#Theme:
Show us the forest as we have never seen it before. This could be, for example, small details that the unwary walker misses. Or of secluded forest dwellers that no one has ever seen before. Incredibly magnificent plant and fungi wonders. Or fantasy scenes of magical beauty and wildness and secrets that take place in the forest and that are only revealed to those who are in the right place at the right time.
No modern technology, no weapons/battles, no memes.
#Rules:
- Follow the community’s rules above all else
- One comment and image per user
- Embed image directly in the post (no external link)
- Workflow/Prompt sharing encouraged (we’re all here for fun and learning)
- Posts that are tied will both get the points
- The challenge runs for 7 days from now on
At the end of the challenge each post will be scored:
#Prize | Points
- Most upvoted | +3 points
- Second most upvoted | +2 point
- Third most upvoted | +1 point
- OP’s favorite | +1 point
- Most original | +1 point
- Bonus point for botanical accuracy | +1 point
- Last two entries (to compensate for less time to vote) | +1 point
- Prompt and workflow included | +1 point
The winner gets to pick next theme! Best inspirations for everyone and have fun!
#Past entries
- Dieselpunk
- Goosebump Book
- Deep Space Wonders
- Fairy Tales
- A New Sport
- Monsters are Back to School
- War and Peace
- Distant lands
- Unreal Cartoons
- Sustainable Ecumenopolis
- Masks
- Mascots
- Old Gods, New Jobs
- Winter Festivities
- High Tech, Low Life
- Character Limit
- Gatsby’s Jazz Hands
- Reel to Canvas
- Cruelly Cute Characters
- Retro Sci-Fi
- Get Your Bard On!
- Busy Bees: Animals with Jobs
- Mad Royalty
- Reimagined Historical Moments with Mythical Creatures
Looking forward to seeing your creations. 😀
Prompt: a young child opening a box that contains a secret forest
- Most upvoted: +3
- OP’s favourite: +1
- prompt included: +1
- upvotes: 9
- total: 14 points!
Although the box has a visible flaw in the dimensions of the lid, this picture was convincing because of its idea and the grandiose moment it depicts. The magic of the forest is well captured. You’re the winner, congratulations! 🥇
** @[email protected] : You win the honour to set up the next topic and conduct the next challenge! **
In New Zealand we have a little blue/purple mushroom (Entoloma hochstetteri) that grows in the depths of our temperate rain forests. It features on our $50 bank note - probably the only bank note that has a mushroom as one of its main features. Not many people get to see, or notice, this little pop of bright colour deep in the forest.
Prompt: A secret moss garden in a dense temperate rain forest, in the foreground is a blue mushroom with dew drops glistening
- Most upvoted: +3
- prompt included: +1
- upvotes: 9
- total: 13 points.
That was close! This picture might have won if the mushroom had been depicted botanically correctly (the Entoloma hochstetteri has a slightly different cap, as far as I can tell from pictures on the www). All in all, however, a very nice picture and a fascinating image of the micro-world of New Zealand. Well done, you won second place in this challenge. 🥈
Yeah, I couldn’t get the colour right either
Funny I created this last week so I’m just going to use it here.
Prompt : an alien species of plant transplanted in a forest in earth, and it’s the most weird looking but most beautiful and colourful plant ever seen.
- Second most upvoted: +2
- prompt included: +1
- upvotes: 8
- total: 11 points.
A very beautiful alien flower indeed. Could easily be incorporated into the next installment of James Cameron’s Avatar. You won third place, together with Thelsim’s Forest Sprite. 🥉
Thanks a bunch!
Prompt: 90s fantasy movie still of a forest sprite wading through a dank pond, the sprite has a hard and wood-like skin with a feral aura, in a wild and foreboding forest, rays of light shine through the tree branches, panoramic view, shot on 70mm IMAX film --ar 143:100My runner-up:
Prompt: highly detailed painting of the fairy king’s court, in a serene forest glade, painted in romanticism style --ar 4:3I really like this one myself (fairies and cute stuff are always nice :), but it was a little too messy.
- Second most upvoted: +2
- prompt included: +1
- upvotes: 8
- total: 11 points.
This is the epitome of a mysterious forest creature, the whole scene has a very powerful and magical energy. If there was a bonus for the most technically complex rendered image, this image would have won it. The perspective, the water, the details, just wow. You won third place, together with the alien plant by Trollivier. 🥉
My cat and I both love succulents, just in different ways. I’d find the scene of the ecological disaster that made my heart bleed at random times (never catching the perpetrator), perhaps due to his mole bloodlines.
prompt:
a miniature dense forest entirely made up of tiny succulents of various shapes, in a wide landscaped field, the scene is set on these multi-colored succulents, the blurred distant background is my digging furry gray tabby cat with pink nose and mouth, upward angle, macro, bokeh, mist, film still, emoji style, chibi <lora:ios_emoji_xl_v2_lora_webui:1>- Prompt included: +1
- botanical accuracy: +1
- upvotes: 6
- total: 8 points
Although the chosen image style was emoji-style, the succulents look interestingly realistic. This shows what strange plants they are and funnily gives a bonus for botanical accuracy.
Prompt: a forest on a silicon-based planet with twice Earth’s gravity, with squat and wide trees, heavy, thick trunks, crystalline or metallic foliage, and a forest floor littered with silicon shards, adapted to the high-gravity environment with fewer tall structures and more ground-hugging life forms
- Third most upvoted: +1
- Bonus: most original: +1
- prompt included: +1
- upvotes: 7
- total: 10 points
Creating a scene from a silicon-based forest world is really an outstanding idea, so there’s the originality bonus.
Bing: draw a picture of the world inside of a rotting log in a forest. inside the log looks like an entire world with moss and dirt and a civilization of bugs.
I also thought this one was cool, but not exactly what i wanted.
- Prompt included: +1
- upvotes: 6
- Total: 7 points
This really demonstrates how lively the forest floor is, if you look closely enough. Nice.
was difficult to choose :/
- upvotes: 6
- total: 6 points
The magical light mood gives this picture something special in connection with the fog and the reflections in the water. Mysterious naked creatures… The other two images would also both have been very good contestants
Prompt was “A secret spring in a tranquil forest showing the faint reflection of sailor moon. Hyper realistic photo.” In the bingalator 5 tries.
Bet you thought I would submit a picture of sailor moon…
Be honest, the only reason why we’re not looking at Sailor Moon is because the rules explicitly said “No Memes” :)
It’s a gorgeous picture by the way!
Thanks! But it could use at least a cthulhu
- Prompt included: +1
- upvotes: 7
- total: 8 points
That was very close to disqualification because of the implied Sailor Moon! 😄 But since it was essentially a beautiful mystical forest scene with full moon, definitely a worthy contender for the competition.
- 2nd to last entry: +1
- upvotes: 5
- Total: 6 points
A beautiful, tranquil scenery with a really calm, meditative atmosphere and nice colours.
This was such a tough choice.
I’m going to go with this one as my entry, and include a few more of my favorites below:
Prompt I came up with with ChatGPT4
Let’s consolidate all this into a concise image prompt please “The forest is a lush, ancient, and mystical place, This enchanted forest is teeming with life, showcasing a diverse and rich ecosystem where gigantic, ancient trees tower above, their canopies casting deep shadows over the forest floor, creating a sense of otherworldly beauty and mystery.” The forest is home to an array of fantastical creatures, including the Kodama, small white spirits with rattling heads that signify the health of the forest. Their presence adds a layer of magic and spirituality, emphasizing the forest’s role as a sacred place. At the heart of the forest lies the Forest Spirit, a god-like entity that embodies the life and death of the forest, changing form between a gigantic, deer-like creature during the day and a spectral, nightwalker at night, symbolizing the cycle of life and the balance of nature. The environment is depicted with a palpable sense of reverence and awe, highlighting the interconnectedness of all living things and the importance of harmony between humans and nature. The vivid animation brings to life a world filled with vibrant colors, from the greens of the leaves and moss to the dappled sunlight that filters through the canopy, creating a tapestry of light and shadow that is both enchanting and foreboding. This forest is not only a backdrop but a living, breathing entity reflecting the themes of environmentalism, conflict between industrial progress and natural preservation, and the search for balance and coexistence
Other Favs:
- Prompt included: +1
- upvotes: 5
- Total: 6 points
Mononoke Hime - what more can you say! This captures the spirituality of the forest very well. Great prompting too. This could have given a bonus for outstanding prompt formulation (not in a technical but in a lyrical sense).
Forests look a bit different where I live, but if you don’t look up you’ll miss some amazing sights all the same.
Behind the Scenes:
Prompt:
(impressionist painting), (20mm:1.2), full shot, scenic, ground visible, looking up from below, A (koala hugging a baby koala:1.5) sits in a large thick tree branch crotch, dusk, a small pond in background, yellow wattle tree nearby An Australian red gum Eucalyptus forest, brown sandy clay loam soil, golden hour, Bendigo, Loddon Mallee, blue haze over distance, En plein air,ultra detailed
Models & Stuff:
Alt Takes I Liked:
- Bonus for botanical accuracy +1
- Prompt included: +1
- upvotes 5
- Total: 7 points
This is absolutely the most realistic picture of all contestants so you deserve the bonus for botanical (and zoological!) accuracy. I also liked that at the same time you have chosen impressionistic painting as a style and not imitated a photography.
The rare and elegant alligator-emu hybrid: the Emulator
[it’s been a long day 🤣 ]
the technical bits from ChatGPT
Imagine a new, captivating version of a fantasy creature that is a hybrid between an alligator and an emu. This creature possesses the formidable, scaly body of an alligator, complete with its powerful tail and strong jaws, but it also features the long neck and legs of an emu, topped with a head that combines the characteristics of both animals in a unique and intriguing way. Its skin is a blend of feathers and scales, creating a mesmerizing texture that sparkles in the sunlight. The creature stands majestically in a mythical landscape, perhaps beside a tranquil lake or in a lush, enchanted forest, embodying the essence of both land and water. The image should be rich in detail, highlighting the fantasy aspect of this hybrid creature in a beautiful and imaginative setting.- Prompt included: +1
- Originality Bonus: +1
- Upvotes: 5
- Total: 7 points
This picture also deserves a bonus for originality: The Emulator - although everyone knows it, no one has seen it like this before!
This is an old one-off bing gave me.
- Upvotes: 4
- Total: 4 points
Really lovely spring creatures, these foliage guys.
I’m coming late, but here is it
Workflow
- Last entry: +1
- prompt included: +1
- upvotes: 2
- total: 4 points
Who doesn’t like forest nymphs? They always seem to appear at the very last moment, just when you weren’t expecting them anymore!
![[Community Challenge 26] - Secret life of the Forest](https://discuss.tchncs.de/pictrs/image/fb5aa579-3999-474a-9228-286e266d31a7.jpeg){kind=link}