IAMC26 Challenge 🔹 Step 1 – THE TRACE

“Every world leaves a mark. What’s yours?”

⚠️ Please review all instructions carefully before submitting your work or asking any questions.

🧭 Instructions

Find the first sign of your world — an artifact, glyph, fossil, object, fragment, creature, or concept.

It should feel like the very first piece of something much bigger, a relic from a forgotten story or future history.

This is not the time to build everything — it’s about focusing on one meaningful element that defines the tone, mystery, or symbolism of the world to come.

It can be:

• A weathered coin, carved symbol, relic, bone, or alien husk

• A twisted sculpture, a dead language's letterform, or a seed from a lost biome

• Something once used, once revered, or never understood

🔹 Focus: It should hold mystery and suggest that more lies beyond.

Let it feel like a door that just barely opened — not the entire room.

🎨 Color + Mood Guidance

Though this is just one item, use color to hint at the emotional climate of your future world. Ask yourself:

• Is your world warm or cold?

• Does it glow, rust, decay, or reflect light?

• Is color symbolic — cultural, elemental, or sacred?

🔸 Select a color range that can remain consistent, evolve, or be echoed throughout future steps. This is your tonal fingerprint.

✍️ Meaning and Intention

Your trace should have a reason to exist, even if hidden.

Include 1–3 sentences explaining:

• What it might have meant

• Who might have made or found it

• Why was it left behind

Don’t explain too much — just enough to suggest the unseen story it came from.

⚠️ Avoid:

• Designing a whole environment, character, or landscape (yet)

• Literal storytelling — this should feel like a myth fragment, not a full tale

• Excessive polish — we value concept and coherence more than finish at this stage
  

🧪 Step 1 Checklist

✅ One image showing the object, trace, or fragment

✅ A defined color mood or palette

✅ 1–3 sentences of explanation or world context

✅ Optional: sketches, close-ups, material studies, or process thumbnails

📊 Scoring, Judging & Timeline

Each valid submission will be scored on the following criteria:

• Bonus Points: +3 pts for behind-the-scenes videos or creative process breakdowns

• Late Submission: Accepted with a 5-point penalty

• No-show: 0 pts

🕒 Submission deadline (no penalty): June 10 – June 25, 2025 - 5PM CET

Late uploads accepted with -1 pts Penalty

Scores will remain hidden throughout the challenge and will only be revealed after completing Step 10.

📥 Submission Instructions

Only one submission per artist for each step

Upload your piece in the Submit an IAMC26 Entry Space

• You may choose any size or format you prefer (no restrictions on ratio or dimensions)

• Be sure to include your brief explanation in the description or artwork caption

• Tag your post: Challenge Step 1

• 📜 Don’t forget to read the General Rules

If you’ve any questions, please use the IAMC26 Challenge Question Space