Last month, we introduced the first 8th Wall challenge of the year focused on Sky Effects! Our Sky Effects Challenge was an opportunity for developers to learn, explore, and connect with each other and 8th Wall team members, all while competing for top prizes. 

Looking to support developers every step of the way, we organized a series of events including an informative session to kickstart the challenge, a Cre8te workshop, 8Talks session and dedicated office hours and one-on-one meetings with our Developer Support Engineers to help guide participants forward through their development journey. 

We were so impressed with the projects developers created and the innovative use of Sky Effects! With that, let's announce the winners! 

Grand Prize Winner

Although we had several incredible submissions, there could only be one Grand Prize Winner. The Sky Effects Grand Prize goes to Sky Scribble by Stijn Spanhove and Spanhove Media.

This WebAR experience allows you to bring your scribbles to life with just a prompt. By using a chain of models to generate the results in real-time, Sky Scribble showcases the true potential of GenAI, WebAR, and Sky Effects. The innovative use of technology and the creative approach to turning the sky into a canvas is what earned this submission the grand prize.

Most Cre8tive Winner

The winners of the Most Cre8tive award for the Sky Effects Challenge are Susan Lerski, James Pendry, and Joao Pratas from Darabase for their project, Planet ExplorAR!

This WebAR educational experience seamlessly integrates art and science to create an immersive and interactive experience for children that feels more fun than learning and gets them outside. Judges were impressed by the overall use of 8th Wall, Javascript, A-Frame, and Google Maps for the location-based logic. 

Best UX for WebAR Winner

Tomoyuki Hisada from AnotherBrain Inc. has won the Best UX for WebAR award in the Sky Effects Challenge with his project, Sky Canvas AR w/ GenAI.

This web app uses Gen AI DALL-E 2 to draw various types of clouds in an infinite space, bringing back childhood memories of lying on a bed of grass and gazing at the clouds. The judges were impressed with the use of cloud material and how the designs blended seamlessly into the sky. The UI was user-friendly and provided a clear onboarding process for the GenAI technology, making it easy for users to understand. The overall UX was simple, thoughtful, and followed the best UX practices. 

Best Use of 8th-Wall Made Modules Winner

The winners of the Best Use of 8th Wall Made Modules for the Sky Effects Challenge are Alex Bradt, Krystsina Linkevich, and Steven Wolpe from MousePack for their project, Cloud Catch!

The team demonstrated how 8th Wall modules can enhance a WebAR experience by using the Reflections module to create stunning real-time reflections. The innovative use of the sky as a canvas for education and inspiration was truly impressive, with a vacuum model and suction mechanic allowing users to catch clouds and learn about climate science from NASA. The use of Midjourney, A-Frame animation and particle system components also enabled a seamless sky-to-world transition without the need for SLAM tracking. 

Community Favorite

Voted by the community, SkyAquarium: Marine Life in the Clouds by Ilya Morozov, Siarhei Chaichyts, Kseniya Mukaseyeva, Palina Tachonaya, Hanna Kukharenka, and Yegor Yegorov at Egorov Agency was public’s favorite Sky Effects Challenge project submission! From the comfort of your own device, users can dive into the depths of the ocean and reimagine the sky as a body of water to experience the wonder of marine life in a whole new way. 

Honorable Mentions

With so many great submissions to the Sky Effects challenge, it took a lot of work for the judges to narrow it down to just a few entries. Thank you to all of our developers for participating in this challenge, with honorable mention to:

• Lantern Festival by Takayuki Yokoyama,Masakazu Kanamoto,Yoshiyuki Maeda,Tsuyoshi Miura at Up-Frontier
• Erik Skips the Surly Bonds of Earth by Peter Locharernkul at Brightline Interactive
• Debatree by Bryan Fenchel, Mal Duffin, and Donyea Goodin
• Drive the Earth by Ken Mitsui
• Attack on Titans by Flamingo by Jonathann Jacobs, Jordan Camus, Vincent Trastour at Flamingo Filter
• Travel Buddy by Dadong Hu, Jaimie Collet, Schuyler Van Sickle at XR Goods Company

Thank you to our growing 8th Wall Community for your hard work throughout the duration of the Sky Effects Challenge! Check out the submission gallery to review all the entries!