to:

• Color Correction and Grading.
• Compositing background (must be your background or used with permission).
• Compositing separate RenderMan rendered layers.
• Compositing with RenderMan AOVs and LPEs.
• No paint overs.
• No photo bashing.

Deadline

Monday, October 19th, 2026 - Midnight PST (Pacific Standard Time - USA).

Winners and Announcements

Winners will be announced on Monday, November 2nd, 2026.

Eligibility

All participants have to be members of the RenderMan community. Commercial and Non-Commercial customers are welcome to participate.

Attribution

Please describe or watermark your image using the following attribution:

Assets by BigMediumSmall, KitBash3D, Netflix, and Pixar. RenderMan "Diorama Drama" Art Challenge © Disney/Pixar

Terms of Use

Pixar

RenderMan community account required to participate.
All decisions of the judges are final. 
Prizes cannot be exchanged for their cash value.
Prizes are non transferable. 

Contest Participants agree to comply with all applicable export control laws and sanctions. Contest Participants agree NOT TO use, export, reexport or transfer (in-country) RenderMan in or to: (1) a country or region subject to a US partial or comprehensive embargo, such as Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Crimea, Donetsk People’s Republic, or Luhansk People’s Republic; OR (2) any person or entity listed on the “Entity List” or "Denied Persons List" maintained by the US Department of Commerce, the list of "Specifically Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons" maintained by the US Department of Treasury or any other applicable prohibited party list of the US Government.  Contest Participants further agree that they are not nationals or residents of the countries or regions listed in (1) above.

Netflix

Netflix assets from Oni: Thunder God's Tale are provided by Megalis and Tonko House and exclusively for non-commercial use in the "Diorama Drama" RenderMan Art Challenge and must be used in accordance with the Netflix End User License Agreement.

Kitbash3D

Kitbash3D assets are exclusively for non-commercial use in the "Diorama Drama" RenderMan Art Challenge and must be used in accordance with the Kitbash3D license agreement.

Big Medium Small

Big Medium Small assets are exclusively for non-commercial use in the "Diorama Drama" RenderMan Art Challenge and must be used in accordance with the BMS license agreement.

Xencelabs

By participating in RenderMan's "Diorama Drama" Art Challenge, you agree to the shipping limitations outlined  Xencelabs Giveaway Country Shipping Restrictions.

NVIDIA Data Collection | Prize Eligibility

By participating in RenderMan's "Diorama Drama" Art Challenge, you agree to share your email with our partner, NVIDIA. Your information will be handled in accordance with NVIDIA's Privacy Policy.