IAMC26 Challenge Step 3 – THE BREATHING RITE

Please read all instructions carefully before posting your work or asking any questions.

If you’ve missed previous steps, you can still enter. Catch up via these Links

• STEP 1 : The Trace

• STEP 2 : The Landform
  

Synopys

Something moves, but not randomly — it repeats. It acts with rhythm, intention, or memory.

This is your world’s first sign of ritual — of presence that goes beyond instinct.

• A pattern left in sand, burned into stone

• An offering placed with care

• Lights blinking in time, like breath or belief

• A gesture carved in space, again and again

Whether it's life, spirit, machine, or something unknown — this isn't a coincidence. This is the Breathing Rite — motion with meaning.

🔹 Focus: Presence Through Repetition

What is this presence doing — and why?

It may not speak, but it acts.

• Is this a ritual of warning, memory, survival, or faith?

• Is it recent — or ancient and looping endlessly?

• Who performs it? Or is it performed by the land itself?

Don’t explain the rules. Let the viewer feel them through rhythm, shape, and silence.

Color + Mood

Your visual tone evolves, but it still echoes what came before.

• Do the colors reinforce the ritual’s mood — sacred, haunting, desperate?

• Does the environment respond — with light, decay, motion?

• Let repetition flow visually through color, structure, or composition

This is not a static world. It breathes. Show us how.

Meaning and Intention

In 1–3 sentences:

• What is being done — and what might it mean?

• Who or what performs the act?

• How does this rite connect to your previous trace and land?

Keep the mystery intact. A ritual isn’t a manual — it’s a signal.

⚠️ Avoid:

• Showing full characters or complete species

• Turning the image into a cinematic narrative

• Explaining the ritual — suggest, don’t define

Step 3 Checklist

✅ One image depicting a ritual, pattern, or intentional act
✅ Consistent or evolving visual identity from Steps 1 & 2
✅ 1–3 sentence description
✅ Optional: motion studies, light cycles, object sketches, sound experiments

⚠️ Tag your post: Challenge Step 3


📊 Scoring & Timeline

🕒 Submission deadline (no penalty): July 28 – August 11, 2025 – 5 PM CET
Late uploads accepted with a 1-point penalty

Submission Instructions

• One submission per artist

• Upload in the Submit an IAMC26 Entry space

• Use any format or dimensions

• Include your written description in the caption

  Tag with: Challenge Step 3

General Rules and FAQ, available here

Questions? Use the IAMC26 Challenge Q&A space.